Don’t Force Your Ancestors To Be Vegetarians

【Writer: Lee Eng Kew】

In recent years, vegetarian religions such as Chinese Buddhism and Yiguandao have been teaching people not to worship with non-vegetarian food during funerals, and even on the death anniversary death of an ancestor. This is based on the belief that “to protect the deceased from sinful karma, vegetarian food should be the mainstay of the offerings at the memorial service”. Consequently, people adhere to these practices without having a comprehensive understanding of the underlying principles.

The funeral rites observed in our tradition are based on the teachings of the ancient Confucian texts, namely the Etiquette and Ceremonial, the Rites of Zhou, and the Book of Rites. A review of the Three Books of Rites reveals no mention of the idea that offering non-vegetarian food will cause sins to the ancestors. Therefore, it can be concluded that this is not a traditional Chinese custom but rather a reference to the aforementioned vegetarian religions.

The practice of killing animals to offer them as sacrifices has been a long-standing tradition in our culture, and it was often regarded as a rite. In the past, the Chinese community in Malaysia would prepare meat offerings in accordance with traditional Chinese Confucian funeral rites, regardless of whether the deceased adhered to Buddhism or Taoism.

Nevertheless, in recent years, Buddhism and other religions have encouraged the use of vegetarian offerings, especially in traditional funeral rites, which is disrespectful. Particularly if the deceased has been a lifelong meat-eater, it is arguably least appropriate to offer vegetarian offerings after death. It is vital to encourage him to be a vegetarian during his lifetime, otherwise it is highly inappropriate to offer vegetarian food as a sacrifice only after his death. Won't eating meat every day while he is alive contribute to his sinful karma?

Confucianism emphasises the importance of honouring the dead as the living, and therefore the life the deceased lived before death should be reflected in the life after death. For example, if the deceased consumed meat in life, it is considered disrespectful to offer them vegetarian food in death.

According to Confucian philosophy, the act of killing does not in itself result in sinful karma; rather, the ritual of killing is regarded as a sacred ceremony. Thus, the idea that sacrificing animals to one's ancestors contributes to one's sinful karma is not supported within this framework. This is comparable to the Christian Bible's portrayal of the dragon as an evil creature, whereas in Chinese tradition the dragon is seen as a symbol of good fortune. The concept of an "evil dragon" being superimposed on an "auspicious dragon" is a misinterpretation that stems from a biased and inaccurate perception of dragons as inherently malevolent. So to say that our dragons, which are considered auspicious, are also evil because of what the Bible says is just a meaningless accusation.

Similarly, it would be a misinterpretation to claim that the practice of offering meat to our ancestors contributes to the sinful karma of the deceased. In essence, the belief in the auspiciousness of dragons and the subjective belief that other dragons of different cultures are similarly auspicious, or the belief in the sacredness of meat sacrifices and the expectation that others must adhere to these practices, could be construed as a form of disrespect towards others.

A considerable number of religions, including the Taoist Zheng Yi sect and the Zhen Kong Sect, continue to practice animal slaughter during their sacred ceremonies. The Muslim religion, for instance, engages in the ritual slaughter of cows during the Hari Raya Haji celebration and subsequently distributes the beef to the needy. These are sacred religious ceremonies that must be respected, not subjectively interpreted or maliciously criticised based on one's own religious ideology. There are also Buddhist rituals that involve non-vegetarian food. In a Buddhist temple in Cambodia, I once witnessed the offering of fish and meat to Siddhartha Gautama, who was a non-vegetarian during his lifetime. Historically, Buddhist monks engaged in pujas for mourners and accepted their meat offerings. However, in recent years, some monks have initiated prohibitions on the use of meat offerings by mourners and have even boycotted mourners who worship and consume meat, demonstrating a lack of tolerance for divergent practices.

It is a traditional rite to offer meat as a sacrifice. Unless the deceased was a vegetarian before his or her death, or had promised to be, it is unreasonable to force the deceased to be a vegetarian.

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