One should look at what the Commentary actually says:
Bhikkhu Pesala wrote:Maṃsavaṇijjāti sūkaramigādayo posetvā tesaṃ vikkayo.
Trading in meat means, having raised pigs or deer, etc., he sells them.
If that is right, then what Goenka says (in black) does go too far. Trading in flesh, according to the Commentary, means trading in animals for slaughter, whether one raises them oneself, or buys them from the farmer and sells them to the slaughter-house.
However, what the Commentary says does not extend to buying meat from the slaughterhouse or the supermarket.
A householder who purchases meat from the shops is not guilty of breaking the first precept unless buying from a market stall that kills live poultry, sea-food, etc., to order. The same applies to a restaurateur who purchases meat for resale in his restaurant.
This topic is an emotive one, and the crux of the debate between vegetarians/vegans and meat-eaters. The fact is that no one can eat meat or fish unless killing is done by someone. However, unless one instigates that killing in some way, there is no kamma of killing living-beings.
The rule for monks is that the meat is allowable unless it is "Seen, heard, or suspected that the animal was killed to provide meat for the Sangha." If the animal was killed by the owner to sell the meat, or to use it himself, then if someone buys it or if the owner cooks it and donates to the Sangha, the meat is allowable.
In four ways one kills living-beings:
- One does it with one's own hand
- One urges another to do it. The vegetarians say that merely by purchasing meat, that one is urging others to kill. This goes too far. The one who kills is motivated by the desire to profit, and has already killed the animal. If one person doesn't buy it, someone else will.
- One condones it, i.e. permits it to occur when one has the right to prevent it, e.g. one owns a fish pond, and allows others to catch the fish. If they do it without one's permission, then one does not condone it even if one makes no special effort to prevent them.
- One approves of it.