Food Of Bodhisattvas

Based on the teachings of the Buddha, this book offers the most compelling and impassioned indictment of meat-eating to be found in Tibetan literature and is pertinent to anyone interested in vegetarianism as a moral or spiritual issue. The Buddha's teachings show how destructive habits can be examined and transformed gradually from within. The aim is not to repress one's desire for meat and animal products by force of will, but to develop heartfelt compassion and sensitivity to the suffering of animals, so that the desire to exploit and feed on them naturally dissolves. There are two texts presented here. One is an excerpt from Shabkar's Book of Marvels, consisting of quotations from the Buddhist scriptures and the teachings of masters of Tibetan Buddhism that argue against the consumption of meat, with Shabkar's commentary. The second, the Nectar of Immortality , is Shabkar's discourse on the importance of developing compassion for animals.

Based on the teachings of the Buddha, this book offers the most compelling and impassioned indictment of meat-eating to be found in Tibetan literature and is pertinent to anyone interested in vegetarianism as a moral or spiritual issue. The Buddha's teachings show how destructive habits can be examined and transformed gradually from within. The aim is not to repress one's desire for meat and animal products by force of will, but to develop heartfelt compassion and sensitivity to the suffering of animals, so that the desire to exploit and feed on them naturally dissolves. There are two texts presented here. One is an excerpt from Shabkar's Book of Marvels, consisting of quotations from the Buddhist scriptures and the teachings of masters of Tibetan Buddhism that argue against the consumption of meat, with Shabkar's commentary. The second, the Nectar of Immortality, is Shabkar's discourse on the importance of developing compassion for animals.

Śāntideva’s eighth-century work, the Guide to Bodhisattva Practice (Bodhicaryāvatāra), is known for its eminently practical instructions and its psychologically vivid articulations of the Mahāyāna path. It is a powerful, succinct poem into which are woven diverse Buddhist traditions of moral transformation, meditative cultivation, and philosophical insight. Since its composition, it has seen continuous use as a ritual, contemplative, and philosophical manual, making it one of the crucial texts of the Buddhist ethical and philosophical tradition. This book serves as a companion to this Indian Buddhist classic. The fifteen essays contained here illuminate the Guide’s many philosophical, literary, ritual, and ethical dimensions. Distinguished scholars discuss the historical significance of the text as an innovative piece of Indian literature, illuminate the important roles it played in shaping Buddhism in Tibet, and bring to light its contemporary significance for philosophy and psychology. Whether experienced or first-time students of Buddhist literature, readers will find compelling new approaches to this resonant masterpiece.

A powerful and wide-ranging indictment of the treatment of animals by humans--and an eloquent plea for animal rights. Every cow just wants to be happy. Every chicken just wants to be free. Every bear, dog, or mouse experiences sorrow and feels pain as intensely as any of us humans do. In a compelling appeal to reason and human kindness, Matthieu Ricard here takes the arguments from his best-sellers Altruism and Happiness to their logical conclusion: that compassion toward all beings, including our fellow animals, is a moral obligation and the direction toward which any enlightened society must aspire. He chronicles the appalling sufferings of the animals we eat, wear, and use for adornment or “entertainment,” and submits every traditional justification for their exploitation to scientific evidence and moral scrutiny. What arises is an unambiguous and powerful ethical imperative for treating all of the animals with whom we share this planet with respect and compassion.

Vegetarianism is a hotly debated topic within Buddhist circles. This book provides a valuable new contribution to the discussion with translations of thirteen Tibetan texts focused on the ethical problems associated with eating meat, coming from a wide variety of perspectives and lineages. Should all Buddhists be vegetarian? Vegetarianism is an important topic of debate in Buddhist circles—some argue that Buddhists should avoid meat entirely while others suggest that it is acceptable. For the most part, however, this ethical query has been conducted in the West without consulting traditional literature on the subject. The Faults of Meat brings together for the first time a collection of rich and intricate explorations of authoritative Tibetan views on eating meat. These fourteen nuanced texts, ranging from scholastic treatises to poetic verse, reveal vegetarianism as a significant, ongoing issue of debate for Tibetans across time and traditions, with a wide variety of voices marshaled against meat, and a few in favor. Authors include many important Tibetan teachers: Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen (1292–1361) Khedrup Jé (1385–1438) The eighth Karmapa, Mikyö Dorjé (1507–1554) Shabkar Tsokdrük Rangdröl (1781–1851) Khenpo Tsultrim Lodrö (1961– ) and many more. These Buddhist teachers recognize both the ethical problems that surround meat eating and the practical challenges of maintaining a vegetarian diet; their skilled arguments are illuminated further by the translators’ introductions to each work. The perspectives in The Faults of Meat are strikingly relevant to our discussions of vegetarianism today; they introduce us to new approaches and solutions to a contentious issue for Buddhists.

Learn about the bodhisattva ideal—the capacity to see the potential for awakening in everyone and aspire to help them along their path—with new commentaries on early Mahayana sutras from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, the monk Time magazine calls "the father of mindfulness." Based on a three-month retreat given by Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh in the winter of 1991, this book gives an historical account of the emergence of the bodhisattva ideal during the first century CE, together with Thich Nhat Hanh's previously unpublished commentaries on two early Mahayana sutras—the Ugraparipṛccha Sutra (The Questions of the Householder Ugra) and the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa Sutra (The Instructions of Vimalakīrti). About 150 years after the death of the historical Buddha, Buddhism had begun to develop into many separate schools, in which many monks came to prioritize their own personal liberation in their teaching and practice, while making Buddhism into a series of doctrines that served their own school. They came to live in a way that was cut off from other schools and from laypeople and saw laypeople as there primarily to make offerings and support the monks, not as practitioners who could also benefit fully from the Buddha’s teachings. Consequently, around the first century CE, there arose among lay and monastic practitioners the desire to popularize Buddhism and bring it out of the ivory tower and back in touch with life in the world, as it had been in the time of the Buddha. From this movement sprang the Mahayana path, which aimed to provide the deepest wellsprings of Buddhist thought to all people, regardless of their social background. Central to the Mahayana teachings is the idea of bodhicitta (the mind of love), which was personified in the bodhisattva, who sees the potential for enlightenment in everyone and vows to help them on their path to awakening. Soon Mahayana sutras began to appear, encouraging practitioners to develop the qualities of a bodhisattva in themselves. The Ugraparipṛccha Sutra counsels students on the bodhisattva path, giving practical instructions on how to help others suffer less. The Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa Sutra focuses on bringing the deepest teachings of Buddhism to ordinary people, with teachings on the ultimate dimension and Buddhist ethics. With his insightful commentary on these two important sutras, Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh continues the inclusive spirit of the early Mahayana practitioners.

This book is a translation of a collection of stories about the eight great bodhisattvas. These stories are all taken from sutras and tantras taught by the Buddha, such as the Avatamsaka and the Lotus Sutras. They were collected and edited by the great Buddhist teacher Mipham Namgyal (1846-1912). Mipham was one of the greatest teachers in Tibet of his time, and his writings remain the basis for much of the study conducted by his own tradition, the Nyingma school of Buddhism, and by other traditions such as the Karma Kagyu. In writing his book, Mipham combined edited extracts from his sources with his own writing about his subject. Although we typically think of Buddhist sutras as teachings accompanied by sparing narrative, we discover in this book that the great sutras of the mahayana are repositories of extraordinary accounts of miracles and great deeds performed by buddhas and bodhisattvas.