I often travel to Dallas, Tx., to sit in meditation with my spiritual friend, Tashi Nyima, a Tibetan Buddhist monk. One of his central Buddhist teachings centers around the rights of animals to be free of suffering, a desire they have in common with humans. Here is a recent writing from Tashi on this important issue:
Buddha Shakyamuni instructs us:“What is right action? Abstaining from taking life, abstaining from stealing, abstaining from sexual misconduct. This is called right action.”
The exploitation of non-human animals violates these precepts of Right Conduct, whether through depriving them of freedom and life, appropriating their secretions and products, or artificially breeding them for our benefit.
Animal exploitation impedes spiritual cultivation. Shabkar Tsodruk Rangdol states categorically:
“Eating meat, at the cost of great suffering for animals, is unacceptable. If, bereft of compassion and wisdom, you eat meat, you have turned your back on liberation. The Buddha said, ‘The eating of meat annihilates the seed of compassion’.”
Buddha Shakyamuni instructs us:“What is right action? Abstaining from taking life, abstaining from stealing, abstaining from sexual misconduct. This is called right action.”
The exploitation of non-human animals violates these precepts of Right Conduct, whether through depriving them of freedom and life, appropriating their secretions and products, or artificially breeding them for our benefit.
Animal exploitation impedes spiritual cultivation. Shabkar Tsodruk Rangdol states categorically:
“Eating meat, at the cost of great suffering for animals, is unacceptable. If, bereft of compassion and wisdom, you eat meat, you have turned your back on liberation. The Buddha said, ‘The eating of meat annihilates the seed of compassion’.”
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