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The Meatrix
12 March 2005
[indent]Does compassion stop flowing from us when it reaches the boundaries of our self interest? Does compassion end when it inconveniences us to make the effort, or takes too much time, or doesn't get witnessed by others?
Is compassion only a momentary thing, a showpiece to impress others, used sparingly and only when it's fashionable?
Is compassion universal or selective? Is compassion something we parcel out to friends, to family and perhaps to pets, but choke it off when it threatens to make our life less comfortable or less easy?
Does compassion get turned off when we shop, when we sit down to eat, when we go on vacation or when we have to drive a little further to achieve its requirements?
Is compassion made secondary when it requires us to make difficult, selfless choices and act the way we say we believe?
Is compassion used like a weapon to garner us recognition and praise in public, but sheathed when it requires us to change our own ways?
Is compassion your conscience, or merely an overcoat you change when it becomes too heavy?
Or is compassion an inner strength that flows from us like a light, encompassing all beings or simply a flashlight you shine on those who please you?
"...Buddhism cannot be true to itself until Buddhists resolve their ambivalence toward nonhuman animals and extend the full protection of their compassion to the most harmless and helpless of those who live at our mercy in the visible realms."
"...The beginning of mindful eating is the realization that eating meat is not about the meat-eater; it is about the animals who are tormented and killed.
...Farmed animals are not future Buddhas donating their flesh out of compassion for those of us who have developed a craving for it. They are victims of our greed from whom we steal the most precious gift any of us has: life."
Norm Phelps: The Great Compassion: Buddhism, & Animal Rights
"Every individual who eats flesh food, whether an animal is killed expressly for him or not, is supporting the trade of slaughtering and contributing to the violent deaths of harmless animals."
Roshi Philip Kapleau: To Cherish All Life
Quotes borrowed from Veggie Dharma.
If you haven't seen it, take a look at The Meatrix. Very illuminating and thought-provoking.[/indent]
Is compassion only a momentary thing, a showpiece to impress others, used sparingly and only when it's fashionable?
Is compassion universal or selective? Is compassion something we parcel out to friends, to family and perhaps to pets, but choke it off when it threatens to make our life less comfortable or less easy?
Does compassion get turned off when we shop, when we sit down to eat, when we go on vacation or when we have to drive a little further to achieve its requirements?
Is compassion made secondary when it requires us to make difficult, selfless choices and act the way we say we believe?
Is compassion used like a weapon to garner us recognition and praise in public, but sheathed when it requires us to change our own ways?
Is compassion your conscience, or merely an overcoat you change when it becomes too heavy?
Or is compassion an inner strength that flows from us like a light, encompassing all beings or simply a flashlight you shine on those who please you?
"...Buddhism cannot be true to itself until Buddhists resolve their ambivalence toward nonhuman animals and extend the full protection of their compassion to the most harmless and helpless of those who live at our mercy in the visible realms."
"...The beginning of mindful eating is the realization that eating meat is not about the meat-eater; it is about the animals who are tormented and killed.
...Farmed animals are not future Buddhas donating their flesh out of compassion for those of us who have developed a craving for it. They are victims of our greed from whom we steal the most precious gift any of us has: life."
Norm Phelps: The Great Compassion: Buddhism, & Animal Rights
"Every individual who eats flesh food, whether an animal is killed expressly for him or not, is supporting the trade of slaughtering and contributing to the violent deaths of harmless animals."
Roshi Philip Kapleau: To Cherish All Life
Quotes borrowed from Veggie Dharma.
If you haven't seen it, take a look at The Meatrix. Very illuminating and thought-provoking.[/indent]
