Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche

Question: Many Tibetans quote a sutra passage that says if one does not hear, see, or suspect that meat has been obtained especially for you, then it is acceptable to eat. How do you respond to this?

 Rinpoche: If the animal being killed is unseen, then it is something like stealing something without being caught. That would also be deemed acceptable if you used this rationale. You could say something dirty without being heard — as if you need evidence to judge whether it is a sin or not. What they say is not right. Killing, stealing, and other negative actions can never be gotten away with. Even if other people don’t see you do them, the deities, buddhas, and bodhisattvas see you doing these things. There is a Tibetan saying that even if one does not get caught committing a sin, that the gods catch you every time. It is impossible to do anything without being seen — you’re always being watched by the deities. They see and understand what you did — they know that you helped to kill an animal by buying meat. This is my answer.

~~~

Chatral Sangye Dorje Rinpoche

Book Compassionate Action

 Edited, Introduced, and Annotated by Zach Larson Snow Lion Publications Ithaca, New York Boulder, Colorado

To obtain real peace and happiness in this world one has simply to follow the path of ahimsa - nonviolence - which naturally is common to all the religions of the world. If we do not like to experience any pain or suffering of any kind, how can we expect any other creature - whether big or small - to feel otherwise?

There is no better prayer or worship we can offer to Lord Buddha than being thoughtful, kind, compassionate and abstaining from taking the life of any fellow human being, animal, bird, fish or insect.