Cattāri Brahmavihārā

I have been a vegetarian for years but I have always been willing to eat what us offered when I’m at a friend’s our family’s house. Throughout the years I have gone pretty much vegan for weeks at a time but always returned to eating eggs and dairy products. But, things may be changing. 

I recently saw a couple of videos which depicted factory farming practices, both of which hit me quite hard. This wasn’t the first time I had seen such things but for some reason I was more open to the suffering shown. I know that, according to the Lord Buddha, there is no akusala kamma in accepting meat, dairy and eggs but that doesn’t mean that I’m not still contributing to the suffering of the animals who produce these things. The factory farming system we have put in place seems to me the closest thing to hell on earth and I just can’t contribute to it anymore. 

May I put the suffering of others beings before the pursuit of pleasant tastes. May I recall the fear and sadness of baby calves separated from their mothers when I long for the taste of cheese. May I recall the fear and confusion of the thousands of male chicks on conveyor belts as they are ground to death by the teeth of industrial meat grinders. May I not be a slave to my petty wants and may I work for my liberation for the good of myself and the many.