The Contradiction To Buddhism

Sentient beings, according to Buddhist tradition, are any and all beings that are capable of feeling pain or any physical sensation. Sentient beings are beings that have “a Buddha nature” (Nadeau 3520) So, sentient beings are determined, depending on which school an individual practices in or with can include not only human beings and animals, but also plant life, like trees. Since we must consume plant and/or meat to survive, we cannot completely avoid the suffering we cause other beings.
We are all responsible for our own salvation. We choose just how far we are willing to go to survive. Perhaps, our need to survive is a contradiction to Buddhism. Perhaps our will to survive and attachment to our physical bodies keeps us from salvation and harming others. However, an important aspect of Buddhism is the health of our bodies and without the consumption of food, forcing us to harm other sentient beings, our bodies would suffer, meaning without food, or consumption of meat and plant life. However, when our bodies perish, it could be said that we ourselves give back to the plants and animals, the nutrients which we have taken form
Many Buddhist practices practice “non-injury” but vegetarianism does not combat this. So, many Buddhist still eat meat. However, while they do consume meat there are certain meats that are considered a better choice. For example, “Tibetan Buddhists eat some kinds of meat but not others: since it is better to kill one animal rather than many, it is preferable to eat beef over fish. One cow can feed a great many monks.” (Nadeau 3528-3530) In this way, they lessen the suffering of other beings by being sustained by the meat of one. Eating fish, many would have to die and more often in order to sustain a group of people. This also takes into consideration their practice of “non-injury” by injuring/ killing less