Does Going Vegan Increase Craving?

May. 3 | Question: I support the promotion of vegetarianism/ veganism as a practice of compassion and wisdom for the welfare of animals, humans and the environment, but what if having gatherings with Buddhist friends at vegetarian restaurants lead to craving?...

How Death Hinders Progress To Liberation

Apr. 20 | The thoroughly unenlightened manifest confused rebirths which further confuse themselves. - Stonepeace There is a phenomenon called ‘confusion from separation (from previous lives) by death’ (隔阴之迷), which is the forgetting of the past...

Does Investment In Animal Trade Break The First Precept?

Mar. 30 | Question: I try to observe ‘no killing’ whenever I can,  even though I did not take up the precept via a formal ceremony and am not a vegetarian. However, I have investment in the fishery business. Does this make me ‘break’ my...

The Sage, The Lady, And The Fish

Mar. 21 | Although we have both grudges and gratitude linked to one another in the rounds of rebirth, it is by focusing on gratitude that grudges dissolve. - Stonepeace (Get Books) In the fifth century B.C. lived an enlightened monk, venerable in wisdom and years,...

‘I Could (Have) Eat(en) A Horse?!’

Feb. 28 | All sentient beings love their own selves and their own kind, even if not loved by others. - Stonepeace There is this expression, ‘I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.’ Its origin probably arose from it being a social taboo in many cultures,...

Don’t Tell Me You Saved The World

Jan. 13 | Life can be shorter than expected. What are you doing with the ‘little’ time left? Don’t tell me a major global disaster that could had killed many on 21 December 2012 was averted by propagation of your doomsday (or disaster-day) beliefs...

Is Eating Bird’s Nest Soup Okay?

Jan. 2 | Question: As Buddhists, is consuming birds’ nest drink or soup justifiable since it has lots of health benefits? The swiftlets are not harmed and they can always build new homes when their nests are taken. Answer: In case you do not know, bird’s...

Must We Not Eat The Kinds Of Animals Liberated?

Jan. 30 | Question: A relative participated in the liberation of pomfret yesterday. Being a non-vegetarian, she is concerned that she would not be able to consume pomfret or any other kind of fish again in future. She must have heard it from somewhere that one...

The Cabbage & The Cow

Sep. 20 | When generalised compassion for ‘all’ forgoes compassion for individuals, how can it be universal compassion? - Stonepeace In his 1999 book “Celebrating Everyday Life”, popular Zen teacher, writer, and ecologist John Daido Loori...

Clash Of Desires

Sep. 19 | How can you aspire to save all beings from suffering, while craving to eat some of these beings at the same time? - Stonepeace

Why Are There Wars?

Sep. 6 | How can we wish for world peace for all our lives, while we wish to feed on victims of violence for all our lives? - Stonepeace A disciple once asked the Buddha, “Why are there wars? When will there be no more wars? When will there be no more wars?...

Does Meat-Eating Break The First Precept?

Aug. 23 | Question: When the buying of meat stops the killing will stop. Hence, how is buying or eating meat ever be in the grey area of whether it breaks the first precept? Worse than that, it is an attempt to cover up murder by paying someone else to do the dirty...

‘The Cove’ Of Hidden Bloody Truths

Jul. 26 | 20 lessons learnt from ‘The Cove’, which is an intriguing must-see, be one a dolphin lover or not… 1. Dolphins are not all happy just because they appear to be ‘smiling’. 2. Dolphins are easily stressed by sounds as they...

A Brief History of the Love-Hate Relationship with Mock Meats

Mar. 31 | Does the eating of mock meat mock vegetarians who gave up real meat, or non-vegetarians who cling to real meat? ~ Stonepeace A theory says mock meats (vegetarian/vegan food that mimics the appearance and taste of various real meats) were initially invented...

Are Eggs Considered Vegetarian?

Jan. 11 | Question: Why do Buddhists consider eggs to be non-vegetarian, even when they seem unfertilized or from cage-free hens that don’t get killed? Answer: A Buddhist master once replied so, “Eggs hatch without a rooster or a hen. Not knowing about...