I participated in a service on Buddhism at the Unitarian Universalists of Mt. Airy in Philadelphia. The YouTube video of my part of the service is above and the text is below.
Hello,
When I heard that this month’s theme was “finding our center,” I immediately thought of how I feel more aligned with myself and the universe at this point in my life than ever before.
I truly believe that each of us deserves to become our most empowered and most authentic selves. This is echoed in the first Unitarian Universalist Principle, “The inherent worth and dignity of every person.”
I also found the theme for today “Buddhism for Everyone” to be quite interesting. Buddhism is for everyone. That is the point. We can choose to be our better selves. Whether we call ourselves Buddhists or not, we can make the choice to disengage from negativity. We all breathe. And we can be conscious of that breath. Take a breath with me now.
Inhale to a count of three. Exhale to a count of six.
We’ll begin now.
(breathe)
We can all be consciously aware of the present moment.
Becoming a Buddhist, for me has been a journey — one that has been about survival and awareness. Relatively recently on that journey, I have gone to a healthy plant-based diet and increasingly identify strongly as vegan because of the rights of non-human animals not to be eaten and abused; because everyone on the planet can be fed with the grain that is currently being used to feed what is called “livestock;” and to give this beautiful planet the opportunity to live longer. Initially, I went to a healthy plant-based diet because of a health condition, and I feel great three years into this lifestyle. Before this, I ate what I considered to be a healthy western diet. I have since reconsidered what is “healthy” and now the difference is night and day. In the process, I freed myself from the addictive behaviors (including food addiction) rampant in society and in my family history.
I came to a healthy plant-based diet the year that I turned sixty. So, I am not in a position to judge anyone even if that were my nature which it is not. When I went to a healthy plant-based diet, I went through a period of consciousness-raising, especially about the treatment of nonhuman animals. Like many others, including my partner Barbara, my only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner. So, what have I learned from Buddhism? I guess it comes down to kindness. I have learned to be kinder to myself and to other sentient beings.
Becoming vegan is an important part of my spiritual evolution. I feel better than I ever thought I could feel by not ingesting the suffering of animals (and this includes products, such as dairy, derived from animals). I went through a consciousness-raising process in which I began to see that nonhuman animals are separate beings unto themselves and that they are NOT here for us to use them.
Many Buddhists are vegans. From a Buddhist perspective, it makes sense that Barbara and I feel so good by not ingesting other sentient beings. A sentient being is defined as a living, conscious being. Basically, it feels like I am no longer in conflict with myself since going to a plant-based diet. I feel more like a part of the universe than ever before. And it feels GREAT to be here and to be part of the universe.
In the spirit of the UU Principle, “Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations,” I am grateful to each of you for being such an important part of my journey.
–Namaste–
For more information on my most recent novel Loving Artemis, an endearing tale of revolution, love, and marriage, click here:
Janet Mason, author 