The Faults of Meat

The Faults of Meat
Author: Geoffrey Barstow
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 411
Release: 2019-10-01
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1614295050

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.

A Buddhist Perspective on the Faults of Eating Meat

A Buddhist Perspective on the Faults of Eating Meat
Author: Lama Phurbu Tashi Rinpoche
Publisher: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives
Total Pages: 56
Release: 2017-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9387023001

A Buddhist Perspective on the Fault of Eating Meat: Each year, around 120 billion land animals and 1.5 trillion sea animals are killed for human consumption. This book provides compelling arguments on the wisdom of giving up meat and adopting a vegetarian diet. Lama Phurbu Tashi Rinpoche draws on Buddhist teachings, both sutra and tantra, to support his case, while Matthieu Ricard refers to scientific evidence on the environmental damage caused by the industrial farming of animals and commercial fishing. Both authors invite us to extend our compassion to reduce the vast number of animals raised and slaughtered for human consumption.

Food of Bodhisattvas

Food of Bodhisattvas
Author: Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 159
Release: 2004-08-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1590301161

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.

Ahimsā

Ahimsā
Author: Bodo Balsys
Publisher:
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2004
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

"Ahimsa means ""harmlessness,"" carried out in thought, word or deed. A major precept of Buddhists of all denominations is to practice harmlessness. Such activity is not supposed to be theory, but a practical fact, a sacred pledge (samaya) integrated into the fibre of one's every mode of conduct on the path to enlightenment and liberation from the samsara. However, as this text elaborates, all good intent along this line falls flat in the light of the practice condoned by many Buddhists of meat consumption. Harm is thus caused to the animal butchered, to the consumers of the flesh, and to the environment we all live in. It is also a decidedly gross act of adharma to all in the society wherein the Buddhist practitioner that consumes animal products resides, as clearly explained in this book. It is time that Buddhists whole-heartedly spurn all considerations of meat toxins in their bodily environments, to actively espouse the cause of true harmlessness in all that they do; and to act as Bodhisattvas by teaching all how to be compassionate through not killing or harming their animal brethren. The reasons are clear as to the way to be truly compassionate, as all Buddhists should be. Read, learn and observe your true motives in everything you do; desist from harmful actions, and thereby grow and become Bodhisattvas and Buddhas at the end of it all."

Meaningful to Behold

Meaningful to Behold
Author: Kelsang Gyatso
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publishe
Total Pages: 428
Release: 2000
Genre: Bodhisattvas
ISBN: 9788120817272

A Bodhisattva is someone who has resolved to liberate all living beings from suffering by fulfilling his or her full spiritual potential. Many people have the compassionate wish to benefit others, but few understand how to make this wish effective in their daily life. In this highly acclaimed explanation of the great Buddhist classic, Guide to the Bodhisattva`a Way of Life, Geshe Kelsang shows how we can develop and maintain the supremely compassionate motivation of a Bodhisattva, and how we can then engage in the actual practices that provide the greatest benefit to others and lead to the attainment of full enlightenment.

The Diamond Sutra

The Diamond Sutra
Author: Osho
Publisher: Fivestar
Total Pages: 151
Release: 2023-06-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

Before Buddha there were religions but never a pure religiousness. Man was not yet mature. With Buddha, humanity enters into a mature age. All human beings have not yet entered into that, that's true, but Buddha has heralded the path; Buddha has opened the gateless gate. It takes time for human beings to understand such a deep message. Buddha's message is the deepest ever. Nobody has done the work that Buddha has done, the way he has done. Nobody else represents pure fragrance. Other founders of religions, other enlightened people, have compromised with their audience. Buddha remains uncompromised, hence his purity. He does not care what you can understand, he cares only what the truth is. And he says it without being worried whether you understand it or not. In a way this looks hard; in another way this is great compassion.

Why I Am a Buddhist

Why I Am a Buddhist
Author: Stephen T. Asma
Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2011-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1612830412

Profound and amusing, this book provides a viable approach to answering the perennial questions: Who am I? Why am I here? How can I live a meaningful life? For Asma, the answers are to be found in Buddhism. There have been a lot of books that have made the case for Buddhism. What makes this book fresh and exciting is Asma’s iconoclasm, irreverence, and hardheaded approach to the subject. He is distressed that much of what passes for Buddhism is really little more than “New Age mush.” He asserts that it is time to “take the California out of Buddhism.” He presents a spiritual practice that does not require a belief in creeds or dogma. It is a practice that is psychologically sound, intellectually credible, and esthetically appealing. It is a practice that does not require a diet of brown rice, burning incense, and putting both your mind and your culture in deep storage. In seven chapters, Asma builds the case for a spiritual practice that is authentic, and inclusive. This is Buddhism for everyone, especially for people who are uncomfortable with religion but yearn for a spiritual practice.

Food of Sinful Demons

Food of Sinful Demons
Author: Geoffrey Barstow
Publisher: Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2018
Genre: Buddhism
ISBN: 9780231179966

Geoffrey Barstow explores the tension between Buddhist ethics and Tibetan cultural norms to offer a novel perspective on the spiritual and social dimensions of meat eating within Tibetan religiosity. Barstow offers a detailed analysis of the debates over meat and vegetarianism from the tenth century through the Chinese invasion in the 1950s.

The Great Compassion

The Great Compassion
Author: Norm Phelps
Publisher: Lantern Books
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2004
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9781590560693

Buddhism ought to be an animal rights religion par excellence. It has long held that all life forms are sacred and considers kindness and compassion the highest virtues. Moreover, Buddhism explicitly includes animals in its moral universe. Buddhist rules of conduct--including the first precept, "Do not kill"--apply to our treatment of animals as well as to our treatment of other human beings. Consequently, we would expect Buddhism to oppose all forms of animal exploitation, and there is, in fact, wide agreement that most forms of animal exploitation are contrary to Buddhist teaching. Yet many Buddhists eat meat--although many do not--and monks, priests, and scholars sometimes defend meat-eating as consistent with Buddhist teaching. The Great Compassion studies the various strains of Buddhism and the sutras that command respect for all life. Norm Phelps, a longtime student of Buddhism and an acquaintance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, answers the central questions of whether Buddhism demands vegetarianism and whether the Buddha ate meat. He is not afraid to examine anti-animal statements in Buddhist lore--particularly the issues of whether Buddhists in non-historically Buddhist countries need to keep or to jettison the practices of their historical homelands.

A Plea for the Animals

A Plea for the Animals
Author: Matthieu Ricard
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2016-10-04
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0834840545

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.