In Buddhism, vegetarianism is largely promoted. It is believed that killing living beings is unjust. In fact, the first precept of the five Buddhist precepts is to “abstain from killing living beings”. In addition, from the Dhammapada, the foundational text of Buddhism, Buddha says that “Whoever destroys living beings… extirpates the roots of himself even here in this very world” in verses 246-247. In addition, it is central of Buddhism to not spread violence and advocate peace. In verses 129-130 of the Dhammapada, Buddha mentions that “All tremble violence, all fear death”, and hence “Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill”. Therefore, being vegetarian would mean that lesser animals die because of humans, which supports the anti-violence message of Buddhism. However, this diet is only strictly encouraged in Mayana Buddhists.

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The other school of Buddhists, who are the Theravada Buddhists, believe that it is acceptable to consume meat as Buddha himself was not a vegetarian. Moreover, they believe that things like violence and engaging in wrongful actions are rooted in the mind and one’s inner presence – not from killing animals for food. Although most Buddhists in Singapore are not strictly vegetarian, it is practiced for them to be vegetarian on certain days, such as Vesak Day.

Nevertheless, Buddhism ultimately still promotes peace towards the environment and does not deter the vegetarian diet. This hence would encourage pro-environmental behaviour.

Next, I explore how the Halal diet in Islam might influence the way humans regard the lives of other living creatures. Click here to continue to the page.