Thought of the week
In 2014, in Chengdu, I met Khénpo Tsultrim Lodrö, who, along with Khénpo So-Dargyé, is the main khénpo and spiritual successor of Khénpo Jigmé Phuntsok. He was in his fifties, and I was struck by the simplicity and affability of this great scholar and committed thinker who has contributed much to the cause of vegetarianism in Tibet. He recalls how, in the Great Parinirvana Sutra, the Buddha said, "Eating meat destroys great compassion." The adoption of a vegetarian diet has always existed in Tibet and was promoted by a large number of masters in the past without becoming the majority, probably because of the climatic conditions (agricultural cultivation is impossible above 3800 meters and the winters are very long and particularly harsh). Khénpo Tsultrim Lodrö and his Chinese disciples release each year more than one million live fish, bought on the wholesale markets, into the lakes and rivers for human consumption.
Matthieu RicardExtract from Matthieu Ricard's Memoirs
