Friday, April 20, 2007
Hayom shemonah asar yom, shehaym sh'nay shavuot v'arbaa yamim baomer
If you're vegetarian, you're in good company. Vegetarian celebrities include Natalie Portman, Alicia Silverstone, Sir Paul McCartney, Pamela Anderson, Prince, Carrie Underwood, Shania Twain, Jonathan Safran Foer, Chelsea Clinton, and Dennis Kucinich. There have been myriad famous vegetarians throughout history, including Pythagoras, Buddha, Mahavira, Plato, Plutarch, Leonardo da Vinci, Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, George Bernard Shaw, and Isaac Bashevis Singer.
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2 comments:
Dear Heeb:
Love your work. Sorry to disappoint you, but Buddha Shakyamuni was not a vegetarian. The original Theravada monks ate whatever was put in their bowls. It was only when the Mahayana sect split off from Theravada that various members chose to take the First Precept more literally.
Interesting that a third of your celebrities happen to be Jewish. Coincidence? I think not. :)
Keep on makin' mitzvahs,
3 bows,
re
f (JewBu x30 yrs)
Thanks for your comment! :)
I've read conflicting things about Buddha and his diet. I certainly admit that you're more knowledgeable about this topic than I am, so I appreciate your insight. I've read some accounts saying that Buddha did not die from eating pig but rather a type of mushroom (and if eating meat did kill him, then this isn't a positive endorsement of eating meat!), but I realize that isn't a definitive answer.
I did a research paper my freshman year of college about ahimsa in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. As much as I'm trying to keep a Jewish focus for this blog, I'm considering doing a post about various Buddhist reasons to go vegetarian. Maybe tomorrow--stay tuned! :-)
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