“. . . he abstains from killing living beings, exhorts others to abstain from killing living beings, and speaks in praise of the abstention from killing living beings.” Samyutta Nikaya 55.7
“ “Lord,” said Kashyapa, “monks, nuns, and lay practitioners all depend on benefactors. When they go for alms and receive food containing meat, what should they do? How should they examine it?” They should separate,” the Buddha replied, “the meat from the rest of the food, which should then be washed and then consumed. If it happens that their bowl has been stained by the meat but is not defiled by the evil smell or taste, there is no fault in eating from it. But if someone gives them quantities of meat, let them not accept it. If meat is mingled with their food, let them not eat of it, else they will be at fault. If I were to explain in detail the prohibition of meat and all its rules, there would be no end! But it is now time for me to pass beyond suffering; therefore I have explained it to you only in part.” — Shakyamuni Buddha in Mahaparinirvanasutra called The Answering of Questions.
“We don’t eat meat because we want to reduce the suffering of living beings. Human beings suffer, but animals also suffer. So eating vegetarian food is one of the ways to lessen the suffering of living beings. Knowing this, we don’t suffer when we refrain from eating meat. In fact, we feel wonderful when we can follow a vegetarian diet because we feel that we can cultivate more compassion, more love. Even if you are not a monk or a nun, if you eat less meat it shows your concern and love for other living beings and for our planet.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh
Introduction
Today, is the full moon of the fourth Lunar month, and holds immense significance for the Buddhist community as it marks the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana (passing away) of the great Shakyamuni Buddha. Known as Saga Dawa in Tibetan/Vesak in India and SE Asia, this auspicious month culminates on the full moon day, 15th day of the 4th Lunar month. It is commonly known as the “month of merits.” The term “Dawa” signifies “month,” while “Saga” or represents a prominent star in the sky during the fourth lunar month. In Sanskrit, Vesak Day is known as Vaiśākha (वैशाख). It is derived from the ancient Indian lunar month in which the festival falls.
Here is my new short reel about the day and how make it meaningful, here:
This period is dedicated to the accumulation of merits, which can be understood as the positive outcomes of virtuous actions, ultimately bringing us closer to enlightenment. In early Buddhist teachings, the three primary aspects of meritorious actions are:
- generosity (dana),
- morality (sila), and
- mental cultivation or meditation (bhavana).
They form the foundational triad of merit-making outlined by the Buddha in the Mahasihanada Sutta and the Khuddaka Nikaya. It is important to note that any good deeds performed during this month are believed to be multiplied manifold. Thus, it is an opportune time to engage in spiritually beneficial positive actions. Conversely, negative actions are also considered to be multiplied exponentially.
Common practices observed during Saga Dawa to accumulate merit include refraining from eating meat, making donations to monasteries/nunneries or individual monks/nuns, reciting prayers and mantras (such as the refuge prayer, Om Mani Padme Hum mantra, or the Buddha Shakyamuni mantra), performing prostrations at sacred sites, providing alms to beggars, lighting butter lamps, embarking on pilgrimages to holy places, purchasing animals destined for slaughter and releasing them, and circumambulating stupas and other sacred locations. In Bhutan, for example, the sale of meat is completely prohibited in the kingdom for a month, offering respite to innocent animals. As I say in the reel, it does not make much sense to refrain from eating animals just on sacred days only, but at least it is a recognition that it is unethical and to be avoided.
In this short article for Saga Dawa Day below, I look at the Sutric Origins of Saga Dawa in Early/Original Buddhism, some quotes on Mahayana Sutric texts connected to what Buddha taught about forbidding the consumption of all animal flesh before passing away (parinirvana).
I conclude with a brief description (and free download) of a paper I gave on Vesak Day 2025 at the UNDV Vesak conference in Ho Chih Minh city, Vietnam on the important of diet as an act of compassion to protect animals and the environment. The paper was published by the conference organisers, and is available for download, (see no.63 p.1091), here. I have also now uploaded the paper to download hereBuddhist Compassion in Action Protecting animals and the environment with our diet Adele Tomlin Vesak Day Conference 2025 and also here at Academia website.
.Please also support sign and share a petition I launched a few months ago on Change.org requesting that local authorities enact a ban on the killing, selling and buying of slaughtered animals around sacred Buddhist sites in India and Asia, such as Bodh Gaya.
Dedicating the merit and inspiration from this small offering today, so that we may all have a meaningful and auspicious Saga Dawa/Vesak Day 2026 and use it to abandon eating animals for the rest of our lives, in line with the Buddha’s teachings just before his passing away.
Music? Shakyamuni Buddha mantra by Karma Tseten, and You Are So Beautiful, by Joe Cocker.
Sutric Origins for Vesak/Saga Dawa in Early Buddhism
Saga Dawa has deep roots in the original Buddhist sutras, though it is not observed as a month-long festival in Theravada Buddhism. The original scriptural foundations can be found in the Pali Canon’s Sutta Pitaka:
- Convergence of the Three Events: The traditional belief that the Buddha was born, enlightened, and passed away on the exact same lunar day originates from early verses and commentaries, such as those in the Anguttara Nikaya and the Mahapadana Sutta (Digha Nikaya 14). These texts detail the miraculous and parallel nature of Buddhas’ lives, establishing the link between the lunar month (Skt. Vaishakha) and his ultimate spiritual achievements.
- Multiplying Merit: The idea that actions hold heightened karmic resonance on holy days is rooted in early suttas emphasizing kamma (karma) and intention. While the specific figure of “multiplying by \(100,000\) times” is an elaboration found in later Tibetan commentaries (such as the Treasury of Quotations in the Vinaya), the underlying premise of intensifying mindfulness, generosity, and devotion on the full moon of Vaishakha is a pan-Buddhist observance.
Buddha’s Mahaparinirvana and clear statements about not eating animals at any time in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra
The Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra is an influential Mahāyāna Buddhist scripture of the Buddha-nature class. The Nirvana sutra’s setting is the final hours of the Buddha’s life. Unlike the early Buddhist Mahaparanibbana sutta, Ananda, the Buddha’s attendant, is mostly absent (instead, the main interlocutor is Mañjuśrī). The Nirvana sutra also ends with the Buddha lying down, but it does not depict his actual parinirvāṇa, nor does it depict the cremation, and other episodes after his death. In Chapter 7 of the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Buddha unequivocally forbids the consumption of all meat, fish and animal products. Declaring that “The eating of meat extinguishes the seed of great compassion”, the Buddha advises disciples to avoid animal flesh just as they would avoid the flesh of their own children.
- Total Prohibition: The Buddha states that whether an animal dies naturally or is killed, all meat eating is prohibited. He completely revoked his earlier allowance of the “threefold pure meat” (meat not seen, heard, or suspected to be killed specifically for the monastic). He framed that earlier allowance as a temporary, “gradual step” to help disciples eventually abandon meat altogether.
- Universal Kinship: The Buddha bases this dietary restriction on the principle of rebirth, noting that all sentient beings have, over countless past lives, been our mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers. Therefore, eating meat equates to eating one’s own relatives.
- Guidelines for Alms: When asked by the Bodhisattva Kashyapa how monks and nuns should handle food containing meat while on daily alms rounds, the Buddha instructed them to reject or carefully wash away the meat. Monastics are forbidden from accepting meals with large amounts of meat, and they must never eat the meat itself.
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For further reading and scriptural analysis, you can explore the detailed English translations and analyses of Chapter 7 of the sutra on Shabkar’s Scripture Archive.
VESAK day speaker May 2025 in Ho Chih Minh (Saigon): Paper on Compassion in Action as Diet published and available for download
Last year, I spent Saga Dawa as an official delegate and invited speaker at the United Nations Vesak Day (UNVD) International Conference hosted by the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha in Saigon/Ho Chih Minh City between 6-8 May 2025. Despite some attempts by a few people there to sabotage my presentation (even going so far as to take my spot and telling people I was not there) it went well!
There were five main themes for the academic conference, and when I was invited to submit a paper by the UNVD organising committee, I was honoured to be asked, and submitted one for the Compassion in Action theme and how as Buddhists our diet can protect not only animals, and ourselves from significant harm, but also the environment. The organisers stated that over 600 English language and more than 300 Vietnamese language papers were submitted by monastics, scholars and Buddhist researchers across five continents. 65 academic speakers were chosen (including myself), as well as 30 esteemed scholar-moderators.
- Ethical Dietary Choices: Emphasizes that abandoning the consumption of slaughtered animals directly aligns with the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha across all Buddhist traditions.
- Environmental Impact: Highlights how reducing meat consumption aids in preserving natural resources and preventing ecological catastrophe.
- Actionable Compassion: Advocates for Buddhists to act as a “voice for the voiceless” by making everyday choices that decrease harm to sentient beings.
The paper is available to read in the edited Collection Book published by the conference organisers (see no.63 p.1091), here. I also gave a similar speech recently in India, on The Importance of the Ancient Indian Principle of Ahiṃsā (non-violence) and not eating animals in the 21st Century (Talk given for New Delhi JNU conference).
For more on my research on what Buddha taught about eating slaughtered animals, see the section of my website here, and also my recent article in Buddhist Door Global.
