Q: Meat cravings: I presume it's quite normal to have cravings when you're newly vegetarian? By the way, have stopped eating fish. So I'm fully vegetarian now and feeling great, but I crave Big Macs and Bolognese, although I touch neither. Advice? Comment?
A: Firstly yes I think it’s quite normal that the cravings are there.  Thinking about exactly what it is you are craving may help to curb them - I remember hearing David Life (Jivamukti) describe meat as the ‘dead flesh of another being that we charcoal and eat’ which is exactly what it is, and this description was enough for me to never have cravings again!  It may be that you are craving something (meat or anything) because there is a deficiency in your new diet, so it’s really important to have a balanced diet and supplement if you feel you need to (the iron tablets you mention later are probably a good idea although I take liquid iron called Floradix because it doesn’t make me constipated where iron tabs do a bit).  
HOWEVER there are two really key things I would say here:
1) We are not living natural, balanced and wholesome lives in our culture.  It’s just not the reality of living in the city and the West.  As a result cravings become distorted and unwholesome.  A person may crave coffee or cigarettes or diet coke or cake and regardless of whether these are addictive substances the craving is due to a distorted and confused connection with the body mind.  This kind of craving (as with the craving for meat) reflects a need to further purify the body / mind through asana, meditation etc. etc.  To elaborate, Gurmukh (well known kundalini teacher and author of ‘8 Human Talents’) describes that she went vegan at the age of 50 because her body had reached a state of purity by this time after many years of dedicated practice that she no longer felt able to eat any animal based products.  This is the opposite of negative cravings and exactly what we are trying to cultivate – a movement back into pure health.  By practicing with dedication and good intention the cravings will drop away as you come back into balance.
2) It’s good to resist cravings if indulging them will cause harm.  Ahimsa is often translated as being kind to yourself – in fact this is an incorrect translation – ahimsa is a yama meaning it’s an ethical consideration that relates to how we interact with others not ourselves.  So ahimsa teaches us to put other beings (including animals beings) before our own selfish needs.

Q: What do Buddhists say about treating animals for fleas, seeing as you're murdering the fleas. But do you let your dog (and you) suffer from fleas in order to not kill?
A: Well certainly we want to avoid suffering, for your pets, for you and for the fleas too.  In her book ‘Cats and Dogs are People Too’ Sharon Gannon (Jivamukti Yoga) talks about fleas in the following way - never make an animal wear a flea collar.  These collars are poisonous and dangerous to unborn kittens when worn by pregnant mothers.  When a cat’s diet is health promoting fleas have a hard time staying around because the immune system is strong. Regular bathing helps.  Nutritional yeast and garlic are proven flea remedies making the skin unappetizing to them.    
Sharon also writes ‘Strive to see yourself in others, all others, so the ‘otherness’ disappears and there is only love.  Jesus said ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’.  He didn’t specify what kind of others.  He didn’t say: do unto others has you would have them do unto you as long as they are of the same gender, colour, nationality, religion and species as you.’
I guess living in Australia it’s a similar situation to how we deal with the cockroaches which are such a problem here.  Remember fleas and cockroaches are only a problem because we perceive them as such!  I try for prevention rather than cure and use natural methods to deter both fleas and cockroaches in my home.
The way I personally deal with this one with my dog and three cats (in a house with a young baby) is to take the stance of vigilant prevention so flea outbreaks don’t become a problem.  I wash the animals with a non-toxic natural flea shampoo (from Pure Botanicals in Newtown – it contains citronella I believe) and groom them regularly to avoid fleas.  I also think a balanced diet helps in keeping the animals healthy and flea free.  I buy an all natural additive (which I think contains a garlic derivative) which goes in the animal’s water and repels fleas buy somehow making the animal’s skin taste yucky.  

Q: What do Buddhists say about the reincarnation of carnivorous animals (animals excluding human beings) - are they destined to not go 'up' the reincarnation 'ladder' because they hunt and kill other creatures?
A: I honestly don’t know the direct answer to this one but can offer some thoughts.
1) As human beings we consume other flesh in EXCESSIVE quantities.  No other animal kills simply for pleasure or waste.  
2) As human beings we are less driven by instinct and more by free choice so there are karmic implications to our actions, which do not apply to animals.  So this question relates very much to karma and incurring negative karma, which as human beings it is easy to do.  As for whether animals collect karma – I am not sure.

Q: Reading the Dalai Lama's autobiography I notice he said that Buddhism doesn't actually say you shouldn't eat meat, but you shouldn't kill to eat meat.  And went on to say that in Tibet they mainly got the Muslim population to do the killing. So, what's the story there?? I quote (from p. 21): "Buddhism does not necessarily prohibit the eating of meat, but it does say that animals should not be killed for food. In Tibetan society it was permissible to eat meat - indeed it was essential as...there was often not much else - but not to be involved in butchery in any way. This was left to others." (and then he goes on to say that this was left to the Muslims). Your opinion? Thoughts?
A: I think a key consideration here relates to waste, if an animal is killed for food, to waste that food seems terrible.  On the other hand people use this as a justification to keep eating meat – which in turn does lead to demand and more animals dying so the most helpful thing to do is abstain.   To kill an animal with respect for that life and out of ‘necessity’ is a very different thing than to eat the flesh of a factory farmed animal when other choices are abundantly more available.  I guess too this would depend on the refinement of the person eating the meat – some would argue that it’s possible to reach a place in practice where eating meat becomes counter to spiritual growth.
It is worth making note of the idea of not wasting here because we live in a culture where meat ends up in the bin so the suffering of the factory farmed animal that provided that flesh was thankless.  My husband eats meat (organic, free range) but before doing so always reminds himself that ‘an animal died for me to eat this’ and he is vigilant about no waste.  It wouldn’t be my choice but it’s one perspective.  Karmically to kill is a great debt.  But to ask someone else to kill on your behalf (which If you eat meat is what you are doing) can’t be far behind on the scales of karma.

Q: And what about the Buddhist story where the monk happily ate meat put out for him by the grateful pair who he'd saved the lives of during a conflict/war, saying something to the effect that meat was given to him with a grateful heart, and with an good intentions. Your thoughts?
A: There is a tradition in Buddhism and Hinduism where meat will be consumed by a monk or sadu if it is offered as part of ‘alms’ (food donation).  I’ll wait for my Buddhist friend to offer some insightful comment on this one.
And here is some more material for reflection from a friend of mine who is a Buddhist, academic and vegetarian: The idea that we can eat meat and still be living an ethical life, still be living to the ideals of non-harming is a real blind spot in the Tibetan Buddhist faith.  It comes from the cultural background of Tibet where meat is a staple in the diet and has nothing to do with the ethical considerations of Buddhism.  It is wrong to judge the Dali Lama and other meat eaters who may be doing a great deal in promoting kindness in other area of their lives, but there is really no justification for the eating of meat for Tibetan’s in exile.  I was shocked to spend time in a South Indian Tibetan Buddhist Monastery and find they had their own slaughter house on site because the South Indian’s generally eat no meat.  This is confused thinking.  I think that if the Buddha were alive today he would definitely advocate vegetarian diet based on the unethical practices of animal husbandry and slaughter that we have today.
The Buddha only ate meat where it would otherwise go to waste and was specific in his instruction that meat should never be specially cooked for him or an animal killed for him. However this is what the Buddha advised his followers to do if offered food containing meat, ‘separate the food and meat, wash the food and then eat.  You may use your begging bowl if it does not have the smell or taste of meat, otherwise you should wash the bowl.  If the food has too much meat one should not accept it.  Do not eat food if you see there is meat in it otherwise you will accumulate demerit [bad karma].  Those sentient beings who feed on one another will be reborn as carnivorous animals.’
As to whether you reduce your karmic debt by getting another person to kill the animal for your consumption – this is a question worthy of debate.  Buddhism talks a lot about intention when it comes to karma so for example the intention behind the giving of a gift (even an ‘unethical gift’ such as a meal containing meat) will generate good karma for the giver – but if the receiver knowing that the meat has come into being through suffering eats it he is creating a negative karma.  The more we know the more difficult it is for us to avoid action if we are on a spiritual path.  For example the more we understand about the appalling way animals are treated in our culture the more of a karmic debt we will incur if we ignore this information and eat meat anyway.  Gross ignorance – where we deliberately stay uninformed will also incur negative karma.  It is not an act which in itself generates good bad or neutral karma – it is the intention behind that act.  When you have a spiritual practice the fruits of your actions generate a stronger karma (good or bad) because you act with awareness.  Because of this animals do not generate karma because they act from instinct not awareness.  Buddhism believes there is a tendency for a being to reincarnate into familiar circumstances so many animals will come back as the same species next time round.

The following extract comes from the beautiful book ‘Compassionate Action’ by Chatral Rinpoche.  Chatral Rinpoche is a very high Tibetan lama.  His perspective is interesting because it is opposite to the perspective of many other Tibetan monks when it comes to vegetarian diet:

Q: Do you see Tibetan Buddhists in exile making a sincere effort to reduce their meat consumption and become vegetarian, or has meat eating become an entrenched part of Tibetan culture?
Rinpoche: In Tibet there is only meat and tsampa (roasted barley) – there is no other staple food.  Tibet is at high altitude and the climate is tundra-like.  There are not many fruits and vegetables. After coming to South Asia you really don’t have to follow the Tibetan custom of meat and tsampa.  There are many kinds of fruits and vegetables, nutritional supplements – all kinds of good foods.  Everything is available.  So there is really no need to talk about the custom of Tibet as an excuse for eating meat.  I am eighty-eight and ever since I stopped eating meat I haven’t had any major illnesses, only good things have happened to me from giving up meat.
If an animal being killed is unseen then this is something like stealing something without being caught.  Killing, stealing and other negative actions can never be gotten away with.  Even if other people don’t see you do them the deities, buddhas and bodhisattvas see you doing these things.  They see and understand what you did – that you have helped to kill an animal by buying meat.

 

*Published courtsey of SamadhiYoga.com.au (Thanks Jessica:)

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