Question

If one farmer kills an animal for its meat and another farmer kills a mouse while ploughing, isn't there a difference in the intention? Shouldn't I buy vegetables then?

Answer

The farmer's intention is their intention, your intention is your intention. So let us not confuse the two. To actually be the farmer killing animals is not an occupation we would recommend. When a farmer accidentally kills a mouse while ploughing he had no intention of killing the mouse, a farmer who kills the cow for its meat, yes, he actually has the intention of killing an animal. However, the intention is not as clear as it would be for someone who just goes and kills an animal for fun. Because providing food is something that is necessary on the planet. We don't encourage that occupation but it is not as bad as what some people think from the outside. But keep in mind that your intention is the main thing and what I said yesterday regarding vegetarianism still applies. We can't always change other people on the planet, it would be lovely if there was no killing on the planet, but it is not realistic, it doesn't work that way. If you want to be in a realm where no animals are being killed, you have to work hard to get yourself up in one of those heaven realms. It is difficult at times, you know we have an idealistic notion of what the world could be, a much better place, but we just have to face it, reality is much different to that. The Buddha never talked about changing the whole world, he talked about changing oneself. That is a very important thing.

Our apologies if there are any errors in the above text. If anything seems to be wrong or confusing in any way, please feel free to contact the teachers for further clarification.