The Inner Art Of Vegetarianism

Carol Adams explores the inner life of spiritual growth with the outer life of practical compassion and examines the reasons why becoming a vegetarian is deeply wedded to spiritual practice. She shows how the practice of creating mindfulness and disciplining the mind meshes with becoming an activist for nonviolence, and reveals how in our busy and stressed-out world it is essential to sustain and replenish the soul through spiritual discipline. The Inner Art of Vegetarianism is an empowering book for all those who wish to have their soul nourished and follow the spiritual path of vegetarianism.

For those who wish to enhance their own spirituality or vegetarianism, the Workbook provides a way to begin or continue the spiritual practices introduced in The Inner Art of Vegetarianism.

Adams provides daily inspiring guidance to anyone who is or wants to become a vegetarian. Each day comes with a reflection, a brief elucidation, and a practice -- all three setting in motion the possibility of transformation. Invaluable for all those who are beginning on the path of compassion, healthiness, conscious living, and peaceful eating.

Buddhism ought to be an animal rights religion par excellence. It has long held that all life forms are sacred and considers kindness and compassion the highest virtues. Moreover, Buddhism explicitly includes animals in its moral universe. Buddhist rules of conduct--including the first precept, "Do not kill"--apply to our treatment of animals as well as to our treatment of other human beings. Consequently, we would expect Buddhism to oppose all forms of animal exploitation, and there is, in fact, wide agreement that most forms of animal exploitation are contrary to Buddhist teaching. Yet many Buddhists eat meat--although many do not--and monks, priests, and scholars sometimes defend meat-eating as consistent with Buddhist teaching. The Great Compassion studies the various strains of Buddhism and the sutras that command respect for all life. Norm Phelps, a longtime student of Buddhism and an acquaintance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, answers the central questions of whether Buddhism demands vegetarianism and whether the Buddha ate meat. He is not afraid to examine anti-animal statements in Buddhist lore--particularly the issues of whether Buddhists in non-historically Buddhist countries need to keep or to jettison the practices of their historical homelands.

Many commentators and users of the Bible have, over the centuries and up to the present day, used the Bible to argue that animals have no rights, that they were put on this earth for our use, and that we have no obligations to them. In his cogent, honest, and fully researched and referenced work, The Dominion of Love, Norm Phelps attempts to encourage all who revere the Bible as holy scripture to open their hearts to the suffering that we inflict upon our nonhuman neighbors. He shows that the right of animals not to be imprisoned, harmed, and killed for our benefit flows naturally from the Bible's message of love and compassion and argues that this is the message of the Bible's most important passages dealing with our relationship to animals. He further responds to the defenses of animal exploitation that are often made based on the Bible. Beautifully written, The Dominion of Love is an essential addition to a growing body of literature that argues for a compassionate and non-exploitative reading of Holy Scripture.

In nearly fifty personal stories, this book uncovers the motivations, concerns and life journeys of people who decided to become vegetarians. Some became vegetarians because of a life-changing relationship with a non-human animal, some because of a health crisis that led them to their new diet, others because of worries about the environmental consequences of meat consumption. This inspiring collection is ideal for anyone thinking of vegetarianism or wanting to reinforce their move to vegetarianism.

Humane education teaches respect for all living things to people of all ages. Michelle Rivera shows how raising awareness of the needs of animals and society's responsibility to them can help stop not only violence against animals but also violence against humans. Out of her research and interviews with experts in psychology, education and sociology, Rivera has created a guide for all who want to begin teaching humane education in their homes, classrooms, communities, churches and organizations.

The world's most comprehensive, well documented, and well illustrated book on this subject. With extensive subject and geographic index. 48 photographs and illustrations - mostly color. Free of charge in digital PDF format.