Buddhism is against direct violence, or probably any form of violence in it’s last consequence. Yet still you can consume meat on your path to enlightenment. But I do ask myself: Is live about enlightenment or about justice? A justice that you can possibly implement here, in this live, “unenlightened”, on earth?
Buddhism is against animal sacrifices, and this is noble and a necessary standpoint for any reasonable person, quite independent of their philosophical background. However, if you accept “meat”, which is of course flesh, as a food, you indirectly accept nonhuman animals to be sacrificed for food.
To deny that the basic view of nonhuman animals as a potential source of food – even if indirectly delivered or obtained – is factually linked to an ethical view on life that allows itself to declare someone else as chattel. This is a form of a philosophical acceptance of homocentrism.
For animals to be just helped because of reasons of compassion, is basically another way of belittling them and of furthering a homocentrist type of religious outlook upon EARTH in its REAL secular value (where the factual life counts – itself). You wouldnt consider human rights questions as a matter of “sole” compassion, but as a matter of day do day politics or otherwise maybe one could also say as a matter of a philosophical outlook that might take you to some form of “enlightenment”.
Anyway of the many thousands of sources, i picked those good and some handy wiki references for Buddhism and the nonuman animals relation IN PRACTICE:
http://myweb.lmu.edu/cchapple/articlechapters.html
“Noninjury to Animals: Jaina and Buddhist Perspectives.” In Animal Sacrifices: Religious Perspectives on the Use of Animals in Science. Tom Regan, editor. Philadelphia:Temple University Press, 1986, pp. 213-236. (Google Book Preview)
“Nonviolence to Animals in Buddhism and Jainism.” In Inner Peace, World Peace: Essays on Buddhism and Nonviolence, edited by Kenneth Kraft. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992. Pp. 49-62. Revised version of “Noninjury to Animals” (Google Book preview)
Buddhist Resources on Vegetarianism
and Animal Welfare, Compiled by Ron Epstein, Philosophy Department, San Francisco State University
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bullitt/bfaq.html (see : Are Buddhists vegetarian?)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_vegetarianism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_cuisine#Buddhism_and_vegetarianism
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Misconceptions_about_Buddhism
