Association for Insight Meditation

Why wouldn't Buddhists want to teach a man to fish ? Of course they would, is it because you think Buddhists don't eat meat? Many Buddhist do enjoy eating meat, even the Buddha ate meat. The tendants of Buddhism does not exlude eating meat.

There's also the old saying give a man a fish vs teach the man how to fish, not sure what your "cabbage" anology is trying to convey

The buddha teaching is focussing on human instead of animal! He does not teach animal of how to becoming enlightment. He taught directly to educated human not to kill animals since it will create a cause and effect that roots the lifecycle looping of suffering. He explains the root of all suffering in a simple analogy as cause and effects fashion but not asking to practice cause and effect! Instead (1) to "see" it through the buddha super wisdom (super conscious) (2) to recognize it and come up with "resolution" to unfold the complication of these cause and effect application through our human life and (3) to "practice" the superconsciousness to see through (karma) and provide "resolution" to these karma whenever it comes and goes. He never intentionally teaches to animals or any form of life except human and only to those (human) that ready (or able to) to accept his teachings. Therefore, teaching a man to fish can be used as long as the analogy only limit in the teaching purpose (using word) and not doing! (actual fishing and killing the animal). However, there are instances where killing an animal is to safe them from suffering too!...I hope this will help someone to understand the complication of analogy and the purpose of teaching.

Dear Ven., dear friends,

this proverb is very popular but actually carries a lot of our today's problems with it.
If we could teach the practicing of Dhamma exclusively and in the right way, we would give something special, something that is irreplaceable, a gift that excels all gifts.

But I guess that is not often possible and also not possible to be taught to everybody. For sure it's also a matter of what and how.

It sounds great to offer somebody the possibility to still his desires and that is how the most would take it if you teach them how to get things by one self. Its not so often seen, that the gift is how to get ride of desire and so, one who misunderstand the gift will misuse it easily.

If you teach somebody how to fish, and his moral conduct is weak he would fish the lakes empty. If you teach somebody without virtue how to plant cabbage, he will cut of the hole forest for his greed and selfish interests.

There are many "helpers" who are not very happy with this reality, but if we look carefully what happens in the world, we can see that everywhere and it is also a fact, that moral education is generally very weak in our "modern" society.

Ven. Ashin Janakabhivamsa wrote a very important final story in this work "Abhidhamma in daily life":

"The Wily Tiger

Here is a story from Hitopadesa - to illustrate my point - a wily tiger was too old to catch his prey. One day he kept calling loudly, "Oh travelers! Come and take this gold bangle." A traveler heard this call, so he approached the tiger and asked, "Where is the gold bangle?"

The old wily tiger showed the gold bangle in his paws. The traveler said he dared not come near him who used to be a man-eater.. Then the wily old tiger preached him a sermon as follows, "In my younger days I kill and eat human beings because I was not fortunate enough to listen to the Dhamma. As I grow older and lost my wife and children. I really felt samvega. At the time I happened to meet with a noble person who taught me to live a virtuous life making deeds of Dana. Since then I have been living a strictly righteous life. You have nothing to be afraid of. I am harmless. See, I don't even have claws and fangs. I have resolved to give this gold bangle to someone as charity, and you are the lucky one. Go bathe in the lake and come accept my gift.

Believing these persuasive words, the traveler did what he was told. When he stepped into the lake he sank into the swamp. Saying that he would help him, the tiger came and devoured the traveler.

This story from Hitopadesa gives us a moral lesson that mere knowledge is useless without morality. Educated and intelligent persons without morality endowed with cunning, charm and cleverness at deceiving can be more dangerous than the ignorant, because they possess the knowledge to succumb wicked deeds. I would like to advise the readers not to be contended with mere knowledge, but to practice what they have digested so that they may become really virtuous persons. Here I conclude wishing you all again a long life."

To understand the human mind is not only a gift to get free of suffering but also a tool to cause plenty of suffering, if one uses the human psychology for personal gains or with ongoing wrong view and I guess it is not a secret that all big failures in the past where deeply connected with great "compassion" and the lack of wisdom to make it to something real.

So it's not a matter of fish or cabbage, animal or vegetable, this life or that life, its a matter of priority to get rid of causing the harm of any life and this motivation should be the consideration if one is worthy to be additional taught. Also this motivation can be explained and be taught. The fish of the cabbage might be good to have some motivations to listen to it, even there is no idea of right view.