Tomorrow the 5th Way team is going on a picnic in a mountain meadow.

Catharsis: "Okay, Waneta wants buffalo burgers and green salad; Zhi would like bean salad and a rice dish; Naruto chooses to have nori rolls; Kailoken is easy, he will eat from what is there; I already know what Addison likes to eat; I will get some potato salad and all of the picnic stuff; that leaves Wendell. Wendell what would you like to eat at this picnic?"

Wendell: "Well, I am a picky eater, being a vegan. So, that means no meat, poultry, fish, or dairy products for me. And can you make sure the food is organic?"

Catharsis: "Are you serious kid? We try to always get organic and natural foods here, Addison would have it no other way. And, we always get food that is healthy for the body and mind."

Wendell: "What about food for the spirit? Doesn’t eating things like buffalo burgers degrade the spirit?"

Chuckles and smiles come from some members of the group.


Catharsis: "What about it Waneta, do you feel degraded from eating those buffalo burgers?"

Waneta: "We Native Americans have been eating buffalo for many centuries. We take what the Great Spirit provides with much respect. During that same time we have produced many fine shamans. Some say I am one of them, and that is your answer."

Zhi: "One should always consider the particulars of any food one eats since each food produces a different effect within the body, which in turn influences the mind. Everything must have balance. Everything transforms into something else. If eating meat produces a negative mental state for you, then do not eat it. It is very simple."

Naruto: "Many people are vegetarians and vegans because taking a life for food is repugnant to them. Many point to the Buddhist and the Hindu traditions for reasons not to eat meat, among other things. Many do not realize that Buddha and some his monks actually ate meat on occasion. According to Buddha meat was not to be accepted as food in three cases: if one has seen, heard or suspects that the animal was specially killed for him. So, in today’s world that would eliminate such a person from buying meat, etc., from the grocery store because it is specially killed for the buyer."

Addison: "The main point of the discussion here seems to be focused on nonviolence. Wendell chooses to be nonviolent in how his food is obtained. It is true that many beings as they develop themselves do not desire to eat meat and become vegetarians. However, I suggest that one cannot go through this life without taking life, it is merely one’s intentions in the process that matter."

Catharsis: "You know what is interesting about nonviolence? Being nonviolent can get you killed. Just being alive means there is violence. If you could see the battle taking place within your own body just to keep it alive and well, would make World War II look like a small affair. And, scientists have confirmed that plants feel pain. They may not have a mouth to scream from the pain, but it is there nonetheless."

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