When we visited Gyuto monastery in Dharamsala, we had private audience of His holiness.
That time, we asked about the Bodhisattva’s vows of not eating meet & five spicy scented vegetables.
Actually, these vows are not included in the Tibetan Bodhisattva’s vows, but we traditionally follow these rules of not eating meet and five spicy scented vegetables(garlic, onion, spring onions and so forth) in our monasteries. It is the same with China and Japan. The reason of not eating meat is to cultivate our compassionate mind for all sentient beings. And also in Mahayana suturas, they say that ” If you eat cooked garlic, you are easy to get angry, and if you eat uncooked garlic, it is not easy for you to control your sexual desire.”
If you follow these rules, you come to know that these are really conducive to the concentrated mind and your meditation.
The 17th Karmapa gave a Dharma talk on vegetarianism in Kagyu monlam prayer in 2007 to the tibetan monks and buddhist from all over the world, and he made a strong statement against eating meat within his monasteries and centers.
He answerd our question, “We also encourage to eat white food, it means that you refrain from meat, onion and garlic. ”
and he remarked that, “In actual sense, we have to practise, that’s the vow.”
Click to hear his holiness voice! interview with the 17th Karmapa.
