BUDDHISTS TO BE PROACTIVE
Buddhists should be more proactive in animal welfare work and Campaign for
law reform in this area because Buddhism more than any other religion (except
Jainism) recognizes the right to life of all living beings rather than only
humans. In addition Buddhism extols compassion to all forms of life. ‘Kill and
eat' is not a Buddhist tenet. Compassion is the cornerstone of Buddhism and is
it being compassionate for a Buddhist to overlook killing, cruelty and abuse of
animals that happen in their surroundings? Some talk loud for human rights as
the path of purifying the tarnished image of our country. They should reflect
upon the statement of Mahatma Gandhi that 'The greatness and morality of a
nation must be judged by the way it treats its animals '.
Killing and cruelty towards animals happen without proper restrictions in
ANIMAL WELFARE LAWS
Animal welfare laws need to be enacted for the protection of animals, and
heavy penalties and punishment including long sentences of imprisonment and
confiscation of vehicles used in illegal transport of animals should be imposed
on these killers and abusers. There are many Animal welfare Societies in the
country. These societies can be registered and empowered to collaborate and
liaise with Police in the enforcement of animal protection laws. These societies
should link with the numerous animal welfare societies around the world,
including many in
Government should not encourage the public to engage in vocations involving
the abuse and killing of animals. These vocations constitute wrong livelihoods.
Owing to adverse colonial and other influences, some Buddhists may have adopted
the unbuddhistic practice of consuming animal flesh,
and thereby promoting the killing of animals. It is time that there people are
helped to regain their Buddhist values. Helping can come in different forms,
legal action to ban killing is one.
COMPARED TO OTHER VICES
If we compare the consumption of animal/fish flesh to other vices like
smoking, drug-taking etc (though, of course, flesh-eating is more reprehensible
because there is harm and pain caused to living beings, while this is not so in
drug-taking though there is some harm caused in passive smoking), it gives,
nevertheless, some guidance on the type of action that can be taken to
discourage these practices and helping people to re-gain their Buddhist
values.
INCREASED TAXATION AS AN ALTERNATIVE MEASURE
The method most frequently used by governments to discourage smoking is by
taxation. The progressive increase of taxes on cigarettes has finally put off
many people from smoking - due, simply, to the prohibitive cost. A packet of
cigarettes is now very close to approximating the cost of a meal!
(11) While the killing of animals can be banned earlier, the prohibition of
the killing of fish needs to be delayed more because large numbers of people are
engaged in the industry - and till such time as the government puts in place
alternative industries for people to move to from this despicable practice of
killing other beings to eat. So, meat is probably the place to start
with.
The levying of progressively heavy taxes on meat will make people soon feel
that the cost is too much for this pleasure. Moreover, like in the case of
smoking, the heavy taxes would give a permanent reminder - that it is a VICE, a
reprehensible practice - to every person every time he/she buys meat. Perhaps,
like in smoking, flesh-sellers could also be forced to wrap the product in paper
carrying a prominent message on the evils of killing innocent
beings.
AS CRITIRIA FOR APPROVAL OF DEVELOPMENT PLANS
When there are legal provisions in our country against these cruel and
unwholesome acts of killing and cruelty to animals, these provisions need to be
taken into account in any development planning activities, both government and
private. If the actions involved or the consequences of the Development programme/project can be harmful to the lives of animals,
with legal provision for the protection and welfare of animals, action has to be
taken to protect animal life before the development project is approved and
implemented. In the absence of such a law, at the rate the so-called development
projects under globalization is taking place in our country, there will be no
restrictions at all to the indiscriminate slaughter of animals for flesh or
other purposes, especially by violent people who appear to be growing in numbers
in our country during the past few decades. We cannot have double standards in
this regard, as Buddhists, in a predominantly Buddhist country such as ours.
RESPECTING BUDDHIST PRINCIPLES
Some extreme human actions that relate to the violation of the Five Precepts
in Buddhism are illegal in our country. Killing, Stealing, Sexual misconduct,
lying and verbal abuse, use of injurious drugs to name some basic ones.
Compassion towards all living beings is what Buddhism wants its adherents to
observe. Killing of animals is not acceptable in a country where Buddhist
principles are valued. There needs to be legal provision to save animals from
being slaughtered. It is both meaningful and useful in the Buddhist context.
According to Buddhist teachings on rebirth, you can be born as one of those
animals in your next birth. One of those animals may be your dead mother, father
or a loved one. Animals feel pain and do not wish to be harmed.
Western Christian countries through information, data and knowledge have
influenced people to be vegetarians. Some Sri Lankan Buddhists are increasingly
resorting to the same means to discourage the slaughter of animals and cruelty
towards animals. After all, the very first precept of a Buddhist is to abstain
from killing and this is what is promoted by caring Buddhists.
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND INFORMATION
People need to be educated and their awareness increased on the evils and
unfavorable health implications of eating animal flesh, starting with the flesh
of cows, pigs, goats and chicken which are killed mercilessly to serve the
carnivorous tastes of some misguided Sinhela
Buddhists. Education should start from home, from temples, from schools, ‘daham paasalas’, and special
Animal welfare organizations, through special websites, special public
functions, special sermons by our bhikkhus, special
conferences, special publications, distribution of handbills, special flag days
and so on.
TEACH AND INFORM CHILDREN OF THE FACTS
Reaching out to the children with the message is considered as being of
fundamental importance. They should be told that it is wrong to eat the flesh of
their surrogate mothers who provide them with nutrition by way of wholesome milk
and dairy products that are made out of it, when their biological mothers no
longer are able to feed them.
LAWS BASED ON COMMON MORALITY AND ETHICS
There is whole heap of laws in
He continues that in every country in the world there are laws against drug
peddling, smoking in public places, manufacture of illicit liquor, drunken
driving, speeding, murder, robbery, fraud etc, despite the fact that in every
country those laws have not been able to prevent those offences completely. The
reason why many laws have become “little more than cosmetic reforms” is because
many politicians and other rich and powerful individuals connected to
politicians have a personal interest in breaking them.
REACHING A HIGHER QUALITY OF LIFE
Some shortsighted people suggest that “For laws to encompass the thinking of
the majority, first we have determine what majority really thinks (are they
crazy for meat or not?).”, then you also need to determine what the majority
really thinks about corruption, theft, and other offences before passing such
laws. What these misguided people fail to realize is that Laws which are based
on common morality – which, therefore, produce common good - do not have to be
approved by a majority: they are passed irrespective of whether the majority
likes it or not. Otherwise, as Wimal Ediriweera says, “you are accepting the basest levels of
existence, where everyone would be living like savages. The only way a community
of savages can be raised above that level is by passing laws which are contrary
to their current way of life, and therefore contrary to what the majority
thinks. In most countries, many laws are passed simply because they are moral
and ethical and are aimed at raising the majority to higher states of
civilization, higher quality of life irrespective of whether the majority like
them or not.
IMPACT OF LAWS
Wimal Ediriweera
continues “By passing the law and establishing a better standard of life, the
people would automatically get educated when they see they are much better off
than before. This is why laws against smoking etc have been passed despite the
fact that in most western countries the vast majority have been smokers. Till a
few years ago, in any office smokers were the majority and non-smokers were
exceptions. But today, because of the passage of the anti-smoking laws (in
public places), in western countries like the
“In the (Christian) west itself, where vegetarianism is rapidly increasing,
the eating of meat and fish have substantially declined. In a Buddhist country,
such changes should be given the utmost priority. You do not have to live by
butchering other living beings. If you were a bull, what would your feelings be
as you were being dragged, with legs tied to the place of
slaughter?”
THE KARMIC EFFECT
“Just that you have to start somewhere, and it is easier to start with the
thin edge of the wedge than start with the fat edge. The banning of the killing
of fish is more difficult – as you have stated – because larger numbers of
people are involved in it. The idea, then, is not to accept it, but to develop
the economy and the industries so that those people can find employment in other
industries, which will be safer than risking their lives on the sea.”
“The killing of pests and disease-causing bacteria etc is a different matter.
In Buddhism, the SECOND criterion for correct action (after Rationality, which
is the FIRST) is whether it conforms to the Middle Path. You must not go to one
extreme or the other.” It is the “chethanawa” that
would determine the nature of karmic effect.