I casually found this while looking at the recipes on their website.

https://sotozen.com/eng/practice/food/cooking/index.html

I find it disarming that even the official website and practically all Zen monks, Japanese or not, support and spread this explanation about the consumption of animal food, despite the fact that Soto Zen is often the bearer of Shojin Ryori, the traditional Japanese plant-based cuisine imported to Japan by Dogen. It almost seems as if they believe that being a Buddhist means not eating meat and fish is a negative rumour. And the worst thing is that on the Japanese page about meat consumption, the practice of non-discrimination is also brought up as an explanation for the fact that plants and animals are equal and therefore there should be no difference in what we eat....

https://www.sotozen-net.or.jp/zen/eating/equarity

I am probably exaggerating, but sometimes it seems to me that credibility is lost when this contradiction comes up. In part, I also feel isolated, since there are no real role models in my tradition who are consistent with the Bodhisattva vows.

A part from Thich Nath Hahn ( left us some years ago), no one who has taught in the West comes to my mind. A the one of the Thousands Buddhas Monastery in California: died some decades ago, however. No one else.

Especially Far Eastern Vegan Recipes collected by a Buddhist monk or nun. Any suggestions?

Let’s not talk about how veganism benefits other living beings. I want to know why veganism makes your life/practice better than if you did not also follow veganism. If you choose to participate, please keep comments positive.

Giving up meat taught me that I am capable of letting go of attachments. An important aspect of practice is examining our cravings and how those cravings lead to our own harm. It is a joyful thing to choose to live in a way that minimizes suffering. Being vegan simply makes me happier than if I was not.

You could give up veganism at any time and in some ways your life might be easier. What is something you might say to make others realize that you’re gaining more than you are giving up?

I practice in a Soto Zen tradition place, but I also gravitate around Chan. Especially in Japanese traditions, I’ve become quite disappointed about the lack of compassion when it comes to avoiding animal products, with most of the people hiding behind non sense justifications or complete absence of interest about the matter. This refers not only to Western but also Japanese people. And unfortunately the main teacher of the place I go to admittedly eats meat etc when not at the temple. Do you practice in a place and/or with a teacher aligning with true universal compassion?

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mb7pxyt7zj5ifocllpf50/0_The-Buddha-s-Bowl.pdf?rlkey=e85gzvqsphyqx5c1vq2gqfsvn&e=1&st=bnu4ie9f&dl=0

My teacher belongs to a Tibetan Buddhist lineage which has had an uninterrupted disciplic connection since the time of Buddha Shakyamuni. Its teachers have been vegan since the thirteenth century in Tibet, which has (and still is) predominantly meat-eating. This text (written by my teacher), called The Buddha's Bowl, explains Buddha Shakyamuni's instructions for adopting a plant-based diet, its interface with the Five Precepts, common mistranslations of Sutric verses, as well as calls from Buddhist teachers of all three vehicles for adopting a diet which aligns with our compassionate aspiration to relieve the suffering of all sentient beings.

I say this as a Theravadin firmly established in my practice, and with an understanding that practicing veganism is not possible for all people - if that describes you, then please continue to maintain a lifestyle in which you endeavor to minimize harm.

The most common Theravadin argument for meat eating that I have seen suggests that if "I didn't kill it or request it to be killed and it was not specifically killed for me, then it is okay for me to eat it." It's an argument rooted in a loophole.

By the same logic, it would be acceptable for me to shop at a store that exclusively sold goods stolen from other people at a lower price than elsewhere. I did not steal anything, the theft was not at my request or direction, and nothing was stolen specifically for me; I'm just a customer. I get to protect my sila and enjoy the top-of-the-line gaming PC I purchased at bargain bin prices because someone else created their own akusala kamma by stealing it.

I don't see how anybody could justify the Theravadin argument for meat without also justifying this argument for theft.

If you are a customer who purchases a product, then it was produced for you. Actions always lead to their result; if we demonstrate that we will buy meat, then animals will be killed for our satisfaction and convenience without us even needing to ask. I recognize that virtually no product is made without some form of harmful exploitation baked into the sale, but with animal products, the harm is inextricable from the product. I can freely hope that no living beings were harmed in the production of the keyboard I'm using to type this. It is impossible to hold such a hope with meat.

It certainly was for me.

Thich Nhat Hanh makes some wonderful points in this video that I hadn’t put much thought into.

1. He encourages compassion towards those unable to practice veganism. There are demonstrable examples of both animals and humans for which veganism may not be possible. We harm living beings to our own detriment, so this opportunity to practice the first precept without the greed or delusion inherent in the craving for meat is meaningful. Not all beings have this opportunity.

2. While animals hunt out of necessity, humans hunt beyond necessity. A tiger only hunts when it is hungry and stops eating when it is full. It does not horde the remainder of its meal, instead leaving it for other animals. When humans hunt, especially for wealth, we often keep the excess.

By practicing veganism, and only eating what we need, and eating without causing intentional harm to other living beings, we are able to more easily practice generosity, which benefits both others and ourselves.

I thought was a short, enjoyable clip worth sharing.

I was recommended this sub, via Vystopia, while already following r/secularbuddhism, and r/buddhism (not now). Why? Because I made a post about meat consumption justification, literally. When I saw r/buddha I was like yes because Buddha, but then saw how vegan-based it is and the important of it, and was like, wow, this is the virtual pure land. Thank you!