On Meat Eating

by
Chatral Rinpoche
Meat, the sinful food, is not permitted according to the three vows: the vows of individual
liberation, the Bodhisattva vows and the tantric vows. Thus Buddha stated: I have never
approved, do not approve, and will never approve of a meat diet.

He declared: m
followers must never eat meat.
i
In general, both the butcher and the buer of meat will suffer in such realms as the burning
and boiling hells.
ii
!s Buddha said, "illing animals for profit and buing meat are both evil
deeds# these $inds of actions will result in a rebirth in the horrifing realms of hell.
iii
Intentionall eating meat is a violation of Buddhist principals.
iv
The Buddha said %in the
Lankavatara-sutra],
&o meat can be regarded as pure if it was premeditated, as$ed for or desired# therefore
refrain from eating meat. Both mself and other Buddhas forbid adepts from eating
meat. Those sentient beings who feed on one another will be reborn as carnivorous
animals. The meat'eater is ill'smelling, contemptuous and born deprived of intelligence.
He belongs to the lowest class of men. (ince the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and sravakas
have all condemned meat'eating, one who still eats meat without shame will alwas be
devoid of sense. Those who give up eating meat will be reborn as wise and wealth
Brahmans. Meat that one has seen, heard, or suspected to have come from an animal
slaughtered for meat is to be condemned. Theori)ers who are born as meat'eaters will
not understand this. These people will ma$e foolish remar$s about meat'eating, saing,
Meat is proper to eat, unob*ectionable and permitted b the Buddha. !n adept en*os
vegetarian food in appropriate +uantit and views meat as unfit to eat as the flesh of
one,s own son. -or those who are abiding in compassion, I forbid meat at all times and
in all circumstances. .ating meat is a horrifing site and prevents progress towards
&irvana. /efraining from eating meat is the mar$ of the wise.
v
Chapter 3 of Compassionate Action: The Teachings of Chatral Rinpoche by Zach Larson (ed.)
Shechen Publications, New Delhi, !!". Published in PD# with per$ission of the author by Shab%ar.&r' ( )$sterda$, !!*.
In the Parinirvana Sutra, Buddha spo$e to "asapa, saing,
Blessed son, those who have the mindfulness of the sravakas are not allowed to eat meat
from now on. .ven if one is offered meat with genuine faith, one should see it as the
flesh of one,s own son.
Bodhisattva "asapa as$ed Buddha, 0ord, wh do ou not allow the eating of meat1
Buddha replied,
Blessed son, eating meat hinders the development of compassion# therefore, all who
follow the wa of the Buddha should not eat meat from now on. "asapa, wherever a
meat eater lies, sits, or wal$s other sentient beings become fearful upon smelling him.
Blessed son, *ust as when a man eats garlic others will $eep awa because of his bad
smell, li$ewise, when animals smell the meat eater, the fear death2
"asapa as$ed Buddha, 0ord, as mon$s, nuns and novice mon$s are dependent on other
people for their food, what should the do when the are offered food with meat1 Buddha
replied to "asapa,
(eparate the food and meat, wash the food, and then eat. 3ou ma use our begging
bowl if it does not have the smell or taste of meat# otherwise ou should wash the bowl.
If the food has too much meat, one should not accept it. 4o not eat food if ou see that
there is meat in it# if ou do ou will accumulate demerit. There will be no end if I spea$
thoroughl about the reasons I do not allow meat eating. I have given a brief repl
because the time has come for m parinirvana.
vi
Buddha has further elucidated the faults of meat eating in the Angulimala Sutra as well as in
the Siksasammucaya Compendium of Precepts. -urthermore, the terma teaching of
5admasambhava called Rinchin Dronme clearl condemns the eating of meat for both la
and ordained people: !ll the followers of Buddha6mon$s or nuns, novice or la6have
seven main principals to follow. These are 7the four root principles,
vii
and abstinence from
alcohol, meat and evening food.
Those who argue that Buddha,s condemnation of meat applies onl to the seven classes of
Theravadaana vows
viii
and is not related to the Mahaana and 8a*raana are clearl
indicating their lac$ of proper $nowledge. The have not seen the following Mahaana
sutra passage:
Meat'eating is a diet that convolutes the three realms %of (amara9. It is a sword that
severs the potential for liberation. It is a fire that burns the seed of Buddhahood. It is a
shaft of lightning that ends rebirth in the higher realms or a precious human rebirth.
(ince meat eating is not approved for anone6not for mon$s, nuns or la people6those
who are committed Buddhist practitioners should never eat meat. :ne who has ta$en the
Bodhisattva 8ow will incur great sin in eating the flesh of sentient beings who were one,s
parents in past lives. .ven in 8a*raana meat is forbidden until one attains the ultimate
view of pure perception.
i;
Trulshig 5ema 4udul, spea$ing of a pure vision, said:
Chapter 3 of Compassionate Action: The Teachings of Chatral Rinpoche by Zach Larson (ed.)
Shechen Publications, New Delhi, !!". Published in PD# with per$ission of the author by Shab%ar.&r' ( )$sterda$, !!*.
The <reat =ompassionate :ne %!valo$iteshvara9 appeared in the s$ in front of me and
spo$e, 3ou have made some progress on the path and ac+uired some $nowledge, et
ou are lac$ing in love and compassion. =ompassion is the root of the 4harma and
with compassion it is impossible to eat meat. ! person who eats meat will e;perience
much suffering and illness. 0oo$ at the miserable ones> .ver one is e;periencing
suffering according to their deeds2:ne who gives up meat will not e;perience this
suffering. Instead, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the guru, deities and da$inis will
re*oice and protect ou.
Having heard this, he gave up meat forever.
Man more renowned adepts have condemned meat as a poisonous food. Machig 0abdr?n,
a legendar female practitioner of chd,
;
said, @-or me eating meat is out of the +uestion. I
feel great compassion when I see helpless animals loo$ing up with fearful ees.@
/ig)in Aigme 0ingpa, a great ogi of the &ingma tradition stated,
Aust as in the stor of !ra "ataana going to beg for food,
;i
I see that the animal that
this meat came from was our mother in previous lives. If so, can we eat the flesh of our
own mother who was slaughtered b butchers1 Imagine how much concern would
arise> Therefore, if we reflect honestl, there is no wa we wonBt feel compassion for the
animal.
(ome people who claim to be practitioners sa, @at least some meat and alcohol is necessar
to $eep health, otherwise wea$ness or death might come about.@ This is not true. However,
even if death should follow from engaging in the 4harma practice of abstaining from meat
and alcohol, then it is worth it. !s the great adept Tsele /ig)in
;ii
said,
-rom the bottom of m heart I pra
&ever to be with carnivores and drin$ers.
In this and lives coming
Ma an ordained never be born where meat
!nd alcohol are used without moralit.
.ven if I should die
4ue to the absence of meat and alcohol,
I will be living in accordance with the Buddha,s precepts.
Thus I will be a genuine practitioner>
Bodhisattva Aigme =h?$i Cangpo %5atrul /inpoche9 said,
!s Buddhists we have ta$en the triple refuge %the Buddha, the 4harma and the
(angha9. To ta$e refuge in the 4harma, one must practice non'violence to sentient
beings. Thus, if we continue to eat meat6which has come from the slaughtering of
innocent animals6then is this not a contradiction of our Buddhist commitments1
"nowing all of the faults of meat and alcohol, I have made a commitment to give them up
in front of the great Bodhi tree in Bodhgaa with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten
directions as m witnesses. I have also declared this moral to all m monasteries. Therefore,
anone who listens to me is re+uested not to transgress this crucial aspect of Buddhist
ethical conduct.
!Revised from the translation of "eshe #hupten Phelgye and Aaron "ross$%
Chapter 3 of Compassionate Action: The Teachings of Chatral Rinpoche by Zach Larson (ed.)
Shechen Publications, New Delhi, !!". Published in PD# with per$ission of the author by Shab%ar.&r' ( )$sterda$, !!*.
i
Lankavatara-sutra !#ib$ lang kar gshegs pa&i mdoD, Tohu$u EFG.
ii
In Buddhist cosmolog, there are si; realms of samsaric e;istence, all mar$ed b their own tpes of suffering. The god
realm is mar$ed b la)iness and subse+uent lac$ of accumulated merit, which leads to the dread of descending into
lower realms at the end of their long and lu;urious lives. The *ealous gods HasurasD have a lush life, but are alwas
fighting out of env. The human realm is mar$ed b the suffering of birth, old age, sic$ness and death, the suffering
e;perienced when things change, suffering that compounds previous suffering and suffering resultant from prior
negative action. The animal realm is mar$ed b ignorance# animals can,t spea$ to other species and so are easil
e;ploited b humans and are often in helpless or fearful situations. Hungr ghosts HpretasD have insatiable desire and
attachment and are described as having tin mouths and huge bellies, causing them to be perpetuall hungr and
thirst. The si;th realm represents anger and hatred and includes eight tpes of hot hells, eight tpes of cold hells and
two additional tpes of hells. =hatral /inpoche is referring to two tpes of hot hells6the boiling and burning hells.
iii
0an$avatara (utra.
iv
Based on the line from the 0an$avatara (utra that sas, :ne who eats meat against the words of the Buddha is evil'
minded %and is the9 destroer of the welfare of the two worlds.
v
0an$avatara (utra.
vi
Parinirvana refers to the Buddha,s phsical passing from the human realm into the state of perfect .nlightenment.
vii
The four root principles are refraining from se;ual misconduct, $illing, stealing, and ling.
viii
The seven classes of vinaa vows are mon$ vows, nun vows, novice mon$ vows, novice nun vows, intermediate nun
vows, la male vows and la female vows.
ix
!n advanced ogi li$e Tilopa can liberate animals li$e fish b consuming their dead bod parts. !nother advanced
ogic practice is to eat that which is normall taboo, viewing it as pure nectar in its essence. Included in this are the five
meats of elephant, dog, cow, human and horsemeat and the five nectars of urine, feces, brains, blood and semen.
x
Chd means cut and is the practice for lessening ego and helping other beings b visuali)ing offering our bod, cut
into various pieces and converted into pure nectar, as sustenance for the enlightened ones, the hungr ghosts, demons
and other sentient beings. It is historicall practiced at a cemeter.
xi
The lama !ra "ataana once visited a famil on his begging rounds in which he could see through his
clairvoance that the father of the husband living in the house6who had died a few ears earlier6had been
reborn as a fish the famil was now having for dinner. The dog of the house had been the husband,s mother
and their enem had been reborn as their son. The husband,s step'mother was also at the table. !ra
"ataana was +uoted as saing, He eats his father,s flesh# he $ic$s his mother awa. He dandles on his lap
the enem that he $illed. The wife is gnawing at her husband,s bones. I laugh to see what happens in
samsara,s show> %'ords of (y Perfect #eacher HEIIJD p. KF9
xii
Tsele &atso$ /angdrol Hr#se le s)ga tshogs Rang grol* ELFM'1D