What Is The Spiritual Stance On Killing?
I received an email from a long-term reader, that had some feedback and questions about an article called What Every Vegetarian Should Know. It's really nice to hear from you, keep the emails coming.
I thought others would find the topic interesting, so I decided to publish this question and answer post. The following two paragraphs are from What Every Vegetarian Should Know:
I've never been on a raw diet, but I was vegan for about a year. At the moment, I consume milk once a day and generally eat 3-5 eggs per week. My intention is to give up the eggs, in the near future.
I simply don't like the idea that the chickens, where I live in Thailand, chiefly feed on insects. In my world, killing should be avoided at any cost.
In summary, the reader thought it was far-fetched to stop eating eggs, just because the chickens live on insects.
I thought others would find the topic interesting, so I decided to publish this question and answer post. The following two paragraphs are from What Every Vegetarian Should Know:
I've never been on a raw diet, but I was vegan for about a year. At the moment, I consume milk once a day and generally eat 3-5 eggs per week. My intention is to give up the eggs, in the near future.
I simply don't like the idea that the chickens, where I live in Thailand, chiefly feed on insects. In my world, killing should be avoided at any cost.
In summary, the reader thought it was far-fetched to stop eating eggs, just because the chickens live on insects.
Killing Is Evil
Below is my unedited response.
Here are my reflections:
From a philosophical perspective, I agree with your reasoning.
Let's take a look at it from a spiritual perspective.
In the post, I wrote, "In my world, killing should be avoided at any cost."
What do I mean by, "In my world"?
With spiritual awakening comes insight, or you could call it spiritual wisdom. Spiritual awakening, in this context, does not refer to enlightenment; rather, it points to a low or intermediate level of insight, while enlightenment is considered a high level of insight or spiritual wisdom.
Now, when a spiritual seeker gains insight/spiritual wisdom into the mysteries of life, he or she learns about various spiritual laws/principles of life. Evil, is one such spiritual law/principle of life.
In short, the way people in general understand evil, is very different from how spiritual initiates understand it. People in general are not familiar with spiritual laws/principles of life.
So, when I wrote, "In my world," I referred to my perspective on life.
From a spiritual perspective, killing is evil.
I admit that philosophical and spiritual perspectives differ a great deal. To the very best of my understanding, philosophy is generally a creation of the human mind, while spiritual wisdom is an echo/impulse from life itself.
As a result, often times people in general don't understand the actions of spiritual initiates. The actions do not make sense, from a so-called philosophical perspective.
I hope this clarifies why I opt not to eat eggs...
Best of luck!
Here are my reflections:
From a philosophical perspective, I agree with your reasoning.
Let's take a look at it from a spiritual perspective.
In the post, I wrote, "In my world, killing should be avoided at any cost."
What do I mean by, "In my world"?
With spiritual awakening comes insight, or you could call it spiritual wisdom. Spiritual awakening, in this context, does not refer to enlightenment; rather, it points to a low or intermediate level of insight, while enlightenment is considered a high level of insight or spiritual wisdom.
Now, when a spiritual seeker gains insight/spiritual wisdom into the mysteries of life, he or she learns about various spiritual laws/principles of life. Evil, is one such spiritual law/principle of life.
In short, the way people in general understand evil, is very different from how spiritual initiates understand it. People in general are not familiar with spiritual laws/principles of life.
So, when I wrote, "In my world," I referred to my perspective on life.
From a spiritual perspective, killing is evil.
I admit that philosophical and spiritual perspectives differ a great deal. To the very best of my understanding, philosophy is generally a creation of the human mind, while spiritual wisdom is an echo/impulse from life itself.
As a result, often times people in general don't understand the actions of spiritual initiates. The actions do not make sense, from a so-called philosophical perspective.
I hope this clarifies why I opt not to eat eggs...
Best of luck!