The Buddha's last meal from which he became sick and passed away was at the house of Cunda, the blacksmith's son (buddhist-elibrary.org).Non-vegetarian Buddhists don't avoid pork. But maybe they should. While historically in dispute, pork killed the Buddha. The dispute centers around the name of the dish offered to him -- "pig's delight" (sukara maddava) -- which could also refer to mushroom (truffles).
Neither seems suitable as "food." However, wandering mendicants do not have the luxury of choosing what they are offered. It is said that the Buddha well knew what the consequences of this meal would be. He asked the donor to only serve it to him and to bury the rest. The entire episode, coming well before the Buddha's final passing, is preserved in the Maha Parinibbana Sutta (D.II,127) of the Digha Nikaya (the "Great Final Passing Discourse of the Collection of Lengthy Discourses").
The following story illustrates a great Buddhist truth. All wrongdoing (harmful karma) has only four sources, four motivations, four roots: delusion, greed, aversion, and fear.
Egypt to Slaughter all of its Pigs out of Fear
Health worker sprays chemicals to disinfect local pig farm in Cairo, 4/27/09. Authorities will kill about 350,000 pigs (AP/Mohammed Ahmed).CAIRO – Egypt began killing the roughly 300,000 pigs in the country today as a precau-tionary measure against the spread of swine flu -- even though no cases have been reported here yet, the Health Ministry said.
The move immediately provoked resistance from pig farmers. At one large pig farming center just north of Cairo, farmers refused to cooperate with Health Ministry workers, who came to slaughter the animals. And the workers left without carrying out the government order.
"It has been decided to immediately start slaughtering all the pigs in Egypt using the full capacity of the country's slaughterhouses," Health Minister Hatem el-Gabaly told reporters after a Cabinet meeting with President Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt's overwhelmingly Muslim population does not eat pork due to religious restrictions. But the animals are raised and consumed by the Christian minority, which some estimates put at 10 percent of the population. More>>
The move immediately provoked resistance from pig farmers. At one large pig farming center just north of Cairo, farmers refused to cooperate with Health Ministry workers, who came to slaughter the animals. And the workers left without carrying out the government order.
"It has been decided to immediately start slaughtering all the pigs in Egypt using the full capacity of the country's slaughterhouses," Health Minister Hatem el-Gabaly told reporters after a Cabinet meeting with President Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt's overwhelmingly Muslim population does not eat pork due to religious restrictions. But the animals are raised and consumed by the Christian minority, which some estimates put at 10 percent of the population. More>>
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