Probably one of the most asked and highly charged questions directed towards someone leading a Buddhist lifestyle, is that of vegetarianism. Buddhists do not believe in the taking of life for any reason, but the fact does remain: humans, Buddhists included, have been eating the flesh of animals since time immemorial. To put an even finer point on it, even the consumption of plants and vegetables is also taking the life of a living being in order to sustain one's own life. It is a spiritual connundrum with no real solution. Does the key lie in mindfullness? Did Buddha ever tell his followers not to eat meat? The following links and quoted passages may not provide the answers, but may at least shed some light on this extremely volatile subject.