Zoroastrian: Compassion Consortium (11/27)

Jen B. (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven (eds.(, Wisdom Quarterly; Vegan Spirituality

Vegan veterinarian Dr. Armaiti May (VAPA)

The Compassion Consortium meets monthly. Each month's service is unique and features a presentation with experts from various religious and/or philosophical traditions who share the conviction that all living kind, and the planet itself, deserve respect, justice, and loving kindness.

Each service also includes elements of traditional worship services — such as meditation, music, and movement. These practices help each participant personally express faith, gratitude, and celebration to the degree that they wish to participate.

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  Friday, Nov. 27, 4:00 pm ET
• Zoroastrian Dr. Armaiti May, DVM
• small animal veterinarian, vegan advocate

Zoroastrianism priest or camel driver (Tang Dynasty)

Dr. Armaiti May, a graduate of the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, worked at an emergency dog and cat hospital then trained in veterinary acupuncture through the Chi Institute of Chinese Medicine.

She has served on the Board of Directors for RedRover, an animal organization that brings animals out of crisis and into care, and is president of Vegan Toastmasters, which empowers vegans to speak effectively on behalf of animals. She is launching a non-profit organization called the Veterinary Association for the Protection of Animals (“VAPA”) to educate the veterinary profession about the benefits of veganism and support humane teaching methods in veterinary surgical training.

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ABOUT: VAPA (vapavets.org) is an online community and an advocacy group. Its members are united around a common goal -- providing the best care to the animals of this earth with the same level of love and respect as we offer one another.

VAPA is one of many groups that is collectively evolving humankind's understanding of humane advancements in veterinary medicine, animal wellness, and domestic care. There is now a consensus that humane practices are more cost-effective and scientifically sound.

Some of its primary organizational goals are to help end the requirement for cruel and redundant surgeries in veterinary medicine education while advocating for humane alternatives any time the well-being of an animal is at risk.

Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord (or Asura)

ABOUT: Zoroastrianism is an Iranian (Aryan) religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra). It innovated a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ontology and an eschatology that predicts the ultimate conquest of evil by good.

The religion states that active and ethical participation in life through good deeds [karma] formed from good thoughts and good words is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

Zoroastrians believe that there is one universal, transcendent, all-good, and uncreated supreme creator deity called Ahura Mazda or the "Wise Lord." [Who from a Buddhist perspective, some suggest, may be an Asura or Titan.]

Please don't ask him to kill me. I don't want to die

Historically, the unique features of Zoroastrianism -- its monotheism, messianism (waiting for Godot, the Maitreya, the Messiah), vegetarianism, belief in freewill and judgement after death, its conception of heaven, hell, angels, and demons, among other concepts -- may have influenced other religious and philosophical systems, including the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) and Gnosticism, Mahayana Buddhism, and Greek philosophy.

With roots dating back to the 2nd millennium BCE, Zoroastrianism enters recorded history around the middle of the 6th century BCE (around the time of the Buddha or the Axial Age). It served as the state religion of the ancient Iranian [Persian] empires for more than a millennium (approximately from 600 BCE to 650 CE) but declined onwards as a direct result of the Arab-Muslim conquest of Persia (633–654 CE), which led to the large-scale persecution of the Zoroastrian people.

Recent estimates place the current number of Zoroastrians in the world at around 110,000–120,000 at most, many of them in India where they are known as the Parsis.

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The Faravahar is an ancient symbol of the Zoroastrian faith. It depicts a bearded man with one hand reaching forward. He stands above a pair of wings that are outstretched from a circle representing eternity.

It is represented on the Compassion Consortium wheel of interfaith symbols on the home page and also attached as an image to this event announcement. COMPASSION CONSORTIUM NOVEMBER 27 SERVICE-DR. ARMAITI MAY, VEGAN/DVM/ZOROASTRIAN, Sun, Nov 27, 2022, 1:00 PM | Meetup