Good News, But When Will They Listen?

29 Apr 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Good News, But When Will They Listen?The breaking news this morning, that half the people diagnosed with cancer will live at least another decade is good news indeed. But we are still missing the point when it comes to cancer.

It is great that treatment therapy for cancer is improving and is welcome news, but surely we should be ploughing money into finding a way to stop cancer forming in the first place, that way the treatments would not be needed.

Hang on a minute, isn’t that why we aren’t doing it? If all the cancers stop, the whole cancer industry stops, hundreds, thousands of people would have to find another way to earn their living. Do you think that might be why?

In fact, we already know how to stop cancer developing, science has isolated, and proven, that the ingestion of animal protein is the cause. The message is slowly getting out there, and whilst I am pleased that cancer sufferers can look forward to extended lives, these ‘good news’ messages only serve to prolong the error of our ways.

Vegan Enlightenment

23 Apr 2014 5 Comments

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , ,

Vegan EnlightenmentMy friend and fellow vegan Juliet defines the vegan practice thus: Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.

Enlightenment is a state in which we are aware of the ultimate truth and meaning of everything. As a Buddhist, I strive for enlightenment and also try to avoid, as far as possible, bringing harm or suffering to any other living creature.

When we are aware that each moment of each day, each gesture and step we take, is truly mystical and full of wonder, we will live our lives with greater thought and care. We will also have greater respect and appreciation for the lives of others.

The two overlap in many ways, and although you don’t have to be Buddhist to be vegan, or vegan to be Buddhist, they fit together like a hand in a glove.

Great News, For Now

31 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , ,

Minke Whales - Safe For NowThe ruling today, from the International Court of Justice, that Japan must cease its whaling in the Antarctic is great news for the whales. The fly in the ointment, isn’t there always one, is that the ban is temporary.

The ban will be seen as a victory for the Sea Shepherd organisation, who have been a constant thorn in the side of the Japanese whaling fleet. Only earlier this month, there was a collision between Sea Shepherd’s Bob Barker and the Yushin Maru No. 3. There were no injuries, but both ships sustained damage.

Though the ruling is cause for celebration, only time will tell whether the Japanese will comply with the decision of the court long term. It is also only a very small step towards the observation of the right of all living things to be allowed to live free and peaceful lives. The wholesale slaughter of cows, pigs, chickens and a multitude of other innocent animals continues unchecked.

The China Study – Proven (Again)

06 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Everything In BalanceI make no apology for reposting this, in the wake of recent revelations… Having already rid my diet of meat and fish many years ago, I have turned from Vegetarian to Vegan in the past few weeks, hence adding dairy and any animal derived products to my list of ‘banned’ substances. However, having put effort into researching the pros of such a diet, I need to investigate the alternate view.

I have found a few interesting counter-arguments on the internet, belittling the research of Dr Graham or citing other research that appears to reverse the findings used in the book. There is one difference between Dr Graham and his detractors however, they all seem to have some agenda or are trying to sell something.

I am trying to keep an open mind, despite reading evidence that overturns almost everything I have ever been taught about diet and nutrition. I would like to be able to present the truth, but it seems that it comes in a number of various hues.

You may have read my posts about the book. If you would like to read the other viewpoints I suggest you Google (other search providers are available) ‘china study myth’ and take your pick of the articles available.

From my own point of view? Well I didn’t start my HCRV diet because of the book, I fell into the book because of the diet. I feel that the example of Freelee and DurianRiders health and fitness lends at least as much evidence to back the diet as does the book.

I guess it’s a bit like not walking under a ladder, just in case you end up with some unfortunate outcome. Maybe it’s far more complicated than I’m describing, but with all the horror stories surrounding the food industry, I’m sticking to fruit and veg for now.

Speciesism?

26 Jan 2014 8 Comments

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

English Lamb, Prior To SlaughterWe’ve all heard of sexism, racism and religious discrimination, but how many of you have ever heard of speciesism? What does it even mean? The spell checker in my blog writer doesn’t know the word, it suggests specialism, which is strangely ironic. Let me explain why I want you to know.

Speciesism is the act of assigning varying rights and considerations to creatures, including ourselves, based on the species to which they belong. It is an old idea, we are told that God put animals on the Earth for the use of man, and god, we have been using, or misusing them ever since.

You will know that apart from being Buddhist, I am also vegan. I refuse to eat any product that is part of, or has come from any other living being. So no meat or fish, no milk, cheese or eggs and nothing that contains any of these either.

A little like being Buddhist in a predominantly Christian country, being vegan is definitely considered to be swimming against the tide. We are all told, right from childhood, that food from animals, lamb, beef, pork, milk, cheese, the list is endless, is good for us. In fact, when I was at junior school, I was the class milk monitor.

Sadly, we weren’t told the whole story, as you may have read in previous posts. What we were never told as children, was how cows become beef, baby sheep become lamb, pigs become pork, or how the chickens who laid our breakfast eggs where kept in disgusting conditions, and still are.

We hear about Animal Rights groups, usually when they have committed some illegal act in their quest to release animals from scientific establishments or disrupting whale or fox hunting. But they are right.

Just because we have learned to use our large brains to develop societies around which we can farm animals, doesn’t make it right. Animals, as members of the family of Earth dwelling beings, have just as much right to be here, and exist in peace, as we do.

Other people can, and have put the case far more eruditely than I possibly can in this post, so please can you take the time to watch the video Earthlings. Be aware, it is not for the faint hearted.  It will shock and quite likely disgust you, but if it makes you think about our fellow creatures and maybe change your lifestyle, even a little, as a result, it will be worth your suffering.

A Balanced View?

02 Dec 2013 2 Comments

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Everything In BalanceThis China Study book is really getting under my skin. Having already rid my diet of meat and fish many years ago, I have turned from Vegetarian to Vegan in the past few weeks, hence adding dairy and any animal derived products to my list of ‘banned’ substances. However, having put effort into researching the pros of such a diet, I need to investigate the alternate view.

I have found a few interesting counter-arguments on the internet, belittling the research of Dr Graham or citing other research that appears to reverse the findings used in the book. There is one difference between Dr Graham and his detractors however, they all seem to have some agenda or are trying to sell something.

I am trying to keep an open mind, despite reading evidence that overturns almost everything I have ever been taught about diet and nutrition. I would like to be able to present the truth, but it seems that it comes in a number of various hues.

You may have read my posts about the book. If you would like to read the other viewpoints I suggest you Google (other search providers are available) ‘china study myth’ and take your pick of the articles available.

From my own point of view? Well I didn’t start my HCRV diet because of the book, I fell into the book because of the diet. I feel that the example of Freelee and DurianRiders health and fitness lends at least as much evidence to back the diet as does the book.

I guess it’s a bit like not walking under a ladder, just in case you end up with some unfortunate outcome. Maybe it’s far more complicated than I’m describing, but with all the horror stories surrounding the food industry, I’m sticking to fruit and veg for now.

A Piggin’ Dilemma

22 Sep 2012 Leave a comment

by Anupadin in Buddhism Tags: , , , , , ,

PiggiesIt’s been a beautiful day, blues skies and bright sunshine, although the breeze had a little autumn nip to it. Because the weather forecast has been warning that it will all change tomorrow, we decided to take a trip out to the Frome Valley farm shop at Frampton Cotterell.

It would be a lie to say that I am a vegetarian, but I don’t eat a lot of meat these days. But as Bumble has been suffering from a lack of iron, we went to the farm shop to buy some ‘happy’ lamb’s liver. I say ‘happy’ because the butchers in the farm shop know exactly where their meat comes from, and more importantly, that is has been reared in an ethical and humane way.

As we arrived, we could see that there were a lot of people feeding scraps to the pigs who live in the enclosure next to the shop. But as we got out of the car, we could smell the unmistakable aroma of frying bacon. There are few things that smell quite as nice as bacon in the pan, but it did seem a bit sad when you could see the parents and siblings, the relatives of the rashers that were sizzling away.

Now I’m not saying that we should stop meat production, or that it is unethical to rear animals for food, but seeing the livestock rooting in the mud, whilst smelling the results of their slaughter being fried so close by, I did wonder whether they associated the smell with their recently missing relative.

Pigs are pretty intelligent animals, by all accounts, and although they clearly happy to wallow and root around in the mud of their nice little field, I really hope they are unaware of their ultimate fate. If not, I doubt that ‘happy’ would be the right word to use.

Next Newer Entries