Vegetarianism, Buddhism, etc.

[braunwolfe]

Makes sense what you said sky, althought, I follow a similar line of philosophy, as to Live the best way I can morally and ethically, the difference comes to the fact that i'm a nihilist, the only thought i put in my actions is the best imediate way of dealing with a "headache", in the first place i try to avoid the "headache" alltogether, so i don't think much before I act
But what you said sky caught my attention because I love studying the mind of rational and "irrational" beings, and I dare to say your case is quite unique and interesting.
Most vegetarians i've met say they stopped eating meat because of(What it seemed to me) thoughts implanted to them like "Meat is murder" and other PETA-like stuff, all this, just to be trendy.

[pspawn]

Sky, I respect your willpower, or rather, the fact that your palate isn't dependent on the taste of meat.

My father is a vegetarian, for religious and health reasons. The way he explains his belief system to me is flawed, but I know what he's getting at. It includes pally's citation of Singer's claim about animals being able to feel, and my dad has briefly mentioned his belief in a karma-system close to yours. Although I disagree with it simply because our belief systems are vastly different (and no middle ground can be achieved), I do respect your dedication to keeping to yours without imposing on others why it should be the one-all rule that we should follow.

Also, another thing. I'm not sure if this is supposed to go into another topic, and I don't mean it to be in a condescending tone to the people who belong to this category.

The fascination of Asian (or, more prominently, Japanese) Culture amongst non-Asians (especially Americans), astounds me. It kind of bothers me how so many people idolize the culture (though, I do not blame anyone for falling in love with an outwardly bright, dynamic and robust personality like Japan) in a way that they aim to immerse themselves in it and overlook some potential values that they may or may not be willing to accept. The 'pick-and-choose' approach somehow irks me a bit. I see it as a marriage - when you commit, you don't select parts you like, but take the whole package as it is. Then again, marriages seldom retain their traditional meanings now.

As a Chinese Singaporean in Asia, I have the chance to experience a blend of Western and Asian cultures, which is great, but gets everyone stressed out, because on one hand, for example, a young person today is still constantly pressured to live with their parents and support them financially until they die (or for the former, get married), while still facing a personal desire to gain independence and break free from the reins of being someone's child. This is considered as filial piety, a value that stems from Confucianism, which is believed to be the root of Asian values in some circles.

I believe there are problems with a communitarian society - especially in incredibly globalized countries - even though it seems to be the ideal workplace model nowadays, and the Asian value system because it requires the suppression of an individual for the betterment of a harmonic environment. As much as Westernization has managed to find its way into the Asian culture, it's pretty much has only 20% to 30% of importance to any government here (because let's face it, many Asian politicians just believe that everything Asian is superior to the Western. Just ask my Minister Mentor, whose name cannot be named for fear of defamation just for tiny little things). That makes change difficult.

My point is, I'm just not sure people know what they're in for when they claim to want to live a culture they may or may not have fully understood.

[kcdusky]

Hmm, I respect your beliefs and see where you're going with a lot of these points.

On the other hand, I eat meat because animals naturally eat meat. I mean, what should we think about natural predators, such as lions, other large undomesticated cats and dogs, spiders (on insects), etc., that eat meat that comes from the death of lesser animals on the food chain?

Also, if you give up on meat, that means you give up on milk, eggs and a bunch of other things that I'd be too clueless to live without.

[guesswork]

May 28, 2009 12:05:16 GMT -5 skyliner12 said:

Where is Ryoan-ji? I think that's one of the larger ones in Kyoto, isn't it? I'll have to put that on my visit list. :D

Yeah. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in previous posts or not, but I am not, in any way, trying to score myself points by pointing out what I do and patting myself on the back for it. Nor do I criticise other's choices. I'll jokingly give family members a hard time when they have steak at a restaurant (I'll say something like, "Ohh, what a cute cow"), but that's all I ever say about it. I'll ask for dishes without meat at restuarants too, but it's not like I puff out and go, "Oh change this for me, I'm special, I'm a vegetarian, oh and don't you know killing animals is wrong, blah blah blah". I'm basically with the golden rule on that one, I wouldn't want someone annoying me with dumb details so I don't give out my dumb details.

Also, nonsense! Nobody ever learns anything from school. Must just be leaking out your ears. xD

Wanted to bump this thread because of this, which happened a little while back but I only found this video lately. This is my Buddhist center, when Tibetan monks came and visited us! :D I am proud of how well everything worked out. I missed the sand mandala, however. D:

vimeo.com/4147807

EDIT: Also, iie sports is hilarious. I just got that now. Win win.

Yes, Ryoan-ji is in Kyoto, about a 20 min. walk from Kinkakuji, the Golden Pavilion. It's definately a must see with just the rock garden alone. Pure zen.

And I meant people I know, I wasn't trying to call you out specifically. I have a friend that I went to a Korean barbeque place with and she asked the waiter what was good. Not even a split second after he mentions a meat dish does she say, "Oh I'm a vegetarian." Really? There's like 3 dishes that's completely vegetarian that are considered a meal on the menu. She knew that, I knew that, we all knew that. There are a ton of great vegetarian places downtown near the college but she just had to make us drive 15min. to a barbeque place. We made her pay for parking the way back so it was all good :).

And good, my brain would have no more room for my video game speed runs, ya know, important business like that 8-).



heh, I was curious if anyone got my avatar.