In the Lankavatara Sutra, Lord Buddha explained at length his policy regarding meat-eating to Mahamati, the Bodhisattva, who asked how Bodhisattvas of the present time and in the future may help others to remove the desire for the taste of meat. The Buddha said that there are countless reasons for not eating meat, including the fact that our kith and kin may have become animals.
The Buddha also stressed that eating meat is an obstacle to liberation because "the consciousness of beings focuses upon their physical form; a powerful clinging to this form takes hold and living beings thus identify their bodies as themselves."
According to the Buddha, all meat, whether that he had allowed the Shravakas (who are very close to him)to consume or that which he had not allowed, is pernicious. He said that in times to come, foolish people will concoct all sorts of excuses for eating meat and thus they will blacken his reputation. They will say, "'Since the Lord permitted meat to be eaten then, this shows it is fitting nourishment.' They will say that the Lord taught that meat was healthy food, and they will go so far to say that he himself enjoyed its taste....But... in none of my discourses did I ever give such general leave, and never did I teach that it was right to consider meat as wholesome fare." In fact, although the eating of meat of animals that have died from ten natural causes is not forbidden to the Shravakas, nevertheless, in the Mahayana, all meat is prohibited under all circumstances. The Buddha explained that his noble Sharavakas in fact do not eat ordinary food. The Sharavakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and the Bodhisattvas eat the food of Dharma... how could I permit the Shravakas to eat my children's flesh? And how could I partake of it? It is wrong to say I allowed the Shravakas to eat meat and that I myself have eaten it."
From the above statements, it can be seen that people tend to justify their meat-eating by quoting the Buddha inaccurately. Thus, it is important to study the scriptures well and not misinterprete them to suit our desire for consuming meat.
