Sevan Ross
Encyclopedia
Sevan Ross is a Zen Buddhist priest with training backgrounds in both the Sōtō
and Rinzai traditions in the Harada-Yasutani lineage.
Ross is an outspoken advocate of Vegetarianism
, especially as seen in the context of Zen practice: “I was a member of the Rochester Zen Center
from, I think, 1977. The Rochester Zen Center has always emphasized vegetarianism, and within a year I made the identification with animals where I recognized that by consuming them, at some point in the process, I was harming others. I wasn't harming the one that I was consuming, because I couldn't see it die, but I knew it would be replaced by others. And when that realization hit me, it hit like a ton of bricks and I was a vegetarian within a week. I just stopped. I opened the refrigerator one day, I looked at that tuna salad, and I said ‘that's enough of this. I don't need to eat this.’ It's not like I lived in a place where you couldn't get decent food, it's easy, so I quit and I never looked back. My transformation was linked to the identity that whatever flesh food I'm eating is being replaced by another animal that is tortured in some way before being murdered to become the next flesh food meal. So I wanted to stop being part of that chain.”
Soto
Sōtō Zen , or is, with Rinzai and Ōbaku, one of the three most populous sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.The Sōtō sect was first established as the Caodong sect during the Tang Dynasty in China by Dongshan Liangjie in the 9th century, which Dōgen Zenji then brought to Japan in the 13th century...
and Rinzai traditions in the Harada-Yasutani lineage.
Ross is an outspoken advocate of Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
, especially as seen in the context of Zen practice: “I was a member of the Rochester Zen Center
Rochester Zen Center
The Rochester Zen Center is a Sōtō and Rinzai Zen Buddhist sangha in the Sanbo Kyodan lineage, located in Rochester, New York and established in 1966 by Philip Kapleau. It is one of the oldest Zen centers in the United States. The history of the Rochester Zen Center begins overseas with the...
from, I think, 1977. The Rochester Zen Center has always emphasized vegetarianism, and within a year I made the identification with animals where I recognized that by consuming them, at some point in the process, I was harming others. I wasn't harming the one that I was consuming, because I couldn't see it die, but I knew it would be replaced by others. And when that realization hit me, it hit like a ton of bricks and I was a vegetarian within a week. I just stopped. I opened the refrigerator one day, I looked at that tuna salad, and I said ‘that's enough of this. I don't need to eat this.’ It's not like I lived in a place where you couldn't get decent food, it's easy, so I quit and I never looked back. My transformation was linked to the identity that whatever flesh food I'm eating is being replaced by another animal that is tortured in some way before being murdered to become the next flesh food meal. So I wanted to stop being part of that chain.”