A review by studiomikarts
Buddhism and Veganism: Essays Connecting Spiritual Awakening and Animal Liberation by Will Tuttle

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Chinese Buddhists believe that “in the food we eat lies our grievance and hatred; if you want to know the reason for war, just go to the butcher’s house and listen to the cries at midnight.”

This book helped restore my faith when my reverent (and naïve) view of secular Buddhism came crashing down after learning that most Buddhists knowingly participate in carnism despite the core tenants of all Buddhist practices being plainly against it. Just like the followers of every religion and non-vegan philosophy I've ever encountered, Buddhists find all kinds of ways to twist words or use historical examples to justify their own merciless choices. The essays in this collection helped assure me that I'm not the only one to see how wrong it is.
 
This essential teaching emphasizing vegan values of caring and kindness is an important healing antidote to a damaging delusion common in many Buddhist, yoga, and other spiritual and progressive communities. We can call this delusion the “enlightenment fallacy” because it arises as a false sense of individual license to do as we like because we believe we are spiritually advanced.

There are many aspects to the enlightenment fallacy, and the various rationalization narratives are all the more insidious because of the armor they bestow, hardening hearts and conveying a toxic pseudo-spirituality that harms not just the animals but everyone in any way touched by these delusions and their resulting behaviors.

While it certainly may be helpful and healing to practice viewing the pain and loss that we personally experience as transient and illusory, it is the height of delusion to discount the pain and loss we inflict on others by rationalizing it as being transient and illusory.
 
Admittedly, some of the passages and, in one case, an entire essay were disheartening. For example, seeing the weak excuses of high level Buddhist leaders for their continued support of animal abuse makes me feel hopeless and powerless. But on the whole, the writings included here were both reassuring and empowering. Some even went so far as to offer practical advice for furthering the vegan movement, to help others choose the side of the animals and our shared livable environment. In fact, the last chapter inspired me to get more involved on social media for the first time in many years, by showing how self-isolation only hurts the cause (and lets down those who are trapped in the system).
 
Perfect free will is an illusion, because our thoughts, inclinations, and actions are not ours alone. They are manifestations that have their origins in the seeds planted by many factors, from personal upbringing to society to global history.

Modern veganism is here because slaughterhouses and factory farms are here. As the violence reaches ever more extreme levels, the vegan response represents our awakening to compassion and radical inclusiveness.

Only when I “give myself a break” from time to time can I heal, get stronger and cope better with the fact that we are surrounded by unrelenting evidence of animal suffering.
 
Ultimately, I'm very happy I bought this book. It's exactly what I needed. I'd love to own a physical copy someday, that's how much I loved it.
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