Why are Buddhists so cruel towards animals when Buddhism advocates mercy and kindness
I have been to many Buddhist countries and seen how Buddhists in villages harness oxen to carts and make them drag the carts while walloping the poor animal with a Bamboo stick, and seen how people club dogs and pigs to death with iron clubs
How did Buddhism go wrong in these countries?
professor,
I have seen Buddhists in Thailand, SRO lank , Vietnam and Tibet doing this to animals with me own eyes
What you are describing has nothing to do with Buddhism. You are mistaken. Also, you are going on the assumption that because the dominant religion in a particular country is Buddhism, that the entire population is practicing Buddhism. Buddhism has not gone wrong, some people just are not enlightened to the extent that they could be.
They simply respond to the label "Buddhist", they don't practice all of the teachings though.
Actual Buddhists would not permit cruelty be done to animals to ease their lives.
Korea?s also bad. Really bad - I have seen a dog being slaughtered for meat. It was a very slow and painful process, I can tell you. I?m still traumatized by what they did to that poor dog. If you want to eat an animal, kill it quickly - don?t hang it alive and beat it so the adrenaline makes the meat more tender - religion or not, it?s just not an OK thing to do in a sane person?s mind.
Buddhists are not cruel to any one . they are the almost first to advocate against bloodshed.
Buddha himself was against any kind of cruelty, caste distinction .
What ever you have seen in Thailand , Sri lank , Vietnam & Tibet is true ---please try to see the whole thing from other point of view . Those who are inflicting cruelty on animals are mostly poor or poorest of poor. Poor people in every country don't understand the essence of religion . Behind it there is a cause . Their struggle for survival is so hard that they hardly get a chance to think about religion.Poverty compels them to do many derogatory work. against animals.
I live in Vietnam
This is the point
We can only be nice to animals when we live live a comfortable life.
And they don't.
They're farmers, and the farming methods and means are still ricking medieval, based mostly on humans' hand work
They have to work VERY HARD to make a living, one thing I doubt you understand when you live in a far far away modern country working with your brain only.
If they don't use oxen, you want those poor Pol to drag the cart full of products themselves? And no, their working value is VERY LOW (you won't believe how many fruits you can buy with only 10$ 40 kg long an!), and they don't really have much time, so they have to work all day and as quick as possible, that's why they must spank their oxen. The oxen skins are very thick, so spanking is not that much hurt, it's just to slightly remind "Hey dude, speed up"
And about clubbing pigs and dogs. You and I may don't eat dogs, but Pol in the rural areas do, it's just their taste and eating domestic animals is legal, right?. And no, honey, they don't have a Mac Donalds so they can just buy some food so clean and quick. To save money they must slaughter the animals themselves, and professor, you can't kill a pig without some bleeding.
It's like when you have a terribly nonstop aching wound, you won't notice your neighbor's doggier look sad today. That's it, they're not bad Pol, they are just too poor to care. But their good nature and Buddhist background make them at least treat other PPL nice. Yes, mistreating animals is bad, but you should sympathy with these ppl.It's not about cruelty, no one want to be mean, it's about poorness.
You are right. Professor is right. It is all a matter of how you define a "Buddhist".
Is a Buddhist someone who lives in a predominantly Buddhist country and calls themselves a Buddhist but does not practice Buddhism? Or are they someone who actually practices Buddhism?
Tiger Woods is an example of someone who calls himself a Buddhist but doesn't practice it. It is no different with Christians, or Muslims, or any other religion. There are always those who do not follow their religion, either because they don't understand, or they really don't care, or because they just don't know how to gain control over their own actions.
And this is why Buddhism "went wrong" in these countries. Same reason that Christianity "went wrong" in the U.S. ... it's rooted in human nature, and the all-too-human propensity for self-centered behavior that lacks empathy. All religions teach love and compassion, but only a small percentage of the population can rise above human selfishness to genuinely practice their religion as it was taught by the founder.
I think you are judging from the point view of what you have seen.
i think you need to understand the need, want and necessary. for example in eastern Tibet what ll they eat if they dint kill. its for survival dammed. they do love animals. same with oxen to carts. its their source of living. what else can they do than that.
another thing is being born in Buddhist country does not automatically grant you a Buddhism. remember that. to become a pure Buddhist Buddhism practice, vows are needed.
Buddhism never went wrong. Christain encourage to kill fish, Muslim encourage to do halal, Hindu encourage animal sacrifices but Buddhism no. who ever practice Buddhism they dint do this kind. they respect.
yeah true there are some buddhist people who do crule to animals but it is normal. nobody is buddha. things happens and karma fellows. what to do.
Why are Buddhists so cruel towards animals when Buddhism advocates mercy and kindness
