Your Say – Ben W shares his life as a Buddhist

中文版

Ben at Namtso Lake in Tibet

Annie@SHVC: Hi Ben, where do you come from and how long have you been in Shanghai?
Ben: I spent most of my life in Ohio, but I’ve decided to make Shanghai my home and I’ve been here for almost 2 years.

Annie@SHVC: So are you a vegetarian or vegan?
Ben: I’ve been a vegetarian for about 7 years and I may go vegan eventually, but I’m not there yet.

Annie@SHVC: What exactly turned you into a vegetarian?
Ben: One summer I was spending some time in the Adirondacks in upstate New York and I simply realized that I could never kill an animal myself. I suppose I could if the only other option was starvation, but these days we have so many convenient and healthy food options that there was no reason for me to continue eating animals. I realized that I was effectively telling someone else to do my dirty work and I needed to take responsibility for the reality of my food choices.

This isn’t the case in China necessarily, but in the US most people are very disconnected from their food and are not conscious consumers. So, yes, being a Buddhist I try to show compassion for all living things, but more importantly I just want people to understand and take responsibility for what they eat. If they don’t feel the same compassion for animals, that’s okay, but at least they have awareness and integrity and I can respect that. This approach of conscious consumption would go a long ways to solving our health and environmental issues as well.

Annie@SHVC: Wow so you’re a Buddhist, actually there are a lot of Buddhist themed vegetarian restaurants in town, and I noticed that they don’t cook with garlic, onion, spring onion, leek, chives or eggs, is this specified in a Buddhist diet?
Ben: I suppose it is, but I wouldn’t consider myself a well-educated or dogmatic Buddhist. I just try to apply the fundamental principles of awareness and compassion in every moment. As with any type of label, there are going to be many variations between practitioners of “a” religion.

Annie@SHVC: Ah ok, so this is just special in Asian branch of Buddhism? What about smoking and drinking?
Ben: I’ve never been a smoker because I see no value in it. As for drinking, until recently I would occasionally have one or two drinks with friends, but I recently re-committed to not drinking alcohol or caffeine. (The first time was when I was in France for a year. I don’t know why I chose to do it in the land of wine and coffee.) I can see that some people may gain health and social benefits from moderate wine drinking, but more importantly for me is that I uphold my commitment to awareness by not ingesting anything that would alter my perception. Caffeine and other drugs can temporarily and artificially improve your focus, but if you combine the crash that follows with the long-term side effects the combined effect is negative. A 20-minute daily dose of meditation will provide results that are much more sustainable with none of the side effects.

Annie@SHVC: I love your meditation for caffeine approach! Actually in our latest vegan fitness we also emphasize on having things nourishing rather than stimulating, esp those that only create temporary effect. Hmm, so do you find it difficult to be a vegetarian in Shanghai? I have some friends who gave up being vegetarians after they came to China, I was sad to hear that.
Ben: It’s difficult to be a vegetarian pretty much everywhere in the world with a few exceptions like California, New York and India. It just means that you have to cook for yourself more often to maintain your health and eat salads or pasta when you go out with friends.

Annie@SHVC:Last but not last least, what is your favorite vegetarian dish or restaurant in Shanghai?
Ben: To follow up on the last question, if you’re lucky enough to have vegetarian friends, then it is much easier to maintain your diet, because Shanghai does have some great vegetarian restaurants. My two favorite ones are Anna Maya and Greenology (Dashu Wujie). They are both a little pricey, but that’s only if you compare them to all the other restaurants that serve food with half the quality and nutritional value. So when I go out, I try to do it right with one of these restaurants for their flavorful and consciously-prepared food.

 
佛教徒Ben W和我们分享他的生活

翻译：Terry
审核：Dreamer

Annie@SHVC: Hi Ben, 请告诉我们你从哪里来，还有你来上海多长时间了？
Ben: 绝大部分时间我是生活在俄亥俄州，后来我决定在上海定居，我来上海差不多有两年了。

Annie@SHVC: 那么你是一个素食主义者还是纯素者呢？
Ben: 我吃素已经有7年了，但还不是一个严格的素食者，也许以后我会变成一名纯素者。

Annie@SHVC: 是什么原因使你变为一名素食主义者呢？
Ben：那是一年夏天，我在纽约州远郊的阿迪伦达克森林里，突然间我意识到，我不能再为了果腹而杀害动物了。我下定决心，除非我走投无路快要饿死，否则绝不会再杀害动物作为我的食物。更何况现在有那么多方便又健康的素食美味供我们选择，我们没有理由继续残害动物了。我也意识到，以前虽然我没有亲手杀害动物，但是因为我对肉食的选择，导致其他人替我执行这个惨不人道的工作，所以我需要很负责任地选择我的食物。
在中国不一定是这种情况，但是在美国大部分人都没法将食物与动物联系起来，是无意识的消费者。所以，是的，作为一名佛教徒，我秉持着一个信念就是对所有生物都要有慈悲心。更重要的是，我希望人们也能了解他们的食物，负责任地选择自己的食物。即使他们无法像我一样感同身受，对动物抱有同样的慈悲心，那也无妨，但最起码的要有这种意识和万物同一体的观念，这也是我所崇尚的。有良知的消费不仅对我们的健康有极其深远的影响，还能解决坏境问题。

Annie@SHVC: 哇，所以你一名佛教徒。事实上，在上海由许多佛教主题的素食餐厅，我注意到他们在烹饪的过程中不使用大蒜、洋葱、大葱、韭葱、小香葱和鸡蛋，这是佛教徒特有的饮食方式么？
Ben: 我想是的，但我并不属于那种十分传统、虔诚的佛教徒。我是时刻把佛教的基本意识和对万事万物的慈悲心付诸在我的言行上。同一种信仰的信徒之间有会有些不同，会被打上不同的标签。

Annie@SHVC: OK，也许这只是亚洲佛教分支的特殊情况？那么您是否吸烟和饮酒呢？
Ben: 我从来都不吸烟，因为我觉得吸烟对我没有任何好处。至于饮酒，我现在偶尔会和朋友出去喝两杯，但最近我再次决定要戒掉酒精和咖啡因。（第一次下这样的决心是我在法国的那一年。我不懂为什么我会在这样一个以酒和咖啡著称的国家做这样的决定。）我理解一些人适量饮酒可以保持健康，也能在社会交际方面获益，但我一直信守自己许下的承诺，不摄入任何对心智有影响的东西。咖啡因和其他药物会给你暂时的精力充沛的假象，他们会对身体产生长期的负面影响。每天20分钟的冥想会比这些药物效果更持久，而且没有副作用。

Annie@SHVC: 我十分赞成你用冥想代替咖啡因的方法！事实上，在我们最近一期的纯素健康宣传课上，我们强调要采取能滋养我们身体，而不是刺激我们身体的饮食方式，尤其要避免哪些产生暂时性效果的饮食。那么你在上海吃素有困难么？我的一些朋友来到中国之后就放弃持素了，听到这样的消息我很伤心。
Ben: 除了加利福尼亚、纽约和印度这少数例外的地方，在世界上任何一地地方持素都会有困难。因为它意味着为了你的健康，你要更经常的自己做饭；而和朋友出去时，可能只有沙拉和面条供你选择。

Annie@SHVC: 最后一个问题，你最喜欢的素食料理或者最喜欢的素食餐厅是什么？
Ben: 对最后这个问题我多说一点，如果你有和你志同道合持素的朋友，那真是太幸运了，这样你保持素食的饮食方式就更容易一些，上海的确有几家很棒的素食餐厅。我最喜欢的两家是尔苑咖啡厅（Anna Maya） 和大蔬无界（Greenology）。如果你把这两家和其他那些菜品质量不好，营养成分大大折扣的餐厅比，这两家素食餐厅的价格会稍显昂贵。但当我要外出就餐时，还是会选择既这些美味健康又有良知的食物。