Serving
Some of us serve our selfish endeavours, some of us serve others and some of us don’t serve at all. Whatever the case is at this point, the real enemy is the mind that wishes happiness for itself and not anyone else. When people, environment, circumstances and facilities are used strictly directly and indirectly for our own ends, then THAT is the real cause to all unhappiness that arises.
I bow down to the Lord of Ferocious Wisdom,
Who shows a horrific form mirroring our ego and it’s graspings,
stamping on the very causes of our sufferings and it’s instincts
under your 16 sacred feet.
Your 9 faces and 34 arms are but representations
of your skilfull means to liberate, nurture and conquer
all that we percieve as pleasure when in actuality
being deluded, they are the very causes of our personal Samsara.
Knowing this, I hold my three sets of vows, Tantric commitments, Bodhicitta,
and Guru Devotion as supreme and see your sacred form in all that appears
to me.
Lord of Wisdom in whom incredible abilities are inherent in Your practice,
to avert and counter samsara during the degenerate period,
I humbly bow down to you, Great Yamantaka!
~Tsem Rinpoche
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
Let me share a story: When I was Los Angeles, Kyabje Zong Rinpoche was going to give a Yamantaka initiation. I did not want to go. I did not want another practice or sadhana. I had many already. So while I was cleaning the kitchen in the centre (30 mins before the initiation) Geshe-La came down and said to me see you inside the gompa. I was like, I am not going please. Geshe-la said to me yes you are.I was like no I am not. I already had around 3 hours of sadhanas per day to do. I said to him I didn’t get a chance to check out Yamantaka and if it suits me, he said to me,YOUR TEACHER CHECKED IT OUT (meaning Geshe-la himself) so I dont have to check it…30 mins later I was in the gompa getting the initiation and dreading it…I though OH NO, more commitment/sadhanas as I was working two jobs and was around 18 years old at the time…as I listened to the explanantion of Yamantaka by Kyabje Zong Rinpoche, deep faith developed in me for the Yamantaka practice.
My teacher really was necessary in so many of my dharma practices, moves and advancements in the last 30 years.. Without my teacher it would be much much much slower I realized. At the advice of His Holiness Dalai Lama when I met Him personally, I did a long Yamantaka retreat with fire puja. It made a huge difference in my memory, analysis, and speed of thougth. I really noticed it among other things. Tsem Rinpoche