Yes he does, according to his partner Kim Eng.
It’s such a curious question isn’t it: “Are spiritual people, truly enlightened people, vegetarians?” And the answer is clearly “not necessarily.”
If you look at the great spiritual masters, there’s no common theme with regards to meat eating. Buddha wasn’t rigid about it and said it was okay if you were offered it, the Dalai Lama follows this path and is vegetarian at home but will eat meat if away.
Jesus fed the 5000 fish and loaves which he magically produced. Jesus said “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” Matthew 15:11. And “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.” Luke 12:22
And enlightened master Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, of “I AM THAT” fame, had no issue with meat eating or even smoking. Here’s an excerpt from I AM THAT…
Q: My body influences me deeply. In more than one way my body is my destiny. My character, my moods, the nature of my reactions, my desires and fears — inborn or acquired — they are all based on the body. A little alcohol, some drug or other and all changes. Until the drug wears off I become another man.
M: All this happens because you think yourself to be the body. realise your real self and even drugs will have no power over you.
Q: You smoke?
M: My body kept a few habits which may as well continue till it dies. There is no harm in them.
Q: You eat meat?
M: I was born among meat-eating people and my children are eating meat. I eat very little — and make no fuss.
Q: Meat-eating implies killing.
M: Obviously. I make no claims of consistency. You think absolute consistency is possible; prove it by example. Don’t preach what you do not practise.
Similarly, here’s what Ramana Maharshi had to say on the subject:
M: Habit is only adjustment to the environment. It is the mind that matters. The fact is that the mind has been trained to think certain foods tasty and good. The food material is to be had both in vegetarian and non-vegetarian diet equally well. But the mind desires such food as it is accustomed to and considers tasty.
D: Are there restrictions for the realised man in a similar manner?
M: No. He is steady and not influenced by the food he takes.
Eckhart Tolle sees life as one dynamic whole; an inter-connectedness, an inter-action, oneness. Life eats life, everywhere…
I saw on TV the other day, whales hunting. They pincered a shoal of fish and then came from underneath to catch thousands in one mouthful. Does that make a whale evil?
Having had my head into nutrition for over 20 years, I’m uncomfortable from a health point of view with pure vegetarianism (and the dairy industry is crueler than the meat industry so I’m told by vegans).
Interestingly, I’ve seen Eckhart Tolle dodge this question many times in seminars and TV interviews. He just advises to…
Be present with whatever your food choices are and then the right food choice will happen for you… it needs to come from within rather than as something from without.
This view is perfectly echoed by non-physical beings Abraham, channeled by Esther Hicks…
Imagine if you could let being aligned be your first priority — a lot of vegans would be inspired to a lot of eating that their veganism would not allow, but the source within them would call them toward.
— Abraham-Hicks
Yet another echo of the same perspective from Adyashanti:
Safransky: Could killing animals to eat them come from wholeness?
Adyashanti: Sure. Life is killing. If we eat a vegetable, we’ve killed it. If we eat an animal, we’ve killed it. To be a living organism is to kill. There is no life without death. When we die, we’re going to be nutrients for something else.
I don’t see life as “anything goes,” but I have seen wholeness move through different people in different ways. That’s why I’m always talking about action that comes from wholeness, not from division, nor rejection, nor grasping, nor pushing away. What motivates us when we’re not pushing or grasping, not relying on conditioned concepts of right and wrong, good and bad? Is there something else that can move us? And what is that? Action that is an expression of a clear and undivided state of consciousness is what the Buddha meant by “right action.” To exercise right action we must be functioning from a place outside of all egoic self-interest. We must be awake within the dream and be able to express that perspective.
The take-home message…
…from these spiritual masters is clear: Be whole, then see what you do.
People’s pre-judgement on the basis of this issue would be detrimental to their own enlightenment. Because if you saw as Eckhart does, life as oneness, then you would probably also not be overly concerned about any particular FORM, as all the forms are continuously morphing and changing. In fact, there is only life and it is ONE life, there is no death anywhere to be seen! And… life eats life, everywhere. My cat isn’t evil for eating mice.
What do you think? Do you think vegetarians are more spiritual? Please let us know by leaving a comment below.
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Added Adyashanti’s perspective to the article:
Safransky: Could killing animals to eat them come from wholeness?
Adyashanti: Sure. Life is killing. If we eat a vegetable, we’ve killed it. If we eat an animal, we’ve killed it. To be a living organism is to kill. There is no life without death. When we die, we’re going to be nutrients for something else.
I don’t see life as “anything goes,” but I have seen wholeness move through different people in different ways. That’s why I’m always talking about action that comes from wholeness, not from division, nor rejection, nor grasping, nor pushing away. What motivates us when we’re not pushing or grasping, not relying on conditioned concepts of right and wrong, good and bad? Is there something else that can move us? And what is that? Action that is an expression of a clear and undivided state of consciousness is what the Buddha meant by “right action.” To exercise right action we must be functioning from a place outside of all egoic self-interest. We must be awake within the dream and be able to express that perspective.
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Yep… quite right, and I know Adyashanti eats meat. He definitely had a burger when he went out to lunch with Rick Archer… :)
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I have seen how animals who are being led into slaughterhouses where other animals have died in fear react the same way, as they sense that energy and emit pheromones of fear themselves. It’s all energy. I gave up eating meat from slaughtered animals years ago, because when I ate that meat, I was also consuming fear. I choose to do all that I can personally to be surrounded by and encapsulated by love rather than fear. -Wayne Dyer (I Can See Clearly Now)
“Every day forty thousand children die in the world for lack of food. We who overeat in the West, who are feeding grains to animals to make meat, are eating the flesh of these children.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh
“When we eat an egg or a chicken, we know that the egg or chicken can also contain a lot of anger. We are eating anger, and therefore we express anger. So be aware. Be careful what you eat. If you eat anger, you will become and express anger. If you eat despair, you will express despair. If you eat frustration, you will express frustration.” -Thich Nhat Hanh
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I notice he conveniently didn’t add Thich Nhat Hanh’s opinion into the article, even though he’s a reputable Vietnamese Buddhist teacher. Thich teaches COMPASSION, which I believe is a vital issue to address, but his words don’t support the agenda of the article: Eat whatever your unconscious urges tell you to eat.
I believe spirituality entails more than just being present. A person can come murder you in cold blood, while being present. Was it compassionate? No. You wanted to live.
I’m not saying 100% compassion is possible in nature, but we as humans have the right to choose, and as enlightened individuals, we can understand even more deeply the implications of the choices we make.
Our “being” craving roast chicken doesn’t account for what goes into the killing of that animal. It may be in our primal nature, but not in our evolved, conscious nature. We can more deeply understand the implications of our actions as spiritually-evolved beings, and we can make choices that are best for all beings on earth and the whole planet.
Do the least harm and the greatest good.
Plants can provide all of the nutrients necessary for human health. It may take special attention to incorporate the required balance of foods, but such is the case with any diet. There are methods to get certain foods into your diet that you might otherwise overlook. For example, superfood smoothies.
The fact that not everyone wouldn’t follow a healthy vegan diet is irrelevant. If a monk can practice mindful and compassionate listening, and he can meticulously rake the sand in the garden, then he can take the steps necessary to eat the diet that will nourish his body and is most compassionate to other life and the planet as a whole.
Like I said, do the least harm and the greatest good.
Of course we will be killing plants. Of course life will be eating life, but would be far more efficient for all humankind to eat plants than it is to feed the plants to animals and eat them. Incredible amounts of land would be saved from destruction, and there’s not enough land on earth to feed 7 billion people out of natural ecosystems. Eventually the collective human consciousness, the actions of which are being influenced by a selfish ruling class, is going to destroy the earth and its very existence. Until then, more Veganism equals more time.
And I will tell you something about Eckhart Tolle. He may be the “real deal,” but like many of the “gurus,” his teachings are not entirely practical. He’s endorsed by Oprah, one of the top elitist scum who is part of the ruling class I mentioned, and his teachings, although fundamentally correct on some levels, are being shared to the masses, but in a way that conveniently supports the unconscious and destructive globalist agenda; without directed action, his teachings can imply passivity over conscious resistance and willful ignorance of the repercussions of our actions.
I, like other commenters here, appreciate his teachings, but I do not feel he is so infallible that he can short-sidedly determine the future of our planet. All “gurus” have unconsciousness within them, too.
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Esther Hicks is promoting that people be disconnected from their actions and willful ignorance. All animals fear death and will try to avoid harm. All male pigs are castrated without anesthesia, and in the US many pigs are kept in gestation crates, cages so small they can’t even move.
What could be worse than to kill a sentient being that desires to live, just because you desire the taste of its flesh? And how about the mental impact of slaughterhouse workers who have to cut the throats of animals, 300 times an hour, day after day. This video shows that even channeled guides speak from their own limited perspective. 40% of Americans die from heart disease because eating meat is heartless.
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I dunno… I was a pretty angry vegetarian… Now I’m a very chilled carnivore. Life is so much easier without autoimmune conditions! Meat never caused heart disease – it’s the inflammatory sugars and grains that knackers the arteries. I think almost everyone is agreed on this now. Hunter gatherer tribes have little or no heart disease, and all eat meat. If it was the meat they would have heart disease. Don’t believe the hype. :)
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If someone has clogged arteries it is because they are eating animal fat and cholesterol, there is nothing in plant foods that will clog your arteries. The food writer Michael Pollan talks animals are fed grains like corn which contains very little Omega-3. 50 years ago when animals used to eat grass their meat and dairy contained 1/3 Omega-3 in the fat. All green plants contain small amounts of fat in the correct ratio. There is a difference between surviving and thriving, Inuits can survive on a high fat diet but they have the highest rates of osteoporosis.
Dr. Joel Fuhrman helped his patients reverse auto-immune disease in his book Super Immunity with a phytonutrient rich vegan diet, by eating lots of greens, berries and beans.
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Now come on Joe… It has now been conclusively proved that dietary cholesterol cannot be translated into cholesterol in the arteries. Even the conventional chaps are onto that now. Look it up. Have you ever reversed an autoimmune disease? I have. Maybe some do on plant food, but I couldn’t, and I did try. I had to eat a high fat diet, mainly animal fats and coconut oil and cut out the sugars, carbs, grains etc. My inflammation levels dropped drastically and I lost over 80lbs with no calorie restriction. In the process I cleared out my arteries – I have seen this on scans – I am not guessing. High cholesterol is caused by inflammation from inflammatory foods and good clean meat and healthy fats are not inflammatory. Really, you are way behind on this. If you want to be veggie, go for it! It’s your choice and good luck to you, but trying to claim eating meat and fat is unhealthy is just misinformed. If you doubt my progress, have a look at the before and after pics on my website at http://pureactivity.net
And to keep it on topic, I have never had such deep, stable “spiritual” experiences and my emotions and moods are balanced beautifully. This is very common when you no longer run predominantly on sugars which bring highs and lows all day.
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I just came across a wonderful explanation from Abraham about using/killing animals. I’ve added it to the post, it’s the last video on the page. Check it out!!
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Dear Phil,
It is Truth…which doesnt requires any support….dont be mistaken that it is my truth…it is universal
Killing beings for your food and relishing the deliciousness…just for pleasure …when other foods are available….when you are not in ignorance (as you have searched for “enlightenment”)….is clearly selfishness and of the ego
Also how meat helped your arthritis….i have no idea…..instead any type of meat is contraindicated
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Meat helps arthritis? hahaha now I have heard it all….. I have been vegan for 12 years now and can tell you from actual long term experience here I have NEVER ran into a single problem. I have not had a single flu, cold or any health issues for more than 10 years now. I originally went vegan because a friend said it would help me with my diabetes and other problems I was having. I did the raw organic vegan diet for 3 months and it didn’t just help it, it cured it haha. I have now cured 4 people of cancer through a raw organic vegan diet, accompanied by exercise and certain spiritual practices, one of these people being my father.
People need to understand that Doctors have next to no nutritional training. The big pharmas don’t want you to be healthy or curing your self through diet and exercise, they need to keep you sick and fill your head with bullshit so they can keep the $$$ rolling in. The global market for pharmaceuticals topped $1 trillion in sales this year and yet cancer and other chronic degenerative diseases are still on the rise. But when I advertise free cancer treatment with a 100% success rate, I get calls from blocked numbers threatening my life if don’t stop…humans are pure herbivores, flat teeth, long intestinal track, stomach acidy (matches that of a herbivore whereas carnivores have 20x the acidity), alkaline saliva, no claws or long sharp teeth, carnivores don’t need fibre, when you see a dead animal with its innards hanging out it repulses you, the smell of blood doesn’t make you go crazy and want to eat or fight, you see animals being mistreated or abused it upsets you or maybe the fact that the average human being cant even catch a chicken with it’s bare hands… I could go on forever with this shit, I mean come on…. Stop listening to these greedy power hungry morons, switch off the TV do your own research, think logically, get out more and eat healthier, your body is capable of healing itself in everyway, it just needs the right fuel.
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Hi Bob… I never said meat cures arthritis, and you are right, it doesn’t – in fact too much protein can also cause trouble. However, good meat and fish in moderation are not the baddies they are made out to be, either in disease creation or in limiting higher states of consciousness. The main thing that initially tends to improve people when changing diets is the subtraction of sugars, grains, nightshades and dairy rather than the addition of anything. I applaud you for your cures for cancer, and totally agree that the real cause is in the emotions and the “spiritual” realms. Now, I am not such an expert on cancer cures – my speciality is in inflammatory/autoimmune conditions, and when trying to cure them, at least the physical aspect, it is safer to go the high fat low carb route as it rebuilds the gut flora. I did try the raw vegan route and stayed in pain, but I have seen that it has better success with cancer. Long-term though, maybe even in 40 years or so, nutritional deficiencies will show up, but you can be pretty healthy in the meantime if grains are minimised.
I feel your zeal… I also wrote all that about flat teeth and gut length in my first book on diet and I cringe with embarrassment now. There is so much more to it. But to get back on topic – there have been many, many millions probably of awakened beings who have eaten meat. It is not a problem.
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Phil,
We need neons around this: “The main thing that initially tends to improve people when changing diets is the subtraction of sugars, grains, nightshades and dairy rather than the addition of anything.” So much confusion out there about what to eat.
You mentioned to me in an email about how Aborigines had that intimate connection with wild animals that I’ve experienced even though they hunted. Do you have any more on this?
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Great vid/audio thingy! Loved it!! Sorry Mike, I have no specific info about the Aborigines, but I seem to remember reading about many cultures’ healthy attitude to animals and eating them – killing happy wild animals with gratitude and taking no more than they need. It’s a different story down at McDonald’s, but at the risk of a spanking, I’m fairly sure that McDonald’s is also part of God, “He” being all nice and omnipresent and all . :)
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Hey, Phil, yeah the video is incredible eh? I’ve struggled with the paradox of the compassionate hunter for so long, and the vid is another big piece of relief for me, I really loved it, so clear… it’s our separation perspective that causes problems, and when we feel BAD, that is a clear sign we are separated. So clarity is moving swiftly in the issue for me.
Yeah, it’s ALL GOOD as they say, I think we just need to focus on what we want to include and leave everything else out of it. Making a better world and focusing only on what YOU prefer, are the same thing.
If you do come across info about the thing I mentioned, be sure to point me to it.
Ciao!
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