The Ethics of Eating Animals with Buddhist Scholar Geoff Barstow

A State of Mind

Geoffrey Barstow joins us for this in depth discussion of vegetarianism, ethics and specifically the debates about it found in the Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

Learn more about Geoffrey Barstow at

• https://thelostyak.com

Find his books at:

• https://cup.columbia.edu/book/food-of-sinful-demons/9780231179966
• https://wisdomexperience.org/product/the-faults-of-meat/

Partial List of Topics in Chronological Order:

0:00 Introduction

3:34 Introduction to Geoffrey Barstow

7:25 Conversation with Geoff begins

• Geoff's background
• Studying Tibetan language
• How Geoff is both a Scholar and a Practitioner
• No one believes in myth of academic impartiality
• 2 Books on Vegetarianism and Buddhism
• First book is an Attempt to make sense of vegetarianism in the Tibetan context
• Using Buddhist positions to critique idea of lone gun man doing ego driven science
• How he got interested in vegetarianism
• How he went to Kham, Eastern Tibet and interviewed scholars and monks about eating meat
• 3 Levels of Vows in the Tibetan Buddhist traditions: Individual Liberation, Bodhisattva, Tantric.
• How vegetarianism was an issue in Tibetan for at least 1,000 years
• Being Vegetarian was seen as unhealthy - and seen then as an ascetic practice that someone could choose to do for the dharma but was a kind of sacrifice.
• Separation between buying and killing animals - and debate about this
• Not causing harm by eating less - or mitigate the harm through buying more 'humanely' raised meat
• Most chickens never see day light - they have very difficult lives
• Role of family and culture and tradition in eating meat
• Value in reducing the amount of meat you eat
• How we can't escape causing some harm
• The View sometimes expressed in Tibetan Buddhism that eating meat can be part of being a dharma practitioner because one forms a karmic connection with the animal and Geoffrey's response to this view.
• The question of the conceptual division between 'human' and 'animals'
• How neuroscience has shown that animals and humans are not actually so distinct biologically.

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