QUERY> Meat Eating in Monastic Contexts
Dear Colleagues,
I am looking for studies, of any type, that discuss the eating of meat by monastics in the context of sickness. I am aware of the well-known exception that allows monastics to eat meat as long as the animal was not killed expressly for donation. I would be happy to learn of studies that examine this in detail, but I am particularly interested in exceptions dealing directly with sickness. I am drafting an article that examines ethical food choices in relation to medical disabilities.
Additionally, I am looking for studies of meditation practices that involve animals, particularly meditation on dead animal bodies. Such meditation is mentioned, for instance, in the Visuddhimagga, but not elaborated upon there. Buddhaghosa even gives a specific example—Cūḷa Piṇḍapātika Tissa, who meditated on the corpse of an elephant floating in the Kāḷadīghavāpi reservoir—but I have been unable thus far to find the full story. If you know of any source for it, please let me know.
Thanks in advance. If I receive responses off-list, I will compile them and post them in aggregate.
Best wishes,
Justin Fifield
Visiting Assistant Professor
Trinity College
justin.fifield@trincoll.edu
3 Replies
Post ReplyDear Justin,
I am not aware of any studies that focus specifically on the monastic rule that allows monks to request meat when they are ill. That said, one chapter of my forthcoming book on Tibetan vegetarianism (titled Food of Sinful Demons: Meat, Vegetarianism, and the Limits of Buddhism in Tibet, and due out in a month from Columbia University Press) has an extensive discussion of Tibetan medical assumptions about meat, and the impact of those attitudes on the question of vegetarianism. While it is not the specific focus of the chapter, I do discuss the idea that medicinal need for meat sometimes trumps the ethical standard of vegetarianism, especially within the context of monasticism. So this chapter may be of some use for you. I also have a good deal of primary source material (mostly in Tibetan) on this topic, and would be happy to share that with you if you would like. If you would like, please feel free to contact me off-list.
All the best,
Geoffrey Barstow
Assistant Professor
Oregon State University
barstowg@oregonstate.edu
Dear Justin
At a glance, I remembered these two instances in Bhesajjakhandhaka of Mahāvaggapāḷi. I hope they will be helpful for your research.
“Tena kho pana samayena aññatarassa bhikkhuno amanussikābādho hoti. Taṃ ācariyupajjhāyā upaṭṭhahantā nāsakkhiṃsu arogaṃ kātuṃ. So sūkarasūnaṃ gantvā āmakamaṃsaṃ khādi, āmakalohitaṃ pivi. Tassa so amanussikābādho paṭippassambhi. Bhagavato etamatthaṃ ārocesuṃ. Anujānāmi, bhikkhave, amanussikābādhe āmakamaṃsaṃ āmakalohitanti.”
At that time, a certain monk was suffering from sickness of evil-spirit. He could not be recovered treating by teacher and the preceptor. He went to slaughterhouse of pigs and ate flesh (of pigs) and drank blood (of pigs). That action subsided his sickness of evil-spirit. The Blessed-One announced this statement (rule): O monks, I give you permission (to use) flesh (of animals) and blood (of animals) in case of sickness of evil-spirits. (Translation is mine)
“Tena kho pana samayena gilānānaṃ bhikkhūnaṃ vasehi bhesajjehi attho hoti. Bhagavato etamatthaṃ ārocesuṃ. Anujānāmi, bhikkhave, vasāni bhesajjāni – acchavasaṃ, macchavasaṃ, susukāvasaṃ, sūkaravasaṃ, gadrabhavasaṃ…”
At that time, there was a use of medicine made out of (animal) fat for sick monks. The Blessed-one announced this statement (rule): O monks, I give you permission (to use) medicines made out of (animal) fat, that is, (medicines made out of) fat of bears, fat of fish, fat of alligators, fat of pigs and fat of donkeys. (Translation is mine)
I’m afraid that I also find the reference of Cūḷa-piṇḍapātikatissa in Visuddhimagga. I will check whether his story is elaborated in later Sinhala literature.
Wish you all the best for your research.
With maitri
Bertram
Dear Justin,
Meat eating by an ill monk can be found in Shobo Genzo Zuimonki, a compilation of precepts attributed to Dogen (1200-1253), the founder of Soto Zen sect in Japan. I thought this episode could be of interest to you, especially if interpreted as an allegory of a psychiatric disease. Following is my translation (Gosoen-no E in the text seems to be a title of a kind of compilation of Zen sayings by Zen masters who lived before Dogen):
One day Dogen said: “Zen master Bussho had a disciple who got ill and wanted to eat meat. Bussho allowed him to do that. One night Bussho went to the Enjudo Hall and saw the ill monk eating meat in the dim light of a lantern. However, [when he looked close at the monk] he saw a devil sitting on the monk’s head and eating that meat. The monk thought that he was putting meat in his mouth, but it was the devil who was actually eating the meat, not the monk himself. Bussho realized that the monk wanted to eat meat because he was dominated by a devil, and he allowed him to do that later on. When I think about this it is necessary to be very careful about the decision to allow or not allow [to eat meat]. There is a mention of meat eating in Gosoen-no E. Whether they allow or not, there is a deep meaning in the decision of ancient [masters].”
(Shobo Genzo Zuimonki, edited by Watsuji Tetsuro, Iwanami Shoten, 1991, pp. 19-20).
All the best,
Anshin