Do You Feel Their Pain?

To tell you the truth, when our master said that our family could make the Vegetarian Vow after receiving the permission from Buddha Maitreya, I didn’t think much about it. In fact, I only knew that it was the right thing to do. However, it wasn’t until after I made the Vegetarian Vow that I started to understand the grand meaning behind the Vegetarian Vow.
I remembered once I accidentally burned my arm while doing an experiment at an Organic Chemistry Lab. Although it happened about five years ago, I can still remember the pain I endured in that few seconds. It hurt a lot not only at that moment but the pain had continued for more than a week. It was strange because it was the kind of pain that hurt from within, not only externally. It was only a small patch of skin, yet it felt like my entire forearm was in a painful burning sensation.
When I burned myself, I could sense that my skin was being cooked. It was scary because it reminded me of the exact smell when people barbequed meat. People in North America love barbeques. One may argue that animals wouldn’t have felt the slightest pain when we cook them because they are dead already. However, that is unreasonable because in order to get the meat, the animals must be slaughtered and go through a lot of pain whether we see it or not. That’s why the Vegetarian Vow is so precious, because we learn how to safeguard, love , and glorify all life forms. By being a vegetarian we show respect for our lives and the lives of others.
Let’s just pretend that it was us who were being slaughtered and killed in order to satisfy the appetite of people who sit around a dinner table. If we imagine how frightened and painful those animals must have felt, will we still be able to buy meat, or will we opt for vegetarian meals?
Actually, not eating meat is not the only way to protect, respect, and glorify lives; being thoughtful for others and saying caring words to others are also ways to protect, respect, and glorify lives. I think it is really important to speak gentle and caring words to others, because very often, our words hurt others whether intentionally or not. As others say, words can hurt or heal. Why don’t we say words that heal others’ soul? Only when everyone eats and speaks with compassion, our world will then become one harmonious family! Lives are too precious and we should treat others with respect, because the dignity of all lives is invaluable.

Glow- Canada
 http://www.maitreya.org.tw/doyoufeeltheirpain-en/