Dalailama; Vegetarian? Yes or No?

[Sarapva]

That's a good point, Chi - the Dalai Lama probably wouldn't be extreme in any way (except in humanity!).

 

[centrajapan]

So much for Tibetan vegeterianism. Tibetans are hard core meat eaters. Just like the Mongolians and other people who live in land locked areas with harsh conditions.

On the last day of the last Tibetan month of the year they eat a special soup with large chunks of pork that have special objects in them. The object you get when you bite into the pork tells what kind of person you had been the previous year. A hot pepper means you had been a short-tempered, feisty one, et cetera. At the monasteries they use huge chunks of pork to conceal the objects so no one knows what's in them until they bite into the pork."

The Dalai Lama currently eats meat every other day of the week

The Dalai Lama, three years ago, took up a new policy for his own diet. He now eats a small amount of meat every other day, and eats pure vegetarian food (including no eggs) every other day. Thus, he tells people that he is vegetarian six months of the year. In 1965, he became pure vegetarian and was very adamant about it. Unfortunately he got frail with hepatitis, and both his Tibetan doctors and Western doctors advised him to start eating meat again. He regained his health soon after. So, the Dalai Lama still eats small amounts of meat. However, he has been very adamant in stressing to the Tibetan people that on special Buddhist holidays and other days where merit is magnified, meat should be avoided altogether. For the sake of the Dharma and for the health of the Tibetans in exile, he requests that his people eat less and less meat and gradually try to become vegetarian

http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/BuddhismAnimalsVegetarian/VegMeatTibet.htm

He is not a vegeterian. He is a weekend vegeterian. In this day and age I can not believe that some people thinks he still is a vegeterian. Everyone can go and meet him. I met this man,. He said that you can kill mosquitoes and kick your dog. I was there. I heard him say that. He said. You should be kind to animals but you can kick your dog. Treat people with respect but if the dog is humping you yo uhave a right to give the dog a good kick in the bollocks. Well he didnt say the last part.

If us Tibetans didn't buy so much meat in and around Dharamsala, the butchers would simply be out of business and countless animals would be saved from the knife. The Indians don't buy much meat because most of them are Hindu and vegetarianism is quite widely spread. It is unfortunate that Tibetans still eat so much meat, especially monks at the monastery. That is truly shameful. A monk needs to uphold his vows and one of the primary vows is to not kill. Eating meat is unquestionably a violation of this vow, and thus the monks who continue to eat meat in exile when it us completely unnecessary are disgracing the Tibetan monastic tradition. Especially now since Tibetan Buddhism is spreading so widely throughout the world and to the West, monks really need to stop eating meat. When Westerners see this, and hear the next day at a Dharma talk that they are supposed to be saving all sentient beings from suffering, they often get quite confused. Buddhism is supposed to dispel confusion, not create more of it. Therefore, especially monks, but also lay Tibetan Buddhists, must stop eating meat. If we are to preserve the integrity of Tibetan Buddhism, it is time we realize that meat is very sinful and simply give it up. Eggs, pork and chicken are the worst and should be given up first, as they do not provide nearly as much meat as a yak for instance. But all meat should be avoided if possible.

In short. He tells people to stop eating meat but he eats meat. He also takes Tibetan medicine and Tibetan medicine is made from animal products.

A better question would be. Is it possible to eat meat every other day and call yourself a vegeterian 6 months of the year? That sounds like cheating. Its like saying I dont smoke. I only smoke cigarettes when I light up a cigarette. I smoke 20 cigarettes a day but 23 hours of the day I dont smoke. You still are a smoker in my eyes.

Spread the word. Dalai Lama is not vegeterian.

 

[Chi65]

Your link is from 2000. . .

My last ones were from 2005 and later, same with my informations, that sound pretty different now.

You obviously never check the dates.
And the rest ist not worth reading, all repetitions.

By the way, those monks etc. here have their own (vegetarian) kitchen, also when he visits, plus for other visitors.