June 27, 2009
Buddhist Buckaroos
Howdy partners!
Welcome, this is xtnlion, back from a hiatus.
Today I just got back from a children's rodeo. My dad is in town, and I live in the heart of Cowboy land, so that is what we did. No, REALLY .
It featured kids from about 4 to 16, and such memorable events as the sheep riding competition. Imagine, if you will, a small kid clinging, ticklike, to the back of sheep. Then, of course, cow riding. We missed the goat roping, but saw the sack roping event.
I sat next to a mother who had 3 kids entered - one in the pole race, two in the cow riding competition.
Wow! I had to admire the tenacity and hard work of these kids.... even the ones that knocked over poles in the pole race, or who couldn't rope the cow, or stay on the bucking sheep - they gave it their all.
Next, this mom was so happy that her children had an passionate interest in something. She was all about supporting them in their dreams. But- she was mortified that her boys (who were riding cows) were doing something that could potentially harm them.
You are thinking, "What on Earth does this have to do with Buddhism?" Stay with me. From a standpoint of Boddhisattva vows, and the Lotus Sutra, there are numerous lines about not to harming living beings or engage in dangerous sports.
For instance:
"He should not approach dangerous wrestlers
Or makers of various amusements
Or immoral women"
I suspect wrestling cows in right up there with any dangerous sport (not to mention rather scary for the cow. And the quote is rather apropos in my county, since we have legalized prostitution, as well as cow riding).
Most Buddhist take some sort of vow to save all sentient beings (you all probably know these). I'm thinking that the cow and sheep riding is not so fun for the critters, and not so fun for the contestant who gets a hoof in his or her belly.
Another thing that floated up in my mind was the topic of right livelihood. The livelihood of many individuals in this area is cattle. Raising and killing them for food (and folks down here, cowboys and non-cowboys alike eat a lot of steak).
Frankly, I'm all for going vegetarian (so please don't rant at me) but my question is, say you've got third generation rancher, whose son will be number four. When you are in such a family, what kind of livelihood do you take on to support your young family? Then it becomes a serious burden to take up Buddhism, at least in worldly terms.
Thich Nhat Hanh discusses this in his book entitled "Anger", how we must come to understand, with compassion, where the ranchers, and turkey breeder are coming from, and work with them to move towards more wholesome livelihoods. (Plus, there is a magnificent couple of paragraphs about angry chickens on page 16).
Anyway, I'm curious about how other people think about this - how one engages in transforming the world into a more compassionate place - one buckaroo at a time....
Happy trails, all.
Kris
Having compassion for ranchers reminded me of what I heard an interview on The Young Turks (I podcast and listen on my walk or run every day) with Congressman Peter Welch (D-VT) about the Energy and Climate Bill that just passed.
Cenk questioned the congressman whether it made more sense to wait and pass a more progressive bill later rather than pass this one, because it has stuff in it that caters to the coal industry.
Congressman Welch said that the bill was significant because it's the first time Congress has addressed Global Warming. He went on to say that it is important to help the coal industry transition and not put a bunch of people out of work while creating green jobs.
I guess we can't expect the world to be transformed overnight, whether they be ranchers or coal miners.
Posted by: Michele at June 28, 2009 03:49 PMI agree... and, it will take a lot of creativity and intelligence to find the most compassionate and long-sighted way of dealing with this.
Posted by: Kris at June 28, 2009 08:59 PMI am on a committee for the local rodeo. I've been back behind the arena. The animals are very expensive and treated well. You aren't going to mistreat a bull worth $100,000 or a horse worth $70,000. I think it's better for a bull or calf or sheep to be on the rodeo circuit than the feed lot. But that wasn't your specific point, was it?
In my area we have fisherman, second, third fourth generation fisherman, who can't fish. Crab season never opens. Salmon season never opens. These families are facing your scenario right now.
If we all become vegetarians, PETA will start complaining about the plight of the vegetables! :)
Posted by: Nancy at June 29, 2009 12:38 PMIn terms of Buddhism the most important thing for me is The Middle Way. I think if we all work on ourselves and try not to be judgmental of our fellow human beings things will get a lot better regardless of what the situation is. Much of what we find offensive is cultural bias.
The carnivore versus vegetarian thing is a debate that I believe will be going on for quite some time. But Peta really hasn't impressed me as making much headway since they seem to be a little too violent for people who want to promote life.
Posted by: Jean at June 29, 2009 01:04 PMIn terms of Buddhism the most important thing for me is The Middle Way. I think if we all work on ourselves and try not to be judgmental of our fellow human beings things will get a lot better regardless of what the situation is. Much of what we find offensive is cultural bias.
The carnivore versus vegetarian thing is a debate that I believe will be going on for quite some time. But Peta really hasn't impressed me as making much headway since they seem to be a little too violent for people who want to promote life.
Posted by: Jean at June 29, 2009 01:05 PMNancy,
I agree with you - most of these ranchers seem to treat their cattle with concern. And rodeo animals are very well tended, at least here. There are definitely "bad apples"; and you can hear that occasionally, about so and so who mistreats and abuses animals, who should have them taken away.
My drift, and you definitely caught it, Nancy, was people need to eat and people need to have gainful employment. I lived in a part of the world that had subsistence hunting, and a number of families were literally dependent on bagging a moose, or on the fishing catch for the year. It is a reality, that in marginal ecologies, edible plant life is in short supply. Most of these people, my friends and acquantances had little tolerance for wasting food, or hunting badly, so the animals would suffer.
I don't yet have any good answers; some ranchers here have geothermal energy potential on their lands, and definitely potential for solar generator banks - but that is definitely not an overnight solution.
Kris
Posted by: Kris at June 29, 2009 02:55 PMJean,
Always, compassion, listening to really hear others' concerns even if they are not yours, all good stuff.
As for vegetarian vs. omnivore - one of the most memorable moments in a talk I heard from Will Warner, Kentucky's Nichiren Shu minister, was that for every bowl of oatmeal you eat, you are destroying the lives of thousands of baby oat plants. That's a viewpoint I've never considered.
The middle way - to eat what is needful, and no more, and to grateful for it. I'm aiming for that. Every time I eat can be a celebration of the time and effort put into the cultivation and transport of that food.
With that note, I'm off to lunch ;).
Kris
Cheers,
Kris