Chapter 19 Chapter 17 Experience of Diet Methods

As I explored myself further, I felt more and more that I needed to change both inside and outside.As soon as my expenses and lifestyle change, and even before that change, I start adjusting my diet.I know that many writers on vegetarianism have approached the issue in great detail in terms of religion, science, practice, and medicine.From an ethical point of view, they came to the conclusion that the reason why human beings are superior to lower animals is not that the former must feed on the latter, but that the higher animals must protect the lower animals, and there must be mutual assistance between the two. Just like the relationship between people.They also indicate the truth that people eat not for enjoyment but for survival.So some of them made suggestions based on this and practiced it: not only did they not eat meat, but they also did not eat eggs or drink milk.From a scientific point of view, someone concluded that: the structure of the human body shows that man does not need cooking, but a fruit-eating animal; he can only eat his mother's milk, and when he grows teeth, he will start eating fruit. hard food.Medically speaking, their opinion is: skip all spices and sauces.According to practice and economics, they show that vegetarian food is the most economical.All of these insights affect me, and I've met all these types of vegetarians in vegetarian restaurants.There is a Vegetarian Society in England, and a weekly is published by this society; I subscribed to it, joined it, and soon became a member of its executive committee.It was here that I got in touch with the famous people who were considered vegetarian and started my own experience with the diet.

I no longer eat sweets and spices that are specially brought from home.As soon as I changed my mind, the taste for spices gradually disappeared, and now I eat spinach boiled with relish, but I used to eat it in Richmond, but it was bland.These many experiments have taught me that it is not the tongue but the heart that really tastes the taste. Economic considerations were of course still on my mind.At that time, there was a view that tea and coffee were harmful, and cocoa was advocated.As for me, I believe that one should only eat what is good for the body, so of course I stopped drinking tea and coffee, and substituted cocoa.

In the few restaurants I frequent, there are two parts.Part of it was patronized by those who were fairly well off, and there was a wide variety of dishes, and prices were paid at will, so that every meal cost a shilling or two.There was also a section of three courses and a slice of bread at sixpence a meal.On those strictly frugal days, I usually eat in the second portion. Parallel to these major experiments, many small ones were carried out; for instance, sometimes without starchy food, sometimes on bread and fruit, and sometimes on cheese, milk, and eggs.Experiments of this last kind are worth describing.This experiment lasted less than half a month.Those reformers who advocated avoiding starchy foods had a high opinion of eggs and believed that eggs were not a meat dish.Eating eggs is obviously not harmful to life.I just listened to this statement and ate eggs in spite of my vows.But this absurdity lasts only for a moment.I do not wish to add any new interpretation to this oath.I still remember the explanation my mother gave for my oath.I knew the meat dishes she was referring to included eggs.And as soon as I discovered the truth of the oath, I stopped eating eggs, and the experiment was abandoned.

There is a good argument for this claim that is worth mentioning.I heard there are three definitions of meat dishes in England.The first is that the so-called meat dishes only refer to the meat of animals. Vegetarians who accept this definition do not eat animal meat, but eat fish, let alone eggs.The second definition is that the so-called meat dishes refer to the meat of all animals.In this way, of course fish cannot be eaten, but eggs are edible.A third definition includes in meat dishes all animal meat and all its by-products, and therefore eggs and milk.If I accept the first statement, not only can I eat eggs, but I can also eat fish.Yet I believe my mother's definition is the one I should live by.So if I'm going to keep my vows, I shouldn't eat eggs.So that's what I did.This is a difficult problem because, on closer inspection, eggs are found in many dishes, even in vegetarian restaurants.That said, unless I actually knew, I'd have to go through the embarrassing process of finding out whether a particular dish contained eggs, since there are so many puddings and pastries that couldn't be done without them.Although the difficulty in distinguishing what to eat from what not to eat caused this difficulty, it simplified my diet.The simplification itself annoys me because I have to give up a lot of my favorite foods.These difficulties are only things that are passing away, for the strict observance of the vows produces an inner taste that is decidedly healthier, finer, and more timeless.

But the real test is yet to come, and it's about another vow.But who dares to harm those whom God protects? Here may wish to talk about the interpretation of the various oaths.The interpretation of the oath has been a rich topic of debate in the world.However succinct the oath may be, men twist it to suit their own purposes.Such people can be met in all classes of society, from rich to poor, from princes and nobles to country peasants.Selfishness made them colour-blind, and they deceived themselves, and attempted to deceive the world and God, by their equivocal mean.There is a golden rule, and that is to accept sincerely the interpretation of the oath given by the oath-taker.Another approach is to accept the weaker interpretation if two explanations are possible.Rejection of these two means leads to quarrels and crimes springing from dishonesty.Only those who seek the truth can easily follow this golden rule, and he does not need to seek esoteric explanations.What my mother said about meat dishes, according to this golden rule, should be the only truth for me, and not what my wider experience or prouder knowledge may teach me.

My experience in the UK has been guided by economic and regimen perspectives.The religious aspect of the matter was not considered until I went to South Africa to experience it to the fullest extent, and will return later.Although, the seeds for everything were planted in England. A convert is often much more zealous for his Protestant religion than a man who has been brought up in that religion.Vegetarianism was a new belief in England at the time, and so was it for me because, as we have seen, I got there as a convinced meat eater, but then made a conscious change to become one. Vegetarian.With a newfound enthusiasm for vegetarianism, I decided to start a vegetarian club in my residential area of ​​Bayswater.I have invited Sir Edwin Arnold, who lives in the area, to be Deputy Director of the Club. Dr. Oldfield, the editor-in-chief of The Vegetarian, acted as director and myself as secretary.The club was active for a while, but it ended after a few months.Because in my habit of moving regularly, I left that area.However, this short and cautious experience gave me a little exercise in organizing and managing social groups.