Going Vegan - A Giant step to healthy Living

Being the part of Buddhist and not being part of life saver is neither the legacy I opt for, nor it portrait how the buddhist country should be in the eyes of non-buddhist countries. The act of slaughtering and people savouring the chunk of meat in the buddhist society, incite the criticism to those genuine buddhist practitioner and brings greater shame to the country. Neither we are predator. We are not equip with natural teeth and intestines like that of those carnivores. We are anatomically similar to fruit-eating primates.
Why in the world, un-necessarily do we have to suffer acute diarrhoea, constipation, digestive difficulties, and all those sickness due to obesity? Don't you think we are disparaging our mental as well the physical health with the remedies we take to mollify the sickness? Why can't we think and act straight and be the part of harmonic nature? Don't we like to live longer with the fewer diseases and enjoy the musical chirping in serene and pristine environmental world?

I have read through numerous books, authored both by buddhist and non-buddhist and almost all of it tells the bad habit of eating meat from both scientific and buddhist point of view. As far as religion is concerned, eating meat is prohibited. Eating meat would invoke the karmic cycle of cause and effect. Once we fall in to trap of this intricate cycling karma, we can never unleash unless we do only pious and courteous deed for a life time, which would be just bizarre and obscured imagination, The impossible mission of course. Buddha has also said in Pari-nirvana sutra that "Wherever a meat eater lies, sit or walk, other sentient being  becomes fearful upon smelling him, just as when man eat garlic, other will keep away because of bad smell. Likewise whenever animal smells the meat eater, they fear death" and we know that animal's lives are precious to them as much as ours are to us. Considering the fact that we complain even of the slight pin prick, why can't we think of the malicious agony they face while they are thwack with sharp knife? Do you have such heart to hurt their heart? incase your gut say so, you are stone hearted man. You won't feel any pain or suffering and won't know the meaning of love, care, kind, compassion and forgiving. However, I don't think there is heartless human in this world. We seems and act like one, because we are being blurred and blind with worldly pleasure out of ignorance and lack of wisdom. We got to crack out of cocoon and liberate ourselves. We got to uncover and realise the full potential and the true nature of our mind with the little nuggets of wisdom we cultivate everyday at school. What is education after all then? To me education is the progressive discovery of our own ignorance. we got to break the covalent bond of craving and find the true existence of our mind and bring mind back home. We must use the philosophy, the strategies and the means of finding the true essence of mind which the everyday buddhism teach us and we should take advantage of being born in Buddhist country. We have the options to make a choice either to depend on food grain or make a living out of flesh and blood unlike in other countries. Our country is gifted with 60 percent forest cover and we get ample of various nutritious vegetables and fruits for free. Buddhism also convinced us that killing would rather shorten our lives and bring in more diseases and sickness. One would not see the light of liberation and would swim in the pool of mundane life if he enjoys meat.

From scientific point of view, one aspect of going vegan is to leave wonderful mementos legacy and contribute to every success of world beginning with the very benign, adopting healthy living style. Stephen Hawking, the great modern physicist of world, has said that we are on the minor planet of a very average star located within the outer limits of one of hundred thousand million galaxies and he ask is our problem really significant in light of this? We walk this Earth for but a short time and why can't become devoted to having only a wonderful experience? why not dedicate ourselves to leaving a powerful legacy to world and recognise the richness of existence?

Some proponents argued that meat nourished them with the essential nutritions. To them meat, fish and eggs are only source of rich nutritions for balanced diet for the healthy living and vegetarian diet do not provide them protein, which is of course not always true. One of the renowned author, Robin Sharma talks about this issue in the book "MegaLiving" he says, it is ironic that those meat eater get best quality protein available. Meat such as beef and poultry are said to provide second-hand nutrition, which was gained from natural fruits and vegetables. As well, animal flesh has been found to contain high proportion of toxin which can't be broken down by liver and can lead to serious health problem later. Importantly, meat are hard to digest and greatly depletes our energy for digestion processes which otherwise could have engage for other important work.

To make it more interesting, I recalled one time in Australia, during the supper time, foster dad Neville Yate (Christian) asked me why buddhist like me are not vegetarian. "Monks in Thailand are pure vegetarian" he added. I was left dumbfounded for a second, however, I got excuse that time, I told him I am not a pure buddhist yet. I knew that is not the kind of answer he expected, so I went on, some allows while other don't, there are these kind of religion like Hinayana, Mahayana, Theravada, and so forth. Some chief abbot say it is alright to have dead meat while some says we can't. However, the pure and learned monk and great saint does not eat any meat at all.
Similarly, in the farm at work I was chatting atheist friend from England. We happened to talk about the religion and he was amazed knowing I am buddhist and he wanted to be buddhist. He had read lot of buddhist books. He says buddhism is the peaceful religion in the world. What stop him becoming buddhist is he is afraid he can stop eating the meat, because his everyday meal is steak or sausages. All the books he have read advised him to stop eating or killing the animals. So he is in dilemma, how can I help him? I told him, He can be buddhist and eat meat, but have to cut the amount of meat he consume until he can stop eating and then be a pure buddhist. I assured him saying I do eat meat and yet to become the pure buddhist.

If we really want to go vegan, we will have to start from rudimentary or we can never be peak performer. Only with consistent and mindful practise, we can reach perfection. Devid Yeung, the founder of Green Monday, has put forward the fairly common ground for the world to go vegan by declaring Monday as "Green Monday" or "flexitarianism" as he normally call. As we sways along the life observing every Monday as "Green Monday" with cutting short of meat every time, we can prosper toward pure Vegetarian in time. We could also start with no meat on every auspicious religious day or no meat once a week. It would be great stepping stone for the pure vegan in our life. 

I have also finally decided to be vegetarian coinciding with 60th Birth Anniversary of the fourth King keeping in mind the fact that becoming vegetarian could save lot of animals, aid to abolish violence and could live in harmony with surrounding. It would also deeper me into better insight of religion and keep entertain to the path of understanding the true nature of mind. 

To understand the real facet of vegetarianism, Robin Sharma in his "MegaLiving" book, highlights the following benefits: 

• A significant increase in your energy and stamina
• Enhanced concentration and creativity
• Decreased obesity, loss of body fat
• Enhanced complexion, skin tone and vitality
• Lower sleep requirements
• Less digestive difficulties
• Improved alertness and mental agility
• A longer life with fewer diseases
• A greater sense of harmony with nature
• General health excellence

To be frank, one factor that made me go Vegan was these benefits the Robin Sharma shares in his book and I really look forward for being pure vegetarian and garnering those benefits at the end of this month.
In context with the diet in Bhutan, Emily Pearson, nutritionist, recommend that we should have fruits and vegetables in the morning and follow up with rice and other food grains in the evening. She also suggest that we should cut the amount of oil and the cooking time, and cook the vegetables with less water and put the led on every time we cook. This style would enable more of nutrient in to our body and ultimately lead to healthy person. Similarly, Lama Tashi Wangdi (Taba,Thimphu) advice that we should start our day with two or three cups of pure water. It is said it would keep active, productive, healthy and revitalise life as it help excrete all the disease and foreign materials from the body. He added, "We don't have to do any other medication, drinking water is natural panacea".
Which means we have alternative to live happily with the nature. We don't have to kill, nor have to struggle to earn. Neither have to suffer eon and eons even after the death if we become vegetarian.
Hurrah! then lets go Vegan! Abolish human tyrant-Be friend with witless animal-Cut the violence-Drop the meat-Eat grains-Food on vegetables-Go vegan-Help the nature-Ink the planet-Just the green-Kind of look it was-Long time back-Much more ago when-No selfish mediocrities activity-People did. Quest on-Relax,calm, peace-Serene, Pristine-Till-Unusual people-Void-World of-Xeric environment and finally say-Yes to-Zero violence and lend hands to save the Earth........Go-Vegan-Go..........