Many Thais with Chinese roots believe in Guanyin, the compassionate Bodhisattva. It is believed that she traded her arm for her father’s ticket out hell so that he could subsequently be reborn as a cow. Today, many say that they pay homage to Guanyin by refraining from eating beef, as she did in that lifetime in order to avoid eating her father.
As practitioners, a big part of our practice is undoing our conditions. How do we set these conditions and why should we abolish them? In this blog I will use the example of non-beef or vegetarian diets to explore some reasons and solutions related to conditions.
Non-beef diets as a condition
Case 1: Nancy
Nancy was standing in front of a factory and could see a group of pigs being crammed into the back of a truck, on their way to slaughter. She noticed that one pig was squealing and struggling to break free. It eventually managed to jump off of the truck. A supervisor caught the pig and immediately slit the its throat, telling Nancy that it had to be done quickly to preserve good flavor, as a pig that is killed while in fear will not taste delicious.
Nancy was shocked at the cruelty of the slaughter and the pig’s squealing that remained imprinted in her mind. During that time, Nancy happened to have some friends who believed their non-beef diets would bring them good luck, because of Guanyin. Due to the timing, Nancy, who couldn’t bear to eat pork anymore, decided to cut beef out from her diet as well. The only meat she would eat was chicken and seafood, and she continued to have that diet for six years.
Nancy recalls how much trouble her restrictive diet caused for her friends. Once at dinner, her host asked if she ate beef. When she replied in the negative, they immediately grabbed a live chicken, slit its throat, placed it in a box, added wood, and lit a fire to cook it. That caused her to realize not only was her non-beef condition causing trouble for her host, but it also caused the chicken to lose its life. Not only that, but it was wasteful, as the beef dish was already cooked and on the dining table when the host asked her if she could eat it.
Nancy used to think that animals are the food of humans. She has since realized that they are not our food and our bodies are not superior to theirs. Rather, we rely on them, and that is why we should not take them for granted. After analyzing all of her experiences related to her non-beef condition, Nancy was finally able to get rid of it when she realized beyond a doubt that every life exists and affects others. Whether we are eating meat or not, we will still affect one other. Now, when it comes to food, she is not picky because she understands how having conditions can cause suffering for her as well as others.
Case 2: Mary
Mary was born into a family that believed in Guanyin and regularly didn’t eat beef. So it was natural for her to follow suit. When Mary was younger, she had made a promise to Guanyin that she would not eat beef in exchange for some sort of benefit. As she had actually received that benefit, Mary felt that she owed it to Guanyin to keep up her end of the bargain. She couldn’t bear the thought of going back on her word and starting to eat beef again.
After having practiced according to Luang Por Thoon’s teachings for some time, Mary decided to work on her non-beef condition. Mary was afraid to go back on her promise, because of her deep respect for Guanyin. So she asked herself, is refraining from eating beef really how I show respect to Guanyin? Mary realized her guilt was less about respect and more about taking from Guanyin. It was selfish. She had asked Guanyin for something and not eating beef was just a condition of the deal. She realized that eating beef was unrelated to respecting Guanyin. So, it was possible to respect Guanyin and eat beef.
Next, she contemplated Guanyin, whose life story is related differently across cultures, but is commonly known for her loving kindness and compassion. Mary wanted to eradicate a condition, to better herself. This act would be beneficial to Mary. If Guanyin was as compassionate as everyone says she is then she would rejoice at Mary’s determination to improve. Guanyin wouldn’t punish Mary or hold her back from personal progress. That would be non-compassionate, and against what Guanyin stands for.
Soon after, Mary saw that all meat, including human meat, comes from the same source and is basically the same. She stopped eating wastefully, out of respect for the animals meat. So, Mary was able to eat beef, in moderation, with a free conscience. But as she got a headache from eating beef, she wound up setting another condition: that eating beef gives her a headache. Eventually she questioned this condition and started to collect evidence to analyze the correlation between beef and headaches. Once she found that she also got headaches on days where she didn’t eat beef, and in fact didn’t get headaches every time she ate beef, she realized her condition was unfounded. Today, Mary eats beef, but when she returns to her non-beef family, she does as they do in order to avoid conflict.
Case 3: Yvonne
Yvonne believed in Guanyin because her older sister did, so she refrained from eating beef for many years. One day, she realized through a conversation at Wat San Fran that not eating beef only made us feel better to satisfy our condition, but didn’t really help the cow.
Some people give the excuse that they don’t eat beef out of deference to Guanyin, but they regularly eat smaller animals. Yvonne was one of those people, who believed bigger animals have bigger karma associated with eating their meat. But now, Yvonne realizes that there are big pigs too. And there are other big animals for which humans eat only a small part of their body, like shark fin soup or bear paws. It isn’t so much about the karma as it is about failing to recognize the great gift of each dead animal’s meat, trying your best not to waste their life that was given. In the end, Yvonne saw that a cow, pig, or chicken are the same. To be picky with food isn’t to respect Guanyin, but to complicate life. So she began to eat beef again.
Today she realizes that when she went to eat with her beef-eating friends in the past, she felt like she was not making a big deal. She didn’t make a fuss when her friends ordered beef dishes, and instead would just shove the beef to the side of her plate. Now that Yvonne eats beef and goes out with people who don’t eat beef, with people who shove beef to the side like she used to, she sees that there’s no way that it isn’t a big deal. There is a feeling that arises when you see your friend rejecting the food that you eat. She sees that there was discomfort and harmful consequences attached to her condition.
No Comments