April 9th, 2009
The Heart of the Vegetarian Matter
(In Honor of the Flesh We Eat)
by Michael Ian Lomongo
On the 10th day of our Vipassana course in 2003, some of my meditation friends were discussing the idea of non-killing (even of insects), whether we’d continue the practice after the course. I said I’d probably do, but I’d try to keep in mind to always say to the insect/s “I’m sorry but I have to kill you.” (And then, someone pointed out that some American Indian tribes used to have this practice of “talking” to the animal they’re killing for food.)
Circa 1997, I used to regularly attend these monthly Full-Moon celebrations with SUFI-ISIS at either Samat Rd. or Biak-na-Bato (basta somewhere near Quezon Blvd.). They’d have someone who’d give a talk/lecture (on spirituality, various paths and techniques), afterwards there’d be meditation, and then meals!!! Woohoo! (They’ve got it all covered… food for the mind, soul, body!)
And one of the things that really struck me during one of the talks was this anecdote that the speaker shared. A group of monks was billeted in a hotel and they made sure that everything was taken care of (their accomodation, their special needs, like the purely vegetarian meal that they must have, etc.). Came mealtime, and imagine the monks’ chagrin when they found themselves being served meat! Agitated, they called for the hotel-manager and started really scolding and berating the incompetence of the hotel staff.
Amid the ruckus, they found their head-monk quietly eating with seeming nonchalance the very non-vegetarian meals that was the cause of the whole racket. Scandalized, they asked him why he was doing that.
The head-monk replied, “Better to eat meat than lose compassion.”
Aside from the obvious health reasons, it’s the principle of non-harming/non-violence, respect for life, developing compassion, that’s at the core of my personal desire (not passionate) to become a vegetarian.
If ever. (Hahaha! I don’t know, I’m really such a pig. More of an “anytarian” than anything. I eat, no, devour, everything. My co-seminarians coined a word in my honor: “ian-in,” meaning, “to devour like a pig.” Ex. “Pare, hawa ka naman. Ba’t mo naman in-ian ‘yung tsibug?”)
I don’t know if having a developed compassion for all living beings means having no discrimination whatever for the hierarchy of life. (When you’ve become more enlightened/compassionate, does it mean not caring anymore whether the object of your compassion is an insect, a pig, or a human being? Or do you still maintain a hierarchy, so to say, in your principle of non-harming?)
I really think it’s important for us to keep looking at the heart of the matter, otherwise we lose the point of our practice/s.
Why are we doing these things? Why turn vegetarian? Why become an animal-rights activist? Why love our pets? (I’m weird/eccentric but I don’t ever want to reach that point of eccentricity wherein I’d become this pet/animal-loving misanthropist.)
I haven’t reached that point wherein my desire for becoming a vegetarian has actually spurred me to make radical changes in my life and eating habits. (I know it would be hard.) I hope to. Someday.
But should any circumstance similar to the anecdote recounted ever arise, of choosing between compassion and my principle, I really hope to have Superman’s x-ray vision. To cut through the crap. And see the heart of the matter.
As a pig, between eating meat and losing compassion, I’d choose eating meat anytime…
With relish!
best regards,
ian
—
“I’m a vegetarian because I hate plants.”
- Some kooky dude