eating clams

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mario92
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eating clams

Post by mario92 »

Hello is eating clams breaking 1st precept? Are they considered living beings?
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Mahabrahma
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Re: eating clams

Post by Mahabrahma »

I drank some Clamato a few hours ago. That is, tomato juice mixed with some sort of clam sauce.
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Re: eating clams

Post by Mahabrahma »

And yes, even a bacteria is a "living being", so it quite matters. But as long as you didn't kill the living being yourself, it is plausible you didn't break the precept.
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mario92
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Re: eating clams

Post by mario92 »

Thank you, but in my country i went to a seafood restaurant, and what i know they are alive, they just pluck the clam in the moment maybe. I wont eat clams again in seafood restaurant, my mother ordered clams, and i ate them. But i wont do it again.
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Re: eating clams

Post by Mahabrahma »

Blessed are you if you don't partake in eating animal products. That is the surer Path!

:namaste:
That sage who has perfect insight,
at the summit of spiritual perfection:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

-Dhammapada.
justindesilva
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Re: eating clams

Post by justindesilva »

mario92 wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2023 2:15 am Thank you, but in my country i went to a seafood restaurant, and what i know they are alive, they just pluck the clam in the moment maybe. I wont eat clams again in seafood restaurant, my mother ordered clams, and i ate them. But i wont do it again.
In a magazine of damma verses called Lo weda sangarawa , A poem is written that means ,
The crab plays up in the pot of water until the water starts boiling , and so are being delight on this earth until the day comes
as delight cannot be contracted to be suffering .
[james]
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Re: eating clams

Post by [james] »

Mahabrahma wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2023 2:13 am But as long as you didn't kill the living being yourself, it is plausible you didn't break the precept.
That’s a new spin! Plausible deniability. Clams, mussels, oysters, “shellfish” are alive when tossed into the pot or fire, otherwise they are risky eating. So how is it plausible?
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DNS
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Re: eating clams

Post by DNS »

Mahabrahma wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2023 3:22 am Blessed are you if you don't partake in eating animal products. That is the surer Path!
Clams are not animal products, they are animals. See the info box here, they are members of the Animal Kingdom:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mollusca
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Re: eating clams

Post by SDC »

Mahabrahma wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2023 2:13 am And yes, even a bacteria is a "living being", so it quite matters.
A virus is not a living organism. It is parasitic and cannot endure without a host cell. Has no digestion. Cannot transform energy.
“Life is swept along, short is the life span; no shelters exist for one who has reached old age. Seeing clearly this danger in death, a seeker of peace should drop the world’s bait.” SN 1.3
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Re: eating clams

Post by Mahabrahma »

[james] wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2023 12:49 pm
Mahabrahma wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2023 2:13 am But as long as you didn't kill the living being yourself, it is plausible you didn't break the precept.
That’s a new spin! Plausible deniability. Clams, mussels, oysters, “shellfish” are alive when tossed into the pot or fire, otherwise they are risky eating. So how is it plausible?
I'm not going to argue the point. Thanks for the warning. Clamato is a big company, so I hope they don't do that, but since your warning, I will have to steer free of clams in the future. Thank you for being so kind as to warn me of such an occurrence. Thank you dear friend. :namaste:
That sage who has perfect insight,
at the summit of spiritual perfection:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

-Dhammapada.
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Re: eating clams

Post by Mahabrahma »

It seems they make it with something called, "reconstituted clam broth", very sad to hear that for some reason the clams may be burned while still living.
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-Dhammapada.
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Re: eating clams

Post by dharmacorps »

SDC wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2023 2:45 pm
Mahabrahma wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2023 2:13 am And yes, even a bacteria is a "living being", so it quite matters.
A virus is not a living organism. It is parasitic and cannot endure without a host cell. Has no digestion. Cannot transform energy.
Exactly. Bacteria/viruses are not beings according to the Buddha. This an oft-repeated falsehood. This belief drives many people to ridiculous extremes, like certain Jain sects the Buddha openly, repeatedly criticized. I think its confusion or conflation with modern scientific information.

Clams are living. I don't know why anyone would want to eat them, but they do. :rolleye:
Last edited by dharmacorps on Thu Mar 23, 2023 6:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: eating clams

Post by Mahabrahma »

DNS wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2023 2:22 pm
Mahabrahma wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2023 3:22 am Blessed are you if you don't partake in eating animal products. That is the surer Path!
Clams are not animal products, they are animals. See the info box here, they are members of the Animal Kingdom:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mollusca
Thank you for clearing it up, DNS. Back when I used to be vegan for a number of years I would call anything that came from an animal an animal product, including the meat. But I understand the differentiation.
That sage who has perfect insight,
at the summit of spiritual perfection:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

-Dhammapada.
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Re: eating clams

Post by Mahabrahma »

I think with regards to bacteria and viruses, one would have to believe in the Soul to consider it alive, without belief that every living thing has a Soul, the view of Equanimity can fade. However it is important to know that understand the Soul is not necessarily a "Self".
That sage who has perfect insight,
at the summit of spiritual perfection:
that’s who I call a brahmin.

-Dhammapada.
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Re: eating clams

Post by cappuccino »

Mahabrahma wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2023 6:51 pm I think with regards to bacteria and viruses
:computerproblem:
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