A friend is compiling teachings by Rinpoche for publication, and asked me to check the below, which I sent years ago. I thought it is good to share the improved version here…
Teachings given on 8 Dec 2003 at Than Hsiang Temple, Penang, Malaysia during 100 Million Six-Syllable Mantra Recitation Retreat (on Meat-Eating)
1. As Buddhists, we practise [the Buddha’s teachings] so as to benefit oneself and others. Hence, we do the six-syllable (Om Mani Pad Me Hung) mantra practice. However, when we eat meat – be it chicken, pork, fish or eggs… in our daily lives, we are creating immense negative karma.
2. If on the one hand, we chant the mantra and on the other hand, we eat the meat of another sentient being, then our words and actions do not tally with one another. We are not practising as we preach. Can this be considered as loving-kindness and compassion towards sentient beings? Is this doing good and abstaining from evil? We take refuge in the Buddha because his teachings could benefit all sentient beings. As Buddhists, we should understand the essence of the Buddha’s wisdom and teachings, which is to do good and abstain from committing evil deeds. Abstaining from evil means that we have to keep our precepts. Hence we should not take meat. [Though meat-eating is generally seen as not breaking the first of the Five Precepts, in the Brahma Net Sutra, vegetarianism is a Bodhisattva precept, as Bodhisattvas vow to be as harmless as possible, while helping as many beings as possible.]
3. When we are sick, old or near death, we would go to a doctor. We would practise and do anything possible to extend our life span. However, when we take meat, we are killing sentient beings who are healthy. How great is our loving-kindness and compassion if we treat sentient beings in such a manner? We should abstain from killing because it generates immense negative karma. Instead, we should develop loving-kindness and compassion towards all sentient beings.
4. In countless rebirths, all sentient beings have been our parents. When we took rebirth in the human realm, we had human parents; when we took rebirth in the animal realm, we had animal parents and so forth. Samsara is such. We need to generate a sense of gratitude towards our parents in this lifetime and those of our past lives. Hence, we should be vegetarians and abstain from taking meat. In such a way, we would do good and give meaning to our practice. By doing so, our practice of the six-syllable mantra would be able to benefit ourselves and others, and also aid in the flourishing of the Dharma.
5. There are some people who say that their doctors have advised them against becoming vegetarians, as they would suffer from malnutrition. [The truth is that a mindful vegetarian diet is much better than non-vegetarian diets, which are often less well-balanced due to much greed for meat.] This is a sign that the determination of these people is not strong enough. For if one has strong determination, one would avoid doing evil deeds at all costs and under any circumstances.
6. Hence in our daily lives, we should stop committing the negative deed of eating meat. On this basis, the merits generated from our refuge and practice of the six-syllable mantra would be inconceivable. We should try to change our lifestyle towards vegetarianism. We would certainly face difficulties in becoming full vegetarians. However, when such obstacles arise, we should remember how every sentient being had at one point or another been our parents. When we remember this, then we would not take meat just as we would not eat the meat of our parents of this lifetime.
– Translated by Konchok Tenzin Drolma, slightly restructured by Shen Shi’an, with notes in parentheses
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