Moonpointer (Vows)

20 Responses to Moonpointer (Vows)

1. 

   Shirley Maya Tan on Mar 13, 2011 at 2:21 pm

   Now, please think carefully for one minute – what would motivate a lama to blog tirelessly about the suffering of animals, when this lama does not even enjoy blogging that much? Especially if you know how bad internet is in our Kuala Lumpur city areas.

   Why would a lama keep promoting vegetarian – to the point of finding the vegetarian recipes and posting them online for everyone’s convenience?

   Most of all, why would this lama fall on HIS knees and BEG you with ‘tears streaming down HIS eyes” and plead that we stop eating meat?

   Beyond the animals’ suffering, it is for us- so that we will not take rebirth as the very ones we have been gnawing and chewing on in all these years.

   Please take a moment to think about that.

   Thank you.

   And as always, thank you, Rinpoche for always showing us the way to care more and work more for others.

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2. 

   Jessi Bryant on Mar 13, 2011 at 2:33 pm

   Thank you Rinpoche. I’m new to Buddhism and have only been a vegetarian for a couple of months. I look forward to taking these vows tomorrow.

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3. 

   Josh Akers on Mar 13, 2011 at 2:56 pm

   Ohh wonderful. I was wondering what more I could do to increase the commitment I had already made to being vegetarian. I must make this proper vow asap…

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4. 

   Dennis Paulson on Mar 13, 2011 at 3:10 pm

   THANK YOU SO MUCH, TSEM RINPOCHE, for this wise and compassionate teaching. Having been vegetarian/vegan since 1968–when you were only three, and many of your students had not yet graced our planet–I’ve learned a few things which may be helpful to the success of those taking the “Vegetarian Vow” you’re encouraging them to.

   Having helped lead many hundreds into this more intelligent plant-based diet over the 35 years my company–Fasting Center International, Inc.–has been the global leader in our field (with clients on seven continents, representing 220 countries)–I’ve learned it’s helpful to provide both those contemplating taking this “Vow,” as well as those who’ve already taken it, with sufficient research and supportive statements from celebrated ones (both within Buddhism and without), since all will be questioned by their family, friends and colleagues about their new dietary change.

   Additionally, it’s critical that new vegetarians/vegans understand how to (1) intelligently cover all their body’s daily nutrient bases (so they don’t become weak and think they have to return to meat-eating), and (2) how to find good vegetarian/vegan cookbooks (especially important for those who cook for their family, as they can be critical in leading family members into this wiser diet, too).

   My company’s new ‘Fasting Center International’ Facebook page. . .:

   http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fasting-Center-International/162974767072601

   . . .provides all of this for free. We hope those interested will ‘Like’ that new page, and click on ‘Discussions’ (upper left, under the photo of me with my friend and teacher since 1982, His Holiness the Dalai Lama).

   Once there, please scroll down to read the Topics covering both of the above critical points. . .for success in opting out of the sacrifice system and respecting animal rights for life:

   (1) Vegetarian Or Vegan: Opting For A More Intelligent, Plant-Based Diet–Going Directly To The Source Of Nutrients

   (2) Vegetarian/Vegan Since 1968, Here’s How I’ve Intelligently Covered My Body’s Daily Nutrient Requirements (two parts)

   All reading there should feel free to Comment, of course (on those or any of the other new Topics there you may be intuitively drawn to).

   Beyond that, may each sister and brother reading here be happy, healthy, and peaceful. May goodness and virtue flourish, and may you enjoy a stable, meritorious life. May you practice, as much as possible, loving kindness, compassion, empathic joy and equanimity–just as Tsem Rinpoche daily teaches–remembering these words from the Dalai Lama who ordained him:

   “The key to a happier and more successful world is the growth of compassion. There exists nothing within this vast space that cannot be healed by genuine compassion.” Have a wise life. Big Love; your friend and longtime animal-rights activist, Dennis Paulson [Thubten Gyatso]

   P.S. If I may, Rinpoche, I’d suggest you create a special section or page within your superb Blog’s “Animals and Vegetarianism” section, to list all those taking this “Vegetarian Vow” for life, knowing they can inspire others to do likewise. However, for those who feel they can’t yet take this lifetime “Vow”–which you and I have–perhaps you might wish to create Shorter Vow categories, such as Vowing not to eat meat for one day a week. Other categories could include giving up meat-eating for one week, or one month, or six months, or one year, or five years.

   I’ve helped inspire this in the Dharma organization I’ve been affiliated with since 1974–the FPMT (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, founded by my precious root Tibetan teacher, Lama Thubten Yeshe, who passed away in 1984, since under the brilliant spiritual direction of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, now 65, nurturing its 156 centers, projects and services in 38 countries, worldwide, all focused on (1) helping enable the Dharma’s movement to the West (following Padmasambhava’s 8th-Century prophecy), while (2) helping to end as much unnecessary suffering as possible.

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5. 

   Anila on Mar 13, 2011 at 4:24 pm

   Being a vegetarian is not hard if you are being explained with a reason. Its all in the mind. You can train your mind to be desciplined once you have taken the vow of non meat eating or vegetarianism. Being a vegetarian is also a good way for people to stop drinking alchohol which will lead to more vices leading to bad Karma. I have heard that drinkers say that it will not be complete if the drinks are not accompanied with meat. The method you can apply is already put infront of you by Rinpoche who is so kind to help you avoid committing bad Karma of killing and taking a life indirectly. And what will move you more is the Guru who has so humbly plead to you to stop eating meat and going down on his hands and knees with tears streaming down his cheeks. Begging you to detach yourself from eating meat to save the lives of the animals.

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6. 

   William on Mar 14, 2011 at 12:39 am

   Thank you Rinpoche for explaining the significance of taking the Vegetarian Vow as it creates more merits for eliminating the causes for the attachment to eating meat i.e. indirect killing. And being a vegetarian is not that difficult after all. It has been 2 months that i do not eat meat and surprisingly, there is hardly any craving for meat. In the past, i would not even dare to say that i will go vegetarian. When there is a strong reason behind the decision, then it will not sway, in this case, to stop animal suffering, hence go vegetarian!

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     patsy on Mar 15, 2011 at 6:22 pm

     Good for you, William, that you have become a vegetarian. It is true that once we stop taking meat, we will not have any cravings for it, in fact we find the smell of meat repulsive!

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7. 

   UKConcernedPerson on Mar 14, 2011 at 1:46 am

   Dear Rinpoche,

   Thank you so much for explaining so clearly how to formally make our vows to abandon causing the suffering, and eating, of other sentient beings, and for explaining the profound spiritual benefits of doing so.

   It is my intention to take these vows very soon.

   In our home, my friend has also decided to practise Vegetarianism for the two weeks of Losar (even though he is not a Buddhist, just because he thinks it is a good thing to do and he is committed to the health benefits of being vegetarian) and we are even looking into getting vegetarian cat food for our two cats and trying to see how they get on with it. It is a commercially available brand of vegetarian cat food, but it is also possible to make your own. I should be able to find a recipe online if anyone is interested.

   Taurine is added even to the meat-based cat food, apparently, so if the vegetarian one works well, there is no advantage to a meat-based diet for cats in terms of taurine, which is essential for cats. However, if, after introducing it gradually, the diet really does not agree with your cat, you need to either partially or fully replace it with meat, this may be true for about 10% of cats, I have heard. I have heard that dogs can be vegetarian quite easily. It would be great if even the cats don’t have to create any more bad karma from eating other animals.

   Ideally, we want to see a complete overhaul of the food industry, no harm to animals and the environment, and active promotion of their wholistic wellbeing. Equal rights for animals, humans and the environment.

   Can you imagine how nice it would be to be a child growing up in such an environment, where non-harming and caring were the guiding principles?

   Thank you so much for your extremely kind and caring help and for inspiring so many people to act in accordance with how things are.

   I will enjoy working writing for the benefit of animals who do not have the luxury of communication and influence.

   With admiration and respect for your tireless and 100% committed efforts,

   Elizabeth in United Kingdom

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     UKConcernedPerson on Mar 14, 2011 at 2:07 pm

     I would just add, Please introduce your cat extremely carefully to any new diet and with continued observation. This is because any problems may not show up immediately. If they are not eating the new food, do not let them go hungry and give them their normal food as stopping eating is actually dangerous for cats.

     Thank you.

     Reply
8. 

   martin on Mar 14, 2011 at 2:12 am

   Thank you Rinpoche for this post. It breaks my heart to imagine Rinpoche on your hands and knees. I have not been eating meat for just over 8 months, and with this post I renew my vow to Rinpoche to be a vegetarian and to make it one of my purpose in life to influence people to do the same, to whatever degree I can.

   If it weren’t for my good fortune in meeting Rinpoche I would never have developed the presence of mind to realize all the harm i was doing (to myself and to those slaughtering animals as their jobs and to the animals) in being a meat eater. I would not have the motivation to stop such a deep habit.
   I am very grateful and i am very glad that i am a vegetarian.

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9. 

   tsemtulku on Mar 14, 2011 at 9:42 am

   As a Vajrayana practitioner, do you not partake of meat at vajra feasts? I am a great admirer of the late Kalu Rinpoche. Now in Sukumvati. He was very clear on this subject. On page 124-125 in his book, “Foundations of Tibetan Buddhism”,… he goes through the root Vajrayana downfalls. Let me please share downfall #13: “The thirteen root downfall concerns our attitude and approach to tantric practice and tantric ritual. If we are participating in a ganachakra or vajra feast, where ritual use of meat and alcohol is made, and we abstain from one of the other of these on the grounds that it is impure or that it is contrary to our convictions and principles, then we have failed to appreciate the view of tantra which attempts to transcend purity and impurity, attempts to transcend dualistic thinking, and we have failed to appreciate and take part in the spirit of that tantric transformation process. To indulge in this kind of superficial, dualistic clinging to appearances during the course of a tantric ritual is to commit the 13th root downfall and to go against the spirit of our tantric practice.”–(from a facebook comments post)

   During tantric rituals, a tiny bit of meat, must be had for the greater view and greater good..which is to overcome clinging…but what I am talking about is daily consumption of meat…steaks, fried chicken, pork chops, leg of lamb, turtle soup, sharksfin, duck, rabbit stew, frog legs, clams, seafood chowder, sushi, and all the other animals slaughtered daily for our taste buds…. If we give up all meat eating and meat consumption then let’s talk about tsok meat. HH Kyabje Zong Rinpoche mentioned in Los Angeles, we can take some tsampa and put a few drops of alcohol on it in place of meat when we cannot get it for tsok…..that can be used for meat. In Tibet Kyabje Zong Rinpoche would do that. Tsem Rinpoche

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10. 

    susan on Mar 14, 2011 at 5:38 pm

    Dear Rinpoche

    The numbers are insanely astronomical and thinking I’ve also contributed towards it for so many years bring much regrets… If not because of Rinpoche, bringing some sense to my contradictory actions, I’d more than likely have continued to contribute towards the number of deaths.

    Please, everyone who reads this blog post, let’s do our part to NOT contribute towards more deaths.. starting with ourselves. Please help circulate this blog post by RInpoche.

    much thanks
    susan

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11. 

    Jessi on Mar 15, 2011 at 1:33 am

    I took these vows this morning and posted the link on FB. Maybe someone I know will be inspired to do the same!

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12. 

    Taras Zhukovskyi on Mar 15, 2011 at 6:30 am

    This post translated in Ukrainian http://mrzhukovskyi.blog.com/2011/03/14/%D0%9C%D1%83%D0%BD%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B9%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80-%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%96%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86%D1%96/

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    • 

      tsemtulku on Mar 15, 2011 at 11:50 am

      Dear Tara, that is wonderful you did it in Ukranian. Send me a copy and I will post it up here. Thanks for benefitting others. TR

      Reply
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        Taras Zhukovskyi on Mar 17, 2011 at 7:04 am

        Dear Rinpoche, thank you very much for your reply! I’ve just sent you a message on facebook.

        Reply
13. 

    tsemtulku on Mar 16, 2011 at 12:32 pm

    It seems eating vegetables and eating animals are both bad, in that case cut one out completely. Why do both. Our karmic ripening makes us take rebirth always in situations that we cannot avoid all situational karma as a natural by product. But we have a choice to make it less. No matter what we do or how we exist at our ordinary levels, we will accummulate negative karma. So we have to choose conscioiusly to lessen them. His Holiness Dalai Lama, many Tulkus/Geshes/monks in Gaden tells us go vegetarian. The beautiful Master Thich Nhat Hanh and the sacred Nun Rev Chen Yen of Taiwan (http://tw.tzuchi.org/en/index.php? ) with hundreds of centres around the world and the whole accomplished Mahayana Buddhism of China forbids meat.The current Karmapa banned all meats in the Monasteries. Before it was meat and vegetables/rice. Now no more meat. The trend is no meat.

    I may have people object, but that is ok, as a Buddhist teacher for the rest of my life I will advocate a no meat diet, produce books, blog posts, works and inspirational examples toward Vegetarianism. If that lifestyle offends/angers others or they feel their spirituality is being put down because of that, I do apologize. But that is not my intent, but it is their perceptions speaking or their perceptions of my motivation for speaking about no meat..If it really upsets them, then they don’t have to visit my posts, my writings and my ideas…LOL…simple as that… In this day and age, when you say things ppl like, then they praise you as a great person, great Rinpoche, great teacher, if you say something slightly off, no matter how they ‘liked’ you in the past, it changes. It’s reflective of the times and dynamics of this day and age. As my guru says, if you practice/teach dharma these days, you become a white crow. LOL..

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14. 

    tsemtulku on Mar 16, 2011 at 12:59 pm

    In the tantras such as Tara, White Tara, Vajrapani, Manjushri, Saraswati, Tsongkapa, Dukkar, Avalokitesvara, Oserchenma, Maitreya, etc, it is highly recommended you do not eat meat/eggs when you engage in their sadhanas, practice, retreats. When you do Tara Pujas (Drolchok), you are suppose to avoid meat or you shouldn’t engage in the pujas. In the Monastery, countless times we have to do Tara puja or engage monks to do for us, they have to avoid meat before coming..it was strict. If you are doing Naga pujas, you have to avoid meat and it is a must. There are many types of beneficial naga pujas such as Lutor, Lusang, etc that you avoid meat totally. There’s a very powerful Naga vase (Lubum), which my guru made and I have one for years now, and it is specifically for generating wealth for dharma activities. If you keep this vase, make proper offerings, then with the motivation of dharma, your financial resources will increase to fund the dharma works. 10 years ago, when I was literally down to a few dollars and struggled financially very badly, I called my Guru for divination, he said to get a Naga vase and then with some time it will be ok. He taught me how to make offerings and what to offer and not offer and one big no-no is meat. He said avoid meat…or in my thinking no wealth…LOL. Well I didn’t offer meat, after that yearly I can see growth in Kechara.So no meat in this case was worth it for growth to benefit others.

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15. 

    tsemtulku on Mar 17, 2011 at 3:27 am

    In everything we do, there is positive and negative effects due to the nature of our existence. It is 100% correct you don’t eat meat. HH the Dalai Lama, the highest authority within Tibetan Buddhism recommends we do not eat meat, so that is all we need to remember. Buddha said, we should not lie, or get attached to drinking, singing, dancing, intimacies,entertainments and that we should spend our energies to become enlightened. Are we doing all die and not just the meat part?? People tend to pick what is convenient from the Buddha’s teachings to suit themselves. If we are going to follow Buddha’s teachings or quote, we may ask are you following everything Buddha says? If you are not, then rejoice when others follow the best they can and as much as they can. Since it is the right path for 21st century Buddhists to follow the no meat path, let’s do it. We have so much variety of food. Let’s eat the no meat diet and get on with our practice and basically compassionately go passed the criticisms. It is very simple, do not kill. So hence animals will not die in front of you to eat them…There is no good karma in eating meat..full stop, but definitely there is good karma refraining from eat. Many of the tantras when engaged in the practice prohibit meat as taught by Vajradhara. Many rituals we do in the great Monasteries prohibit meat so the rituals are more effective…..Many who are not monks or not living in the monasteries would never understand that. Reading from books, net or from dharma centres would never be the same as in the monastery. Again, eating meat does not gather good merits for our spiritual practice, avoiding does. Listen to some of wonderful Tenzin Palmo’s views on not eating meat. She is the great yogini who meditated for the longest time in the mountains.TR

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16. 

    Mc on Jan 1, 2012 at 5:58 am

    Taking the US alone 9 Billion animals were killed for food in 2003. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization statistics the number of animals slaughtered for food has exceeded 65Billion. And that is just the number for land animals alone.

    When I think of each animal as a sentient being, just like us, then this is the most horrendous holocaust of all time.

    Being the first day of a new year, now is a good time to reaffirm the vows of refraining from eating meat. It is also a good time to make a vow to proactively spread the message rather than be contented that we are vegetarians.

    Reply