Food of Bodhisattvas: Buddhist Teachings on Abstaining from Meat

Like all works translated by the Padmakara Translation Group, the intro is thoughtful and provides background so that the relevance of the text to Western readers is made clear. Padmakara is also known for their clear and untechnical translation style and this work is no exception. Shabkar's commitment to refrain from eating meat while living the life of a wandering yogi in 17th century Tibet...more

Like all works translated by the Padmakara Translation Group, the intro is thoughtful and provides background so that the relevance of the text to Western readers is made clear. Padmakara is also known for their clear and untechnical translation style and this work is no exception. Shabkar's commitment to refrain from eating meat while living the life of a wandering yogi in 17th century Tibet is remarkable and inspirational. His description of the various rationalizations and ceremony attached to eating animals sounds very similar to what one might hear in a 21st century sangha. I, myself, still eat meat from time to time. Reading this work, though, has strengthened what little bodhicitta I posses and I now find myself more and more filled with sadness at the constant barrage of meat eating imagery I see on TV cooking shows, commercials for fast food and the smell of burning flesh I encounter outside restaurants. The Buddha taught that renunciation of samsara was the first step on the path of enlightenment. Renouncing meat eating takes this abstract idea and makes it an affirmation of the inherent buddha-nature of all sentient beings.   hide