Community: Forum: Wisdom & Spirituality
Page 3: Wisdom Forum - Community
Share your wisdom related to veg*n spirituality, yoga, meditation, life, etc... or ask a deep question you seek answers to.
READ: HappyCow on spirituality & wisdom.
| Topic | Post Date | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| Bringing forth life I so detest the idea of abortion entering our political and religious culture as a topic that divides our nation and two party system with the potential for life held in the balance. I am beyond exhausted from the diatribes, the demagogues, the hypocrites, and the power manipulators throwing this topic in our face repeatedly. However, the time has come for one particular community to evaluate this topic because they are clear minded due to dietary considerations; free from growth hormones, dead animal Karma, mad cow disease, and animal husbandry antibiotics. A community that revers life so much that it refuses to eat any animal products. A community of people that cultivate morality through ancient practices ushered in by the great world religions, studies in academia, and personal decisions concerning correct life style choice. Of course, I am talking about the vegan community. A government thinks it has the say over an embryo’s potential life because the street the taxi drives on to bring the expectant mother to the hospital, the hospital, the doctor or mid wife’s educational licensing and education etc. are in most cases provided by the government. The baby will then be protected by the government’s army and police, educated in government educational centers for better or worse and will grow to have a tax paying job. Religious institutions think they have a stake in the matter because they do not see the baby as being born only by human endeavor. Sperm and egg only give birth to flesh and not to animation or consciousness, or soul they argue. Religions sees the child as a gift of the divine or a function of Karma and is rooted in transcendental forces of nature far greater than the parents. Religion has also suffered greatly for thousands of years to ensure concepts of love, peace, friendship, and hope will surround the child throughout life. Without the cultural contribution of the world religions, we would all be slaves of feudal war lords in captivity, for human nature and society gleans much of its goodness from long term historic religious contributions to our cultural development. Women think they own the baby because they suffer greatly for approximately nine months carrying the child, giving birth to the child, breast feeding the child and growing the child into an adult. Atheist vegan feminists would incorrectly tell us that men are but a tool or at best a servant to these ends and for this among other reasons they should be opted out of the discussion. Certainly, a mother’s contribution to life is great, but carrying and birthing a child does not grant total control and ownership over the baby. A father also contributes with his seed, his work, his money, his presence, and his love when he is indeed present to offer such illustrious gifts. A father offers discipline, morality, and guidance and is a contributor to the life of the child from inception until the child’s old age and death. Just as we have a separation of Church and state in the USA, we also have a separation of bank and state if one looks closely at the Federal Reserve Board and the private banking structure. Who else carries the note on the house, forwards the money on a credit card to the obstetrician and offers an ATM machine to buy groceries throughout the child’s life? Then of course there is the argument concerning the right of commons. Just because a judge decides that a hill of trees can be staked and divided into parcels for sale, does the judge truly bear this right? One might argue that America took the land from the Native People and by right of force can arrest, torture or bomb anyone who questions the judge’s authority. Does this force to coercion truly grant the judge the right to do this? Does the baby have rights as the ultimate arbitrator of its own life or should it be seen as unable to decide until 18 years of age and is that age certain? Likewise, do parents, governments, Churches, and banks have the right to divide the child into divisible percentages and choose if abortion should be offered or not? Then there is the sadness of a woman having to decide on her own. With all these contending interests, why should she be so alienated in her decision making? It is even worse when abortion is illegal and back alley way botched coat hanger procedures are done in the dark of the night without an antiseptic environment, without love and support, and without social consent. This is a spiritual topic not simply a political nor religious topic. What is the vegan view? Post Date: 01/14/17, Replies: 2 | ||
| More Trees Less Bush More Trees Less Bush I'm hearing this a lot. Post Date: 06/19/08, Replies: 1 | ||
| I am looking for like minded people I thought this is a good place to post-Wisdom and Spiritual. I am looking for veg people to live at my place permanently and be part of Country Gospel music programs here at my place in my building. My place is near Urbana, Mo. in a rural area on 20 acres. Veg people would not be hunting and doing other bad things. Veg people are usually more intelligent. They would not have to buy their own place. They can live here and I hope a child would grow up here and consider this place to be their home. I do not charge rent but people would have to pay for their needs and utilities that they use. If you are interested or if you know of a good person/s who would, please email me or message and put Country Gospel in the subject line so I will see that it is not trash. Thanks Post Date: 10/31/09, Replies: 1 | ||
| UK new veggies Hi, I'm looking to find a group of people of like-minded people who are interested in new and old age spirituality and who also happen to be vegetarian. We are not in your face about being veggie, we're just tired of being the only ones who think misusing power over animals is wrong, and far from spiritual enlightenment. This is a group for people interested in the new age, shamanism, 2012, reiki, paganism, angels etc. etc. who want to live thier beliefs and who also know that animals are our equals (and often our betters). Any one else think like this? To join email: [email protected] Post Date: 10/21/12, Replies: 1 | ||
| Christian Communism supports vegan diet! Checkout this Christian Communism blog, at william-christiancommunism.blogspot. It says: "Once perfect Christian character under God's law and Christ's teachings is achieved, man will be in the position to mercifully control the increasingly dangerous technologies, such as nanotechnology, artificial intelligence/robotics, and genetic engineering, as we advance towards the scientifically prophesied technological singularity, and be in the position to live out the greatly increased life spans these technologies will make possible as death and suffering finally become a thing of the past as prophesied in Revelation 21:3-4. Perfect Christian character will also provide the strength and motivation needed to practice calorie restricted diets, intermittent fasting, and veganism which will always play a necessary part of any technologically engineered lifespan." Post Date: 04/20/11, Replies: 1 | ||
| Please do not waste food!! Please do not waste food!! Veda says that even a single particle of the food should not be wasted Donation is very dangerous like double edged knife. Donating to undeserving persons is very big sin and not mere wastage. Today, if you see the feast of a marriage function, you will find most of the plates after feast are full of food items leftover. When you throw this food, it becomes a source for bacteria and virus, which may harm even good people in the society. Thus, the people, who have thrown the food, become sinners. The owner of feast, who gave this expensive food to them is also another sinner and will be punished by the divine law. Both doer and promoter are equally punished (Kartha karaiyitaa chaiva...). Finally the married couple is also affected. Veda says that even a single particle of the food should not be wasted (Annamna parichak[censored]a...). Once, in a function, the people were wasting food and the beggars on the other side were searching for the food in the leaves thrown away after the feast. One devotee asked Bhagavan Shri Satya Sai Baba like this, “O Swami! What is this! In your creation I find people throwing food on one side and people searching for the thrown food on the other side”. Bhagavan Baba replied “Those beggars were also rich in the previous birth and threw the food like these rich people. They are now born as beggars and are searching for the food thrown by them in the past”. Therefore, the minimum eligibility of the receiver of food is: not to throw even an iota of food. At the Lotus Feet of His Holiness Sri Dattaswami Anil Antony www.universal-spirituality.org Universal Spirituality for World Peace Post Date: 10/28/13, Replies: 1 | ||
| World Meditation Greetings Fellow Meditators, World Wide Group Meditation for World Vegan and World Peace has started. Watch this video for more details.. www.suprememastertv.com/worldvegan/ World Group Meditation Hours: 05:00 - 06:00 10:00 - 11:00 13:00 - 14:00 21:00 - 22:00 Time Zone : Central European Time Paris 11:00 - 12:00 16:00 - 17:00 19:00 - 20:00 03:00 - 04:00 Time Zone :GMT +8:00 Time Zone for Singapore/Beijing/Malaysia/Taipei Post Date: 08/21/14, Replies: 1 | ||
| Need Veg*n people to live here Veg*n people needed in Missouri. I am starting Country Gospel Music/Bluegrass Gospel music programs at my place and I am looking for like minded, sincere, honest people to live here and be part of this whole place and the future. I hope to set up a non-profit. The people who will be living here will not pay RENT but will TRADE their services in exchange for living here. They will care for the place completely. I am 59, Christian, Spiritual, Blue/green eyes and Blonde Lady. Please call me at 417-399-1032 only if you want to live here permanently and care for the place and play the music and have a permanent home for you or your family and grandchildren and great grandchildren and so on into the future. You can use the 20 acres for certain things, like if you have a business you can build an office or shop, if that is how you support yourself. You can grow food here, if you want. You can have your pets here but no profit animals. I am vegetarian but I am not vegan. You can be vegan here if you want. Responsiblities and duties required. You don't pay rent, because this is not a rent situation but I don't support you. You have to support yourself. There will be some money in the future that you can have but not at first. You have to help develop this situation here. If you don't know how to play a guitar, banjo or fiddle you can learn if you are willing and learn to sing the songs. If you can't already. If you are interested in generating electricity I would like that. I like to be around people who want things to be better and are ambious. Post Date: 05/26/13, Replies: 1 | ||
| Vegan Love Love is how we transmit our highest consciousness. Through love we can change the world. Love is the best way to reach people's hearts and minds. These truisms seem to effect everyone differently but they do effect everyone. Perhaps love is the key to opening other people's minds to a vegan lifestyle. When a couple truly experiences love in their relationship, their love has no bounds. Can that love be the key to discovering a 'universal love' which extends to animals and all life? Is there a 'spiritual love' that reaches beyond the ego and guides us to a vegan lifestyle? Should we be loving when we explain the vegan way of being to others and use calming voices with positive words of encouragement? Does vegan and love have anything in common? Did you or anyone you know become vegan through love? Post Date: 03/28/16, Replies: 1 | ||
| Its funny Hey all, I'm new here and wanted to raise a few points to see what other "Vegans" think. Good or bad, please chim in! I will give my background regarding deiteray habits in the relevant subform if that interests anyone also (never ate a steak in my life, etc.) - being Vegan does NOT constitute a 'movement', as much as some may think. - There are many flaws in this; namely that it creates a cult-esque atmosphere (T.F.F. which became, "do not come unless you eat bananas and bike all day) when sub-fractions dissipate from being Vegan in the sense of abstaining from meat and diary products and animal by-products and their focus becomes on what fits with their "clique" (for the record,,, never followed rawtill4,30bad). - The other issue that is related to this is the fact that all too many Vegans are all too willing to drive cars and procreate, which, btw, just having ONE kid will increase your carbon footprint by 1000X as much as I could drive an SUV gas guzzler around all day AND smoke, etc. - And that is just ONE kid. Over population, IS a problem. And I would encourage anyone who thinks about procreating to really take time to take a set back and really look at the situation. - There are numerous 'kids' out there that would love you have a loving family like you could/can provide... Just look at it. Look. Post Date: 06/01/16, Replies: 1 | ||
| Extra Terrestrials, UFOs, Time Travel, and Did Extra Terrestrials genetically alter life on this planet? Did Extra Terrestrials Terra form our planet? Did Extra Terrestrials create modern man, Homo Sapiens? Did Extra Terrestrials create our religions by posing or being viewed as Gods? Why do most people involved in Alien Abductions return with messages concerning world ecological ruination, the need for world peace and the need for a world transformation to a vegan diet? Are Extra Terrestrials Space travelers or Time travelers or both? Have you seen a UFO? Do Extra Terrestrials live among us? Post Date: 01/16/17, Replies: 1 | ||
| Vegan Flower Power Strong, beautiful, fragile, proportionate, symmetrical, sweet, fragrant, attractive, healing, liberating, intoxicating, and moving are only a few of the ways flowers affect us all. In ancient Woolly Tooth Mammoth days, cave dwellers buried their dead in the embryo position facing East in a grave filled with wild flowers. Flowers are given to loved ones to enhance the heart, they summon the bees and are given to the seriously ill. In the 1960’s with the Hippy movement, the most popular poster in every flat was of a woman putting a flower in the barrel of a national guard’s rifle barrel with the caption “Flower Power” written underneath. This juxtaposition of a gentle flower somehow replacing military arms is not new, for over three thousand years Kammadeva, a Hindu god who also bears the name Mara, shoots arrows that upon release become flowers as experienced by the Buddha. Buddhist culture then brings the notion to the forefront in the most beautiful literature ever written called the Avatamsaka Sutra, translated by Thomas Cleary as “The Flower Ornament Scripture,” but by other translators as the “Flower Adornment Sutra.” The sacred lotus is a multi-volume flower story of its own. The ancient Egyptians revered this plant as well as its cousin the blue lotus which is actually a blue water lily. Hindu, Buddhist, and Jains have made the lotus their religious symbol for millennium. The lotus is used in food production and medicine with virtually every part used and thus collected in differing seasons for potency. The rose is sacred to Christians, Hindus and others, the cannabis flower is sacred to Californians and Coloradans, and the aster flower which is the proper name for daisy is named after the same Latin word for star. One receives a flower ley when arriving to Hawaii or any South Pacific Island. In India, the Guru wears a flower garland called a Var Mala and these same types of garlands are then exchanged by the bride and groom in the Hindu wedding ceremony. Sacred statues all over the world are strewn with flower petals as is the pathway of brides and royalty. Flowers are also in some cases edible and in other cases tea worthy. Flowers feed us, heal us, perfume us, anoint us, moisturize us, adorn us and surround us if we are blessed. Flowers are non-denominational, non-discriminating and utterly vegan. Which flower do you think should symbolize the Vegan Movement? Post Date: 02/08/17, Replies: 1 | ||
| History of Hinduism Hinduism, with about one billion followers is the world's third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam. However, it is not a religion of the same kind as the other two main religions. Hinduism is a very old religion from India that is still practiced today. It was one of the first religions that had the idea of reincarnation (that people can be born again after death), karma (one event invents another, or that every action has its consequences), and other ideas. Hinduism is not simple. Hinduism has been described as a tradition having a "complex, organic, multileveled and sometimes internally inconsistent nature". Hinduism does not have a "unified system of belief encoded in a declaration of faith or a creed", but is rather an umbrella term comprising the plurality of religious phenomena of India. Post Date: 02/13/17, Replies: 1 | ||
| Family Who is not a member of your family? The Lakota say ‘Aho Mitakuye Oyasin’ which means I honor the circle of all my relations. This includes the sky and Earth, the birds, the four legged animals, the fish, the reptiles, and all the two legged animals as well. It is about finding connection with the living and realizing that this complex life system is a family of interrelations without which we could not survive. We need the bird to eat the seed and fly a hundred miles to release it. We need the rain and Earth to nurture the seed, we need the growing tree to breathe and to house the animals each of which serves a vital life function like the bird. We all need each other to live. Like the Lakota people of North America, Kung Fo Tzu is a famous Chinese philosopher saw all of life as a large family. He knew that women were the source of life, but in his view the family needed structure to successfully serve the needs of the life-giving mother. The son had to obey the father to ensure the family business was not undermined, the money from which the wife would create a home and more children. The man had to feel he was in charge to sustain his fertility, and so a role of patriarch was created to stabilize the male in participation within the familial relations that the woman created. This helped to provide protection for the family and income. Many of the things Kung Fo Tzu has written have been wrongly criticized by those who do not understand the true message and historic context of his philosophical treatises. He was alive from 551bc-479bc. He too saw all of life and all of humanity as a singular family through which one’s destiny, role and purpose was founded. Buddhism redefines family with the six realms. We are not just family members with life, connected to our fellow humans, the plants, and the animals, but with the departed as well. Our relations extend into the heavens and hells, the hungry ghosts, the gods and the goddesses, the Bodhisattvas and the Buddhas. We are part of a larger sphere of inter-dependency that co-creates life. Indeed this cosmic family does not just exist for one life, but reincarnates in a multitude of possibilities that consistently reflects our Karma perfectly life after life. We are so very interdependent that should even one person fall and goes to hell it is a failure we all suffer together. Likewise, every time a Buddha is initiated and comes to fruition, all share the blessings in this life and every life to come. What does veganism do to the cosmic family of the heart? Vegans protect the animals with their diet. Vegans know that animals are part of this sacred family that weaves life. Vegans grow with a more purified Karma because they eat what is appropriate for humans and do not steal flesh or reproductive fluids from other species to consume. Vegans can interact more successfully with all six realms of life; the Gods and goddesses, the humans, the animals, the hungry ghosts, those that inflict punishment in hell, and the victims in hell who are brought to this most lowly position due to their own choices and behavior. Vegans serve as a shining light to all. Yet for a vegan to be an effective family member, a spiritual practice needs to be in place and actively exercised in one’s vegan dedicated life to develop skills for correct participation in the family of creation. Vegans must purify in mind and heart, not just body, to be the shining example for the six realms and the entire family of creation. Going vegan is the most important contribution one can make to the evolution of this circle of life. By renouncing all but plants and minerals as a method of diet, medicine, housing, transportation and clothing, our entire family group Karma purifies and we can all then reach higher ground together. Post Date: 02/25/17, Replies: 1 | ||
| Health and Inner well being I wish the world would come to understand the beauty that comes with being a vegetarian, it means you think about others besides yourself, its a beuatiful thing. I feel better, think better and just am better being kind to my body and my fellow creatures makes me feel closer to this earth Post Date: 08/14/09, Replies: 0 | ||
| Jesus & Vegetarianism www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5gPcaRMaf0 Watch the other related clips too. Post Date: 12/29/11, Replies: 0 | ||
| Doggiesattva For all you dog-lovers, animal welfare advocates, and spiritual folks out there... Check out The Doggiesattva :) www.worldlywags.com/search/label/Doggiesattva Post Date: 10/28/13, Replies: 0 | ||
| New yoga teacher in Lisbon- please join! I am now based in Lisbon and starting to teach Hatha Yoga (from Isha Yoga School, in India) If you are interested to join the classes, please find me on facebook "Classic Yoga for Life" and follow the events coming up! Namaste, Caroline Post Date: 10/29/14, Replies: 0 | ||
| Self Fulfillment Through Nature Anyone living near Dartmouth Massachusetts and Interested in becoming involved with organic gardening & sustainable living practices based on vegan principles ??? Welcoming those interested in forming a way of sustainable independent living by respecting and harmonizing with nature. I am located in dartmouth Ma, and am going to transform a two acre property with several greenhouses into a veganic permaculture model. I pretty much have every thing I need to do this and would like to get others involved with it at no expense to them. The gardens and their enjoyment with all the produce from them will be for the use of those involved with the hope for others to follow. Whether you do not have the space to do this yourself and would like to get involved for the use of it or if you would like to get involved and follow the model on your own space with the help of others, what ever good reason you may think of come get involved. There will be many different areas on the land for summer gardening and lots of space in the greenhouses for winter gardening. Be a part of achieving self fulfillment thru nature! Post Date: 08/20/15, Replies: 0 | ||
| Jain Vegan The Jain way of life is the one of the oldest continuously practiced method for spiritual purification on Earth. Many scholars claim it is the oldest that can be proven as such, dating more than 6000 years. The Jains go so far back in the history of India that they have in their cultural memoirs alternative accounts of Hindu Avatars such as Shiva because they claim to have been an organized religion at that time and recorded their encounters. The Buddha studied under the Jains during his years of ascetic practice. The Jains have many interesting insights from their holy books, the messages of their spiritual leaders the Tirthankaras, and vast numbers of insights from their monastic and lay communities. One such insight concerns the topic of sentience. The Jains believe in an absolute adherence to Ahimsa or harmlessness and indeed are the contributing culture from where this concept was born. Indeed, so as not to harm a tree for paper, their Agamas, or scriptures, are written on tree bark that must first fall naturally from a tree without being removed from the tree by hand. When I was at a Jain Temple, I asked about this practice and a very wise holy person explained to me the following account. He told me that various creatures on Earth have differing sense organs. Certain birds can see infer red frequencies, others like dolphins and bats have sonar. Some creatures have five senses, some more and some less. According to Jain tradition trees have only one sense, and that one sense is touch. Trees feel the touch of sunshine, rain, the birds and the wind. Because of this belief, Jains do not touch trees. Because the tree cannot see whom is touching it, trees in general feel fear when they are touched. Unless one is willing to spend their entire life caring for a tree, watering it and showing it love while building a trusting relationship with that tree, it is better not to touch. The Jain community avidly practices vegetarianism. They also honor the vegan life pathway. To the Jains these are honorable methods of purification which are keys, along with their Dharma to obtain Moksha or liberation and enlightenment. Post Date: 01/11/16, Replies: 0 | ||
| Vegan Goddess A wise woman once told me the folowing after hearing atheist men speak on the radio: "Silly boys, it is easy to explain away God, but I would really like to see them just try to explain away the Goddess." She was right. Almost every living being is born from a womb. She has given us all bodies, fed us, clothed us, cared for us and given us life. The great Goddess has billions of names spanning every culture. She is known as Aphrodite, Mother Mary, Medusa, Tara, Quan Yin, Parvati, White Buffalo Woman and so many other names. The Navajo refer to her as Changing Woman. She is the Earth, the Moon, the ocean and the fertile valley. Stone age people would encamp only in front of natural occurring stone or tree Yonis. She is the great protectoress, and she is Lalita the little beautiful girl singing in the fields La Li La La La. If anyone could appreciate the vegan movement, sparing the animals and bringing good health back to the humans, it is the great Goddess. However there has never really been a Vegan Goddess. America has Colombia, an ancient Babylonian goddess on its money, state seals and dressed as lady liberty in New York Harbor. However America is only 3% vegetarian. America also over consumes and has international and national problems that leave one wondering if the Goddess is respected here at all. India with all of its overpopulation hosts a huge vegetarian base of 40-60% of its population. This is where she must dwell. The Buddhist goddess Quan Yin is also vegetarian but she only holds sway in Taiwan. In the Hindu pantheon of goddesses, and yes there are many, almost every god is accompanied by a goddess consort. The queen of the goddesses, the one who is the most peaceful and who is the great mother of all the other goddesses is Lakshmi. Lakshmi is also the protectoress of Buddhist monasteries. She is the goddess of form and emptiness. She is the goddess of wealth. She brings moisture to the earth and fertility to the crops. Her consort is Vishnu and since he is often busy, she is always available to all. However, India is a lactarian culture. Therefore I vote for the widespread support of: "Vegan Lakshmi" whose name can also be spelled as "Vegan Laxmi." What do you think? Should Vegan Lakshmi be the green goddess of the vegan movement, representing the great mother who feeds her children correctly? Through Vegan Lakshmi realization all things are living, even the empty void is living, always serving her cosmic dance of recreation. She is the goddess of wealth which will change our economy to serve vegan interests. She brings rain on our crops and fertilizes the field with the help of her cows. She is beautiful and seen in every other goddess for she is their source. Ladies, this is your forum...speak up please. Post Date: 01/13/16, Replies: 0 | ||
| Spiritual vegan friends Birmingham? Hello! I have no spiritual/mystical minded vegan friends at all and it would be great to link up on occasion. I live near Birmingham. Post Date: 07/01/16, Replies: 0 | ||
| Vegetarians - Why our Morals Matter A new video on You Tube called "Morals Matter" will tell you another reason why it is morally and spiritually important to be a Vegetarian. Please watch it. Post Date: 12/23/16, Replies: 0 | ||
| Ahimsa Ahimsa originally is a Jain term that describes a life dedicated to causing no harm. The Jain wear small face coverings to ensure microorganisms are not killed by breathing, walk barefoot to ensure no bug is killed while walking and in some communities, the men wear no clothes to reduce consumerism and outward vanity. The Jain holy books, the Agamas, are written on paper derived from tree bark where the bark fell naturally and was not removed from any living tree to not cause harm to trees. Many Jain practitioners are changing their traditional diet to a vegan diet and this is visible at many Jain restaurants and temples where vegan food is offered. Ahimsa has become a mainstream thought in the Hindu community also. Many Vaishnava texts and temples refer to this term readily, and it is also addressed frequently by Vedanta, Shakti, and other Hindu communities. It is how Hinduism becomes vegetarian. Frequently Hindus point to Krishna’s request that he is offered water, a leaf, a flower, or fruit in his worship rather than animal sacrificing or lactarian offerings. This is a very important civilizing passage in the ninth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, introducing vegan tools of worship as superior to lactarian or carnivorous offerings of past historic epochs. They need to change their Abhishek practice of pouring milk on temple deities realizing what Krishna stated. Hinduism is only now addressing vegan lifestyles and some temples have vegan practitioners and many Hindu vegetarian restaurants offer vegan options. Ahimsa is also a term used by the Buddhist community. It becomes known in the Angulimala Sutta where the Buddha explains that his life has been dedicated to harmlessness. It is then codified in the first precept where the edict reads “No Killing” which is practiced as a vow to live a vegetarian life in many Mahayana communities. Many Buddhist enclaves misinterpret Buddha’s words to justify their wrong dietary practices. The Buddha was India’s greatest holy man and no one would ever consider putting meat nor dairy products in his begging bowl, such actions would be perverse and wrongful. Change is slow in these largely lactarian cultures that make a distinction for eating garlic and onions but do not yet fully honor the vegan way of being. It is strange since a vegan lifestyle is obviously purer by all Ahimsa standards. This is because Milk, like turmeric, has been considered the presence of god/goddess himself or herself and thus there are many cultural blocks to vegan reification. Therefore, each community must look more closely at their own scriptures to find that vegan lifestyles are truer to their own Dharma. The cultural practices, the religious practices, and the dietary practices of each of these noble communities must adapt and adopt vegan values now that dietary supplements for vitamins B and D3 exist. The first step to spiritual and religious realization is a vegan lifestyle. Veganism without any moral philosophy or devotional practice is cosmetic and riddled with egoistic problems. The only way vegans will progress into a genuine interconnection with all life in a meaningful way is to enter the symbolic language of devotion, meditation and scripture which reveals the true consciousness and unity with humanity, life, and the multiverse. The only way the Jain, Hindu and Buddhist communities will also participate in this same genuine interconnection is by going vegan. Of course, these religious communities and most vegans, have histories of carnivorous practices that are easily abandoned, so likewise the lactarian transitional lifestyle also must be abandoned. Post Date: 01/19/17, Replies: 0 | ||
| Hindu Cow Power Animals in the dairy industry are treated horribly. From blind overweight chickens with sawed off beaks growing their claws into caging, unable to support their own weight due to growth hormones, to cows fed live ground rooster chicks, injected with antibiotics, growth hormones and steer sperm, with mammary glands dragging on the floor, milk machines attached almost permanently and with hoofs nailed to the floor at the feeding trough; they are treated worse than slaves or prisoners. And all of this is suffered on their way to inhuman torture and execution. In India the cow is worshiped as a great mother Goddess. In India, over 65% of the people are vegetarian. This is the highest national per capita rate of vegetarianism found anywhere on our planet. However, they do not boast a high vegan rate yet. Vegans can work with their culture and adapt the spiritual practices that draws such a large population to vegetarianism by adapting vegan interpretations to their culture. I did not accept a Hindu incarnation in this life and I practice a non-traditional form of Hindu Jain Buddhism. As a vegan, I must amend my practice to edify the vegan aspects of Dharma. If Krishna, Rama, Shiva, or any Deva were incarnate now, they would undoubtedly support a vegan lifestyle. These Devas were alive in other Yugas. A Yuga is a division of time in the Hindu cosmology much greater than a century, like an age. Consciousness evolves or devolves as each Yuga occurs in accordance with the proscriptions of that Yuga. When Krishna was alive, there were no dietary supplements for vitamins D3 and B complex. India also has a problem with vitamin A content in foods. Milk was consumed for D3 and eggs were consumed for B and medical herbs for A. Milk, eggs and herbs made a vegetarian lifestyle possible in Krishna's Yuga of Dvapara. In that Yuga, cows were the friends of Krishna, the herdsmen and the Gopis or cow girls. Now we are in Kali Yuga. We have vitamin supplements and I use vegan sources for vitamin B, D3 and A. Kali Yuga is considered the most desecrate and fallen of the Yugas where creation is the furthest from the source of creation and the teachings or the Dharma is neglected. In Kali Yuga, the sacred cows of India eat cardboard from trash bins and in the West, they are treated worse than one can imagine. In this Yuga, now, we must eat vegan if we are to honor the sacred cow, the sacred Earth, and the sacred principal of Devi. Many Hindu ceremonies celebrate other Yuga practices. We must change this. I was talking with a senior Vaishnava last week who agreed that we can use water, Mantra, or turmeric water for Abhishek instead of milk. He knew why. Abhishek is the ceremonial rite of pouring a liquid on Hindu statues. A Telugu friend reminds me that “In India, there is a vitamin deficiency in most villages where milk and egg are the only source of protein for many kids. Sure, upper class it's easy to adapt a vegan lifestyle. For the people who are not financially wealth, there is no other option for them. I hope things will change with time.” But the upper class frequently does not go vegan and yet, in the urban centers there are vegan resource centers, vegan restaurants and web sites that educate people on a vegan lifestyle. Sometimes people practice ancient ways that were wrong in ancient times and are still wrong now. We need to create a new form of vegan Hinduism to address the age we are living in of Kali Yuga. I do this, anyone can. I simply look past all references to consuming dairy products understanding that we live in a different age and have different practices now. It has brought me closer to Vegan Krishna, Vegan Rama, Vegan Vishnu, Vegan Shiva and Vegan Brahma and it can work for all Hindus. Post Date: 01/14/17, Replies: 0 | ||
| True Feminism She was born inside a distant cage in a free speech zone at another political event. Crammed in with a rock band, protest signs, protesters, and megaphones, no one saw her nor how she arrived. There was a small crack in the ground that was intermittently covered by dancing and rushing souls and heels. When the convention was over, there she grew in germination. Later there would be sacred life, the smallest and most fragile blossoms of the tiniest sprig of chamomile, the herbal medicine that helps digest such political repression. She is an activist with an unending voice always standing for her rights. She does not need to change the world, she is the world. She does not need to rule the Earth, she is the Earth. In one instant she is a vegan feminist atheist who will let no patriarchal God come between her and the uncountable number of children she has birthed in the tide of their own Karmic dilemmas. In another instant, she is an orthodox theist because she creates the interdependent union of all things as she sits gloriously upon her throne of stars and space. She does not seek parity with men, for to do so would mean to give up too much of her power. In another instant, she is a simple little girl singing as she skips slowly, almost dancing through a blossoming field with a wooden stick in her hand and flowers in her hair. She has healed us with her herbs, she has fought us with her wars, she has fed and clothed us, given us music and dance, she gives us light and dark and then tells us that a man did it all. She occupies distant planets, she is a deer sipping gently at a waterfall basin, she opens our hearts with another of her beautiful sunsets and yet somehow, she is busy and unreachable. She is illusion and yet she somehow is trapped partially in her own game. She is here to learn manners, kindness and to let her gentleness topple the greatest of bastion walls. She must lose her vanity because not all her makeup is vegan and some is still animal tested. She is the mountain we must climb, and when we have accomplished this task, she laughs and shows us a thousand more mountains that we must continue towards to help figure out her complexity. Despite all this, she wants more money. She feels she has earned it. She feels ignored. She wants to power share. Has she truly felt unworthiness yet in her cheap discount department store attire? She wants to rise to political power and when she finally gets it, she only finds her children and husband ignored. There is no one to make our peanut butter sandwiches, she has appointments. When she is with her lady friends, they all talk at once in high shrills at a fast pace that no man can decipher. When she is with men it is for gain. When she is with family she is a tyrant. When she is alone, she lets life continue without her even though it is her and she thinks constantly of us all. She needs discipline but she has mocked the Buddha, a role for men only, so her quest is never fulfilled. She thinks she knows everything so her family conspires behind her back. She will not rest until she is completely in charge and this is what everyone is afraid of, except the most faithful of her devotees. It makes her untrustworthy, this power grab she created, we just want her to be more peaceful and loving and polite as she erupts into another volcano. Post Date: 01/16/17, Replies: 0 | ||
| The Four Noble Truths Buddha’s central teaching is The Four Noble Truths and, according to the Buddha, it is the source and foundation for all Buddhist wisdom. The Four Noble Truths are very simple to state, but need much explanation and experience applied in real life situations to find their deep profundity. The Four Noble Truths are as follows: Suffering The Cause of Suffering The End of Suffering The Path Leading to the End of Suffering There is one big question that needs to be asked which is like a big elephant in the room, the one no one notices and everyone tries to ignore. How does this relate to the vegan lifestyle? In truth, only a vegan can teach these truths. Why? Imagine Jeffery Dahmer or Adolf Hitler teaching us how life is only suffering as they stand in front of their victims. The same is true for meat eaters and lactarians who try to teach this topic with bellies full of animal parts and animal secretions. The one writing this will have been a vegan for 17 years and vegetarian for 19 years next March. Let us start with the first precept, Suffering. All sentient beings are suffering. Children suffer as they grow, both physical growth pain as well as emotional and psychological pain of maturation. Every human that lives a long life will one day suffer sickness, old age, and death. We suffer by being separated from the ones we love and by being with the ones with whom we would prefer not to share time. We suffer from loss, uncertainty, stress, excess, anger, greed, ignorance, jealousy, fear, and many other sources. If we look at planet Earth as a singular location of this suffering and we see this entire mass of suffering from the beginning of life on Earth until now, what do you think might be the greatest source of suffering upon Earth? Some may say the Jewish Holocaust, some might say Joe Stalin or Mao Tse Tung were the greatest infliction of suffering, another might say poverty or alcohol. The truth is that the greatest source of suffering in the world today and which has always been the greatest source of suffering upon our planet is animal slaughter. Around 9 billion animals are killed in the U.S. alone each year, and about 70 billion worldwide each year. This means about 200 million animals are tortured and killed every day for food. These stats do not include hunting nor fishing, only factory farming. If we include hunting and fishing, private farming, animal experimentation, etc. the number could stand as high as 2 or 3 billion each day. THAT IS EACH DAY! All the war dead combined from every war ever fought does not exceed this amount of animal slaughter every day. Every Day! The Cause of Suffering Not practicing a vegan lifestyle is the central cause of suffering. It affects our planet’s gross aggregate of suffering as well as the greatest part of each individual’s suffering from Karma, health and consciousness. The End of Suffering Going vegan may not end all suffering, but it is the most important first step. If we all went vegan, not only would the atrocity of global animal slaughter and torture end, but we would stop burning down rain forests, stop wars in general, share resources better and have plenty of water to drink. If you want to end suffering, go vegan. Then we can talk about ending other aspects of suffering next. The Path that Leads to the End of Suffering We can only walk this path as vegans. How can one meditate correctly with angry animal spirits emanating from one’s intestines? How can one support correct view with animal blood dripping from one's mouth at dinner? The Path that Leads to the End of Suffering is a vegan path. Vegan corrected speech, thought, meditation, action, livelihood, zeal and mindfulness guide us and keep us on the correct vegan path. One must have a vegan mind and vegan consciousness to comprehend the Vegan Path that Leads to the End of Suffering. Post Date: 01/21/17, Replies: 0 |
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