Nonviolent Religious Faiths And Sects

 

There are many vegetarian and fruitarian

passages in the Jewish scripture, including

the part Christians call the Old Testament.

Isaiah said "He that slays an ox is as he

that slays a man' and 'they shall not hurt

nor destroy in all my holy land' There is

a Bible quote 'break not the bruised reed.'

Genesis 1:29 is "Behold I have given you

herb yielding seed. To you it shall be for meat.'

 

Mennonites, Amish, Quakers

are known for nonviolence and

conscientious objection as pacifists

to war. But those faiths have not

as groups extended nonviolence to

animals by not eating them. Tfo Salvation

Army was founded by vegetarians John

and Catherine Booth and their son

Bramwell and had great success in

ending alcoolism by putting those who

voluntarily came to them for treatment on

a vegetarian diet. However for many

decades the Salvation Army has no longer been

vegetarian.  Only the 7th Day Adventists

have promoted vegan diet from thei

beginnings. There is a split among Adventists

re conscientious objection to war. Adventists

may be the only worldwide food charity

distributing only vegan food.

Many Adventist men were conscientious objectors

in World Wars I and II. But many were not.

There are now a number

of Adventist centenarians.

 

Christianity was started as a totally

pacifist religion. Early Christians for

the first 325 years followed the Essene

Jesus' vegetarian diet until in 325

the pagan nonvegetarian Constantine

became emperor and convened the bishops,

presiding over the conference and demanding

removal of vegetarian passages from the Bible..

Vegetarian passages

remained in texts of the apocrypha such

as the Gospels of Mary and of Thomas.

The Dukhobors, followers of Leo Tolstoy's

pacifism were like him vegetarian. Many

migrated from Russia to Canada.

In 1947 the CIA when founded began

a program to militarize Christianity in the US.

In contrast to that program are the words of former

nonexecuting Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura who

said "'Thou shalt not kill" is not asterisked

with exceptions.'

 

 Eastern religions.. Hindus, Jains,

Buddhists have a higher percentage

of vegetarians, such as the 540 million

vegetarians in India.

 

The Sufi Bawa Muhaiyaddeen lived well beyond 100 years. He taught

nonviolence in life and diet to his followers. His love was so strong

that babies would crawl to him from their mothers. A psychic friend

saw that the room when he was present in it was fillled with white light.

The article on vegetarianism and Sufism link-cited below recorded that

the Qadiri shaikh Abdul Karim Jili, said "animal fat strengthens animality, and its principles will dominate the spiritual principles."

Mohammed told his followers not to make their stomachs into graveyards.

 The poems of the famous Sufi poet Kabir are full of compassion

and universal respect for all beings. He warned against burning driftwood

without checking to make sure no insects were harmed. Sufi teachers warn

that eating animal flesh causes the growth of animalistic qualities (No

disrespect to innocent animals is meant.)

Any one who says that meat can be medicine ignores the violence of

slaughter, the diseases in corpse food, the low acreage yield of flesh food.

 

There is debate about the translation of the Pali text recording Budda's

death. Did he die of pig flesh or of pigfound flesh which is truffles.

He taught nonviolence and abstention from meat. Sai Baba said that

in a previous life the Buddha had come across a starving tigress and

her cubs and had laid down in front of her sacrificing his life for them.

Some have experienced spiritual heights in meditating within the head of

the Amita Buddha in Kamakura Japan.

%99%20of%20the,generally%20came%20down%20on%20the%20side%20of%20pacifism.

 

plumvillage.org

https://www.hinduwebsite.com/sacredscripts/other/kabir_main.asp

https://poetandpoem.com/Kabir/poems

 bmf.org

Vegetarianism and Sufism

http://www.superluminal.com/cookbook/essay_vegetarianism.html

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