Plant Sentient

[Indrajala]

I wonder why this list specifically and not other animals...? And was this purely for the Vinaya (part of their many vows?) or for lay persons as well?

In the case of elephant flesh, the elephant of King Bimbisāra died and the low caste butchers went to go eat it, along with a few monks. Some people asked the Buddha about this and the rule against eating elephant flash was established. In the case of vultures, as the story goes the monks ate some vulture meat and a bunch of them followed them into the woods, squawking at them, whereupon the Buddha then banned the consumption of vulture flesh.

It was a case by case basis.

Human flesh was apparently used in medicine.

[Malcolm]

I wonder why this list specifically and not other animals...? And was this purely for the Vinaya (part of their many vows?) or for lay persons as well?

In the case of elephant flesh, the elephant King Bimbisāra died and the low caste butchers went to go eat it, along with a few monks. Some people asked the Buddha about this and the rule against eating elephant flash was established. In the case of vultures, as the story goes the monks ate some vulture meat and a bunch of them followed them into the woods, squawking at them, whereupon the Buddha then banned the consumption of vulture flesh.

It was a case by case basis.

Human flesh was apparently used in medicine.

Everything can be medicine.

[Ogyen]

Everything can be medicine.

Or poison.

[Son]

Which renders the term "sentient being" null,

Yes

conventional words.

Yes.

Does Longchenpa say that plants can "achieve nirvana?" Does he say you can be reborn as a plant? This is the point of the term "sentient being," in Buddhism--of any kind.

Nirvana is just a word. He actually said (according to The Precious Treasury....that Nirvana does not exist. Even "'sentient being" does not exist according to the diamond sutra....a Mahayana Sutra .

... Congratulations! Sentient beings don't exist, therefore plants aren't sentient. This would be a meaningless discussion.

[Kunga Lhadzom]

This would be a meaningless discussion.

Sometimes trying to figure out these things, can help to understand meaning....so....the Million dollar question is : What Exists ?
What is Not Impermanent ?
What is there when nothing else exists ?
What is Permanent ?
And Is THAT sentient ?

[Son]

This would be a meaningless discussion.

Sometimes trying to figure out these things, can help to understand meaning....so....the Million dollar question is : What Exists ?

Samsara.

What is Not Impermanent ?

Emptiness.

What is there when nothing else exists ?

I beg your pardon. Is that a riddle?

What is Permanent ?

Again, emptiness.

And Is THAT sentient ?

... Not in the popular definition of the word, no. "Sentient" is not a Dharmic term. It's just what we contemporaries use.

[Kunga Lhadzom]

Son,
You say Samsara exists, and Emptiness is Permanent,
then that means Samsara is Emptiness and Permanent ?

[Jesse]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 143900.htm