WORDS OF WISDOM AUTHOR: KHENPO TSULTRIM LODRO

According to the Hinayana tradition, one is allowed to eat only the ‘three kinds of clean flesh.’ Other kinds of meat are strictly forbidden. Now in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, the Sangha still upholds this practice. They think that not eating meat at all is to follow the decree of Devadatta. And the practice of eating the three kinds of clean flesh is rather in keeping with the precepts taught by the Buddha in the Theravadin Vinaya.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1: The Right View ~Why Vegetarian?]

Some of the so-called nectar pills are not only devoid of any merit but can also bring harm if taken, such as preventing one from attaining liberation in future lives and creating hindrances to liberation. Where do these harmful pills come from? Some are from tertons who are actually impostors and some are concocted by demons to hurt sentient beings. At times, genuine nectar pills, after being handled or made by persons who have broken samaya vows, can also be tainted. As Guru Rinpoche did not leave behind many nectar pills, accomplished masters, after retrieving them, will mix them with other nectar and medicinal herbs, then bless the pills through meditation and mantra recitations. If during this process there is one samaya violator among the attending practitioners, the pills will get tainted.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1: The Right View ~ Liberating Living Beings]

What are the definitions of the three kinds of clean meat? First, I did not see with my own eyes that the animal was killed for me; second, I did not hear from someone I trust that it was killed specifically for me; third, I myself have no doubt that it was not killed specially for me. For example, the meat sold at the market is for all meat eaters, not for me alone, so it is to be deemed clean meat. Or, when being a guest of a Tibetan house, the hosts would usually kill a sheep to honor their guest. The Chinese would more likely want to kill chickens, fish, rabbits and the likes for the same occasion. These are not clean meat. The rule of Hinayana stipulates that only the three kinds of clean flesh are permitted for consumption; others are not.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1: The Right View ~Why Vegetarian?]

People can never be fully satisfied with their lives if they do not know how to control their desires, as desires can grow and expand endlessly. No matter who you are, there will always be someone who is better than you. If your aim is to get to the top social stratum, your whole life will be spent in the pursuit of such vanity until the end. The consequence of chasing endless desires is never to be happy. Many such cases can be found in our daily life either from our own experience or that of other people. It is therefore important to be content with fewer desires in life.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1: The Right View ~Why Vegetarian?]

Mahayana Buddhism does not tolerate the consumption of any kind of meat. Not only those that do not qualify as being clean but also meat from the animals that died of illness. Where can we find proof of this view in the Mahayana canon? Mainly the Lankavatara Sutra and the Nirvana Sutra. There are others, but these two provide the most explicit explanation.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1: The Right View ~Why Vegetarian?]

Offering of Dharma (during life liberation): Firstly, recite the various Buddha’s names or other mantras to the beings about to be released. According to the scriptures, these beings will be greatly benefited upon hearing the Buddha’s names and mantras. Also make sure that every one of them can hear the recitations. If we recite from afar and dedicate the merit to them afterward, they can be benefited somewhat but cannot obtain specifically the merit of hearing the Buddha’s names because they did not hear the recitations. If we recite within their hearing range, the merit they will receive are twofold: First, they will be the beneficiaries of our dedication. Second, by the merit of hearing the Buddha’s names and mantras, they can attain liberation from samsara. It does not mean that liberation can be attained in their next life, which ultimately depends on how serious their respective karmic hindrances are, but it should not take too long.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1: The Right View ~ Liberating Living Beings]

The Lankavatara Sutra has expounded the many faults of eating meat. We will only discuss the three major ones here. The first is that all sentient beings have been parents to one another since beginningless time. As such, the animals that we eat today surely have once been our parents too. Eating these meat will be like eating the flesh of our own parents or children. It is therefore a wrong thing to do even from the mundane perspective, let alone the supramundane point of view.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1: The Right View ~Why Vegetarian?]

Offering of Dharma (during life liberation): Secondly, feed them nectar pills. The use of nectar pills is not emphasized in exoteric Buddhism, but very much so in Vajrayana. Most of the nectar pills were originally handed down by Guru Rinpoche and later discovered by real tertons, finders of terma (hidden treasures). It should be noted that not all nectar pills have beneficial effect.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1: The Right View ~ Liberating Living Beings]

According to the Theravadin Vinaya, during the time of the Buddha, there was a layperson, a village head, who had many hunters working as his subordinates. Before he was enlightened, the hunters used to offer him large amount of meat from their hunt. After receiving some teachings from Shakyamuni Buddha, he eventually attained realization of the Hinayana path of seeing and stopped eating meat. However, his subordinates continued to hunt and offer him meat. He would instead offer the meat to the monastics whenever they came begging for alms.

[Excerpt from Luminous Wisdom Book Series 1: The Right View ~Why Vegetarian?]