Josephine Moon

Is this the best review ever? I think it might be! Huge gratitude to Better Reading for this glowing review of Buddhism for Meat Eaters. I love it so much, I had to repost the whole thing here! My heart is full 🙂

This is not a book that preaches about animal rights, nor is it a weighty text on Buddhism. Instead, Moon chooses some of Buddhism’s core concepts and delivers them in such a way that provides a framework for how anyone can approach food, the environment and life. She covers non-violence, compassion, mindfulness and judgement. She asks big questions in a very Buddhist way – no definitive answers, just guidance and leaving the reader to truly work out what is right for them.

To help you come to your own conclusions are practical workbook-style activities and topics for consideration. These guide you in your own journey to making wiser decisions on how you consume, how you live, and how to change the world around you.

As a vegetarian of thirty years myself, who recently returned to eating fish, and someone who has studied Buddhism, I was pleasantly surprised to see that this book isn’t just for me, despite me appearing to be the very reader it’s written for.

While it appears to be a book pitched at animal lovers, the environmentally and ethically conscious, and generally thoughtful people who eat meat but perhaps aren’t entirely comfortable doing so, it is actually a wonderful book for anyone to read. It’s a wonderful book for anyone interested in making choices to tread more lightly on the planet. It’s a special gift for friends with children. It’s not just a guide to eating meat thoughtfully, but also a guide to a compassionate life.

One of the key chapters is The Gift of Impermanence. Nothing lasts. Everything passes. And in Buddhism, the idea is to understand that, because attachment to anything is a form of suffering. This chapter alone is worth the cover price – read it, learn this, teach it to your children.

Moon finishes with a chapter on ethical choices and resources, helpful for anyone who reads this book and thinks, ‘I now want to make a difference.” I guarantee that’s exactly what you will think after reading this book. Kindness to animals, the planet and ultimately yourself made simple – what a lovely world it would be

Buy a copy of Buddhism for Meat Eaters here.