Q2-19840927-Larry_Rosenberg-UNK-buddhas_ancient_med_path_a_modern_challenge_part_i-1514 Leandra Teje

Talk: 19840927-Larry_Rosenberg-UNK-buddhas_ancient_med_path_a_modern_challenge_part_i-1514 Leandra Tejedor FEQ&A Start_time: 01:19:09 Display_question: Isn’t eating meat a form of toxicity to the body? Do you think being a vegetarian is a virtuous way to live? Keyword_search: vegetarian/ism, meat eater, Adolf Hitler, psychological, self-righteous, eight-fold-path, Tibet, psychological, animal flesh, toxins, non-attachment, prison, free, Buddhism, Buddha, wisdom Question_content: Questioner: (inaudible) Larry: Vegetarian? In what sense? Questioner: (inaudible) Larry: Yes. Okay. See, I don't want to get caught in… there are theories that go the other way too, and you have to live your life. It gets kind of complicated. For example, I am vegetarian, but I don't think it's a particular virtue, necessarily. You know what I'm saying? In other words, Adolf Hitler was vegetarian, so he and I are in good company. What does it mean? Some of the great Tibetan masters ate meat. They had very little else to eat, and Tibet has their food is not varied. I think that a healthy diet can be a tremendous aid on the path, no question about it. And maybe that means a healthy vegetarian diet. I'm not competent to solve that issue. I have for myself personally, just the way you have. But I don't feel confident in generalizing beyond that, because I know that it's possible…I've seen it…people who eat meat or who eat vegetables, it's only one factor in life. It's an important issue, but it's not the ultimate issue. Do you see what I'm getting at? Questioner: (inaudible) Larry: Oh, yeah. Okay. But you see, if you get attached to vegetarianism, then the poison is back in the fangs for you, on a psychological level, you're gonna... where you'll be walking around, look at that person eating meat. They're so gross, and oh, their bowels are all encoded with feces, that's been there for 20 years. And you'll feel self-righteous. I'm not saying you will, but in other words, you might. If there's a hardening around the vegetarianism, it becomes an ism, a source of separation, and then the poison is back, on another level. That's how I meant it. See, it's on a lot of levels. You're quite right. In one level, it may be that we're putting toxins in our system, when we eat dead animal flesh. Okay, there's a lot of evidence that, that's true. But then if you make it into something, and get attached to it, and then start perceiving people a certain way, then you've created a problem around the vegetarianism, and that can be done around anything. Around shaving your head, or growing a beard, or going to a monastery. Break_line: Any form of righteousness, is a prison. You've now created us and them. Me and them. Do you see how I'm using that? Okay, that's what is meant by non-attachment. Eat the vegetables, by all means, but if you get caught in them, then you're not free. Then you've used vegetarianism to narrow down your life. And that's what most of us do. We pick one or another of things, and then we pitch tents there. We drop anchor, and we become rigid around that. Questioner: (inaudible) Larry: Well, did he? He also said nothing that I say, verbally is, absolutely true. In other words, no verbal teaching…you're right in what you're saying. If he got attached to his eight-fold path that way, it would be a contradiction. But in the higher teachings, you have to let go of Buddhism. There's no eightfold path. Those, in a sense, are markers along the way to get us into the… into it. And at a certain point, definitely the Eight Fold Path, and some people use it that way, can become a trap. You're right. Break_line: Now, I don't feel the Buddha did do that. I mean, there's enough evidence that he didn't. Because see, in the higher realms, there's no thinking. Where is there an eight-fold path? In fact, where is there a Buddhist? Buddhism exists, as long as, thinking exists. If you and I were to meet right now, in terms of our being, I don't know what you are, what I am, the thoughts you have about yourself, your occupation, your religion, your age, et cetera, and I have the same one, different. But if we could meet at the level of being…then there isn't a problem. There's no problem between us. But then all of a sudden, I find out maybe I'm a meat eater. Oh, you're a vegetarian. And then it starts. Break_line: Now, is it possible for you to remain vegetarian, for me to be a meat eater, and for that to not become the grounds upon which we pitch battle? That would be no attachment. Fine. You're living intelligently. You've discovered the wisdom of not eating meat, and of eating vegetables. Full speed ahead. The problem comes in when you then… dip it in bronze, you know, mount it, and then you put it on the mantle place, and it becomes the only way. Good luck, because you're going to meet a lot of people who don't feel the way you do. And then what? Then you have to endlessly struggle with that. As I say, Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian, and many extraordinary yogis ate meat. It's one thing. End_time: 01:24:47