"Depending on each person’s own condition and capacity, all of us should at least try to be vegetarian from now on. The length of time to stay vegetarian is a personal decision, but the longer the better. Our motivation though should be different from that of the non- Buddhists whose primary concerns are mostly health related rather than considerations for the future lives or compassion for other sentient beings. We will not only stop eating meat but should also vow not to eat meat ever again. Absent the vow, simply stop eating meat would not be deemed a virtuous deed on its own. The vow should go like this, “By the merit of quitting meat now, may I never eat meat again in all future lives.

If I were to be reborn as an animal, I would hope to be a herbivore, never a carnivore.” With this, even if we should end up in the animal realm, we would not eat meat and not hurt any beings, including ourselves."

Depicted from Luminous Wisdom Book Series: The Right View ~ Why Vegetarian?