To Cherish All Life: A Buddhist View of Animal Slaughter and Meat Eating

by Philip Kapleau

Clear, direct and concise, Philip Kapleau's "To Cherish All Life" marshals the basic religious, humanitarian, and scientific reasons for becoming vegetarian. Expanding on the Buddhist principle of cherishing all life, Kapleau's compelling discussion examines crucial Buddhist texts, thoughtfully considers the spiritual-ethical dimensions of the issue, and speaks cogently to those with a religious or humanitarian respect for all life.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Buddhism, Zen, Vegetarianism, Philosophy, Spirituality

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

A teacher of Zen Buddhism in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition, a blending of Japanese Soto and Rinzai schools.

Reviews

[Evička de Blois · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I've met my exboyfriend I was curious about this topic. When we met I was vegetarian, he wasn't. It surprised me a lot when I found out that he's Buddhist because I always thought every buddhist is vegetarian/vegan. We both turned vegans already but buddhism vs. vegetarianism/veganism questions were remaining in my mind.

This book answered me most of my questions and it was an interesting read. I think every buddhist should read this even though my boyfriend refused to read it because it's written by zen buddhist and he should read only diamond way books. Buddhism are you so weird everywhere or only in Europe? :D I've liked you! :/

It's well written and easy to understand for laymen (like me) too. So if you're not buddhist but you're interested in this topic, don't worry and read it :)

[Bobby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This very short book has a whole lot going for it: an understanding of Buddhist thought on being vegetarian, a dissecting of debate about whether or not the Buddha himself was vegetarian, insight into the issue in terms of animal cruelty, perspective on dietary concerns, a collection of pertinent quotes, and more. I was already aware of much of the non-Buddhist / factual info that the author put forth in his book but was keenly interested in the specifically Buddhist perspective and was not disappointed by Kapleau's excellent book!

[Greg Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roshi Kapleau's approach, with regard to matters of doctrine on the topic of meat eating, is largely polemical in nature. However, nearly all texts on the topic of Buddhism and meat eating suffer from the same fault.
As a result, this text would likely be viewed favorably by those already tending toward the Mahayana and vegetarianism our veganism. Likewise, it would likely be rejected out of hand by those tending toward the Theravada and still embracing meat eating.
Thus, with all due respect to Roshi Kapleau, this text is of dubious value (IMHO as a vegan Buddhist) in inspiring meat eaters to see the errors of their ways.
To the author's credit, this is one of the most comprehensive collections of scholarly thought and criticism of meat eating. For those already tending toward this camp, this can be helpful context. For those opposing, it at least does a nice job of setting out the arguments of opposition for consideration, evaluation, and then repudiation.

Kapleau states in his introduction, "Curiously, Buddhist scholars have made no serious attempt, so far as my research discloses, to resolve the glaring discrepancies between the contentions of the two branches of Buddhism on meat eating."

I would invite all interested parties to take the opportunity to review this text in light of this statement.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exploration of the rather contravercial topic of Buddhist vegetarianism. Can one be buddhist and still eat meat and did The Buddha eschew? Why is one sect more likely to abstain than others? Intelligently argued and full of references from Buddhist and Western sources.

[Say Mayfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read in context of Buddhism while also considering the pitfalls of oral tradition in religious history. I enjoyed the read although it reads as obviously over fourty years old as a publication! I'd recommend this one to anyone considering becoming vegetarian, one who flirts with the idea (like myself), and not only people who are only interested through the lens of Buddhism.

[Onsetsu Evan Cordes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice to see so many angles covered.

Could be interesting to read an updated version of this…

[Argawal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its mostly a debate whether Buddha really advocated a plant based diet or not.