Why be a Vegetarian?

08-31-2003, 01:32 AM

SOURCE.. http://veggietable.allinfo-about.com...getarians.html
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Hinduism teaches that vegetarianism is on the path to holiness, for all of the
reasons in my Why be a vegetarianism article as well as others. In keeping with
the law of non-injury, Hindus cannot kill animals. Eating animals and thus
participating in the cycle of inflicting injury and killing is also considered
bad karma and will leave one open to experience that same suffering in the
future. Hindus believe that in order to live in higher consciousness, in peace
and happiness and love for all creatures, one cannot eat any animals. In
particular, Hindus will never eat beef, because the cow is sacred; indeed, the
Hindi word for cow is aghnaya, which means "not to be killed."
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Jainism requires vegetarianism due to the principle of non-violence. In fact,
this principle is so strict that Jainists will not even swat flies or
mosquitoes
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.Buddhism encourages vegetarianism in keeping with the ideals of love,
compassion, and non-violence. The first rule of Buddhism is do not kill, which
includes both people and animals
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Seventh-Day Adventists are "encouraged" to be vegetarian.
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Jews believe that before the coming of the Messiah, man must demonstrate the
utmost regard for all animals - as first seen in Eden. Therefore, vegetarianism
is a Judaic ideal, and keeping kosher is a compromise between this ideal and the
reality of life on Earth. The rules for keeping kosher are very complex; I have
tried to summarize them here without losing site of the main point. The
following are forbidden: animals and products from animals which do not both
chew their cud and have a split hoof (including pigs, rabbits, hares, horses,
dogs, and cats), any fish and seafood which do not have detachable scales and
fins (including shellfish and crustaceans), and the cooking or serving of meat
or poultry together with milk products. This latter is considered equivalent to
cooking/eating an animal in its mother's milk.
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.. Yoga practitioners tend to be vegetarian for two reasons: the observance of
ahisma (non-harm or non-violence) and the belief that a vegetarian diet is
healthier