IDA invites you to explore veganism as a spiritual practice at our 6th annual Vegan Spirituality Retreat in Philly on September 19th and to enjoy this Sustainable Activism Blog on “Spiritual Veganism” by guest blogger and Quantum Buddhist Greg Lawson. For information about the upcoming retreat, please visit us here.

“To become vegetarian is to step into the stream which leads to nirvana.”
~ Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha

Veganism is a philosophy, a way of life often embraced as passionately as the most fervent devotee embraces their religion. Many vegans with a Christian upbringing quote the following passages from the Bible to support their veganism:

“Thou shalt not kill.”
“Behold I have given you fruits and vegetables and that shall be your food.”
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Vegan followers of Buddhism quote the First Precept, “Do no harm to other beings.” Every religion has a version of the Golden Rule. In Buddhism, this concept is expressed as “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.” Buddhists also ask the following question, “A state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how could I inflict that upon another?”

As I see it, veganism is about taking personal responsibility for one’s actions, rather than following a rule imposed by an authority. It’s about understanding the concept of “Karma,” often expressed as the following sayings:

“What you do will come back to you.”
“You reap what you sow.”
“Those who live by the steak knife will die by the steak knife.”

It’s basic physics – for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Not some sort of cosmic judicial system of reward and punishment, but a person’s choice to add violence or love to the world. We can choose to fully express the love and compassion that exists within each of us.

I began with a quote from the Buddha that is not a commandment, but an observation, which I have found to be true. It can be enlightening to discard the culturally ingrained view of other beings as food, a view that most of us acquired when we were young, a bad idea passed down through the generations.

When one adopts a diet based on only plants, avoiding animal products for ethical reasons, that person often experiences a feeling of lightness of being which results from knowing they are no longer causing unnecessary suffering to others.

I am grateful to have experienced the sense of enlightenment that comes with veganism. The concept of oneness, that all beings are an expression of the universal consciousness, becomes more meaningful for me the longer I practice veganism.

If we are all expressions of the one mind, shouldn’t we be working together toward a better life for all? How can I harm another when I believe that there is no other?

There is no personal reward to be sought, nor accomplished, by the recitation of certain magic words. The state of nirvana, enlightenment, heaven, or satori happens when a person feels and understands the interconnection of all life and acts accordingly.

Greg Lawson is vice president of the Vegetarian Society of El Paso and a certified vegan lifestyle coach and educator. For the last thirteen years he has hosted a vegan oriented radio show, Animal Concerns of Texas, on KTEP, National Public Radio for the Southwest.