3. Ngorchen Kiinga Sangpo on the Faults of Alcohol and Meat By ]org Heimbel* of vegetarianism and tantric expert Ngorchen Kiinga Sangpo (x382-I:fS6) 160 was one of the most outstanding and influential Sakya masters of fifteenth-century Tibet; not only was he a towering figure on the religious scene of his native Tsang Province in Central Tibet, but his sphere of influence stretched all the way from FarWestern Tibet (including Mustang) to Kham Province in the east. 161 Among his manifold influential activities, Ngorchen is most of all remembered for his founding, in I 429, ofNgor Ewam Choden Monastery. Withdrawing from the worldly distractions of the bustling town of Sakya as well as from sectarian conflicts, 162 he left his traditional alma mater of Sakya Monastery and set up his new monastic seat in the remote Ngor valley, located about 30 kilometers ·HE STRONG ADVOCATE 160. Tib: Ngor chen Kun dga' bzang po. 16r. On the life ofNgorchen, see Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form. 162. For instance, Ngorchen became involved in a gradually intensifying religious dispute with the polemic-loving Khedrup Je (1385-1438) on a variety of tantric topics; see Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, 229-48; Heimbel, "The Dispute between mKhas grub rJe and Ngor chen." This dispute may also have been over the issue of meat eating, and Khedrup Je's Vinayabased defense of meat eating could thus be understood as a critical response to Ngorchen's prohibition of meat. Khedrup Je presented his position in an undated work about the three vows that he wrote while living at the monastery ofRiwo Dangchen in Nyangto (Ri bo Mdangs can, Nyang stod) of Tsang Province. Following Jackson, "Rong ston bKa' bcu pa; 355, Khedrup Je would have written this work between 142.7 and 1431, and thus after Ngorchen had written his own work against meat eating in 142.5. For Khedrup Je's position on meat eating, see chapter 4 of this volume. • I am very grateful to Khangsar Genla Jamyang Yeshe for discussing the siitric passages from Ngorchen's Epistle. I would also like to thank Pro£ Dr. Dorji Wangchuk for his valuable comments on several passages from the translation. THE FAULTS OF MEAT southwest of Samdruptse (present-day Shigatse) in Tsang Province·, where, based on the observance of a strict monastic discipline, he hoped to go back to traditional Sakya teaching and practice in a more supportive environment. Immediately Ngor became a new center for tantric training within the monastic circles of the Sakya school. Ngorchen, as the leading tantric expert, trained a whole new generation of youn:g students, producing some of the school's brightest minds. Grounded on his distinctive understanding oftantric ritual and practice, Ngorchen became the founding father of the Ngor tradition, which quickly developed into the most prominent subdivision of the Sakya school. At a crucial point in the history of that school, which had lost political power in the mid-fourteenth century with the collapse of the Yuan dynasty (127I-1368), Ngorchen was one of a few highly influential figures whose activities caused Sakya's influence on the religious sphere to not only continue flourishing but also strengthen. Furthermore, through his religious activities he was able to establish new bonds on the political stage with such powerful rul'ers as the kings of Mustang or the Phakmodrupa regime, the rulers of Tibet. Like Tsongkhapa Losang Drakpa (1357-1419), the founder of the Geluk school, Ngorchen can be considered a religious reformer who tried to renew his own Sakya school from within. He made efforts to cleanse the Sakya teachings from elements he considered to be mistaken, aiming to return to the religious roots ofhis tradition by transmitting what he perceived to be the pure and untainted teachings of the early great Sakya founders. The co'nsumption of alcohol and meat by monastics, and their use in tantric rituals, was but one of those elements he wanted to wipe out, 163 as is well illustrated by a verse from his pen: NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO 79 against the consumption and tantric use of alcohol and meat by monastics, and which he compiled in 1425 at age forty-three 165 when he was still based at Sakya Monastery. As an introduction to my preliminary attempt in translating this Epistle, I shall at first discuss briefly what I was able to learn about Ngorchen's personal motives and reasons for compiling the Epistle, and then also address other outcomes of his stance against alcohol and meat and the influence this had on the religious tradition he established at Ngor Monastery. To highlight Ngorchen's tough stance against eating meat, Sangye Phiintsok (1649-1705), the twenty-fifth abbot ofNgor, included in his biography of Ngorchen a small section on how his protagonist gave up eating meat. According to his presentation, Ngorchen himself related that he could not remember having eaten offal or raw meat as a child. When he grew older, from his sixth year on, by merely seeing meat or blood or others eating it, especially monastics, he is said to have lost his appetite f~r many days. Thinking that it was not the proper lifestyle for monastics to eat meat, and that the Buddha himself had not allowed eating it, he became a vegetarian at age twelve. Later, the smell of meat alone could reportedly harm his well-being. 166 Ngorchen also adhered to a specific form of asceticism, the so-called ascetic discipline of the single mat with white (i.e., vegetarian) ingredients, 167 16 S· The age has been given according to the Western system of counting. According to Tibetan tradition, a child is already one year old (or in his first year) at birth and advances one year in age at the Tibetan New Year. 166. See Sangye Phiintsok, Rdo rje 'chang kun dga' bzangpo'i rnam par thar pa, 488.4-6, 489.1- Hey! Followers of mine, give up the impure lifestyle of consuming meat, alcohol, and the like! Being the sole basis of all marvelous qualities, cherish the precious discipline more than your life! 164 This verse is found at the end ofNgorchen's well-known composition, An Epistle Benefitting Students, one of the longest Tibetan literary works of its kind, in which he urgently argues from both siitric and tantric points of view 163. Ngorchen's positions were not undisputed within the Sakya school and were criticized, for instance, by adherents of the Dzong tradition. Regarding his discussion ab-out utilizing meat within the tantric feast offering (ga1Jacakra, tshogs kyi 'khor lo ), Ngorchen was criticized by Gongkar Dorje Denpa Kiinga Namgyal ( 1432-1496), the founder of Gongkar Monastery; see Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, 403. 164. Ngorchen, Springyig slob mala phan pa, 6s8.I. 2; Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, 106. The Ngorchen biography by Sangye Phiintsok is a compilation of early Ngorchen biographies written by the latter's direct disciples. On Ngorchen's biographies, see Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, 23-61. 167. The Tibetan term denchik dokar (stanlgdan gcig rdorlsdor dkar) or its variant dokar denchik (rdorIsdor dkar st.an/gdan gcig) is made of two elements: denchik designating the single-mat practice, and dokar referring to white (i.e., pure or virtuous and thus vegetarian) food. Another variant of dokar that is attested in biographical works is the term kardor (dkar rdor), which Dungkar Losang Trinle describes in his dictionary as a general term for a vegetarian diet by monastics and devout laypeople who make use of cheese, vegetables, and fruits as ingredients (rdor) for their foodstuffs, which are not mixed with other foodstuffs such as meat, fat, eggs, and bones; see Dungkar Losang Trinle, Dung dkar tshig mdzod chen mo, 160. There exists also a homophone variant of dor (spelled sdor), which Zhang explains as nutritious ingredients such as meat or far that are added to soup or broth; see Zhang, Bod rgya tshigmdzod chen mo, 1482. Similarly, Dobi Tsering Dorje et al. give as an example for the use of dor (sdor) the word thugdar (thug sdor), which is explained as meat or bones that are put into a soup; see Dobi Tsering Dorje et al., Deng rabs bod skad tshig mdzod, 975· In addition to meat and fat, Padma Dorje et al. specify dor (sdor) also as vegetables and seasonings that can be added to soup or broth to make them nutritious and add flavor; see Padma Dorje et al., Bod kyi nyer mkho'i zas rigs tshig mdzod, So THE FAULTS OF MEAT which should be considered another of his influences. This single-mat discipline demanded that food was not eaten more than once per day, whereby a whole day's food was taken at a single sitting at noon. One finds this discipline included as the fifth among the Mahayana tradition of the "twelve 168 qualities of a purified ascetic," as listed in the Mahdvyutpatti. In the Indian Buddhist context, these were ascetic practices "the Buddha authorized monks to adopt voluntarily for the purpose of cultivating contentedness with little detachment, energy, and moderation. These austerities are not enjoined on monks and nuns by the Vinaya, but are rather optional practices that monastics were sanctioned to adopt for limited periods of time in order to foster sensory restraint." 169 As far as Ngorchen is concerned, he is known to have observed the single-mat practice since his monastic ordination at age eight, as well as what appears to have been an even stricter form of practice that was limited to a meatless diet. 170 Recent research has so far shown that in Tibet the single-mat practice, and also its stricter vegetarian form, were practiced by adherents of the Sakya school and of the Drigung branch of the Kagyii school, whereby the former inherited the practice most likely from th~ Vinaya tradition and related ordination lineages that the Kashmiri scholar Sakyasribhadra (u 2 7-12.2S) introduced during his ten-year sojourn in Tibet (12.04-12.I4) and from the four monastic communities that were founded in his tradition. It is .J also in this tradition that Ngorchen received full monastic ordination at age eighteen (or nineteen), and prior to that, most likely also his monastic ordination at age eight. 171 9 6. Based on these explanations, I have translated dor (rdor/ sdor) as "ingredients." We find both variants of dor already mentioned by Jaschke, who gives two meanings: (z) "Wiirze" (seasoning, condiment) and ( 2 ) "Gewiirz" (spice). He illustrates the first meaning with the word thugdor to (thug sdor), explaining, "was d. Suppe krafi:ig macht, Fleisch" (that which gives s~btance soup-viz., meat); see Jaschke, Handworterbuch der Tibetischen Sprache, 3~0. En~hs translations according to Jaschke, A Tibetan-English Dictionary, 2.97. See also Hetmbel, The Jo gdan tshogs sde bzhi," 2.2.2.n2.03; Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, I06-IO]ll2.06; Hou, "Some Remarks;' 2.06. 168. For the twelve qualities of a purified ascetic (dvddaJadhutagu1J.ab, sbyangs pa'i yon tan bcu gnyis ), including the single-mat practice (aikasanikab, stan gcigpa ), see theMahavyutpatti (Two Fascicle Lexicon; Tib: Sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa), 8s-86, nos. II2.7-32.. 1 69. Buswell and Lopez, Ihe Princeton Dictionary ofBuddhism, 2.56. NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO 81 In addition to his personal aversion and disgust for meat and his vegetarian single-mat practice, the adverse conditions at Sakya Monastery and worsening behavior of some of its monks may have finally prompted Ngorchen to write his Epistle. Such an understanding is based on the prelude to the foundation account ofNgor Monastery, in which Ngorchen's biographer introduces the reasons why Ngorchen separated himself geographically from his home monastery: Up to that point, Ngorchen performed in that way inconceivably great activities for the benefit of others in the domain of the Monastic Seat [i.e., Sakya]. Nevertheless, though his altruistic activities ~t the Monastic Seat were inconceivably great, the extremely numerous distractions and festivities existing at the Monastic Seat exerted a negative influence on the studies of the monks, resources were wasted, and a few monks-unable to overcome those temptations-were even spoiled. Thus Ngorchen thought that it would be of greater benefit for the teachings of the Buddha and for monks if teaching and studying ~er exerted while living at a remote place devoid of women selling alcohol. 172 According to this description, Sakya Monastery, which had served as the government seat of Tibet during the Yuan dynasty, had by Ngorchen's time obviously developed into a bustling town, attracting all kinds of people and offering a variety of distractions and entertainments. 173 Ngorchen felt that this atmosphere exerted a neg::t.tive influence on the education of the monastic community and that some monks succumbed to those temptations, losing their vows. I consider it thus possible that these developments were not only an important factor for Ngorchen founding Ngor Monastery but, prior to that, also motivated him to write his Epistle. After its composition in early 142.5, the Epistle became an important and influential work utilized for teaching and studying Ngorchen's instructions on abandoning the consumption and tantric usage of alcohol and meat by monastics, as its mention in biographies.of early Sakya and Ngor masters suggests. Having taken all three types of ordination from Ngorchen himself, 170 . See Mi.ichen, Snyigs dus kyi rdo rje 'chang chen po chos kyi rje kun dga' bzang po'i rnam par thar pa, 4 68.2.; Sangye Phi.intsok, Rdo rje 'chang kun dga' bzang po'i rnam par thar pa, SS4·S; Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, 105-6. 172.. Sangye Phi.intsok, Rdo rje 'chang kun dga' bzang po'i rnam par thar pa, 52.4.2.-4; Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, 2.49. 171 . On the Sakya relation and those four monastic communities (tshogs sde bzhi or jo gdan tshogs sde bzhi), see Heimbel, "The Jo gdan tshogs sde bzhi." On the Drigung relation, see Hou, "Some Remarks." On Ngorchen's ordinations, see Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, 103-8. 173. In his 1475 study ofSakya Monastery, TsangJampa Dorje Gyaltsen (142.4-1498) lists not only religious structures ofSakya but, among the common ones of everyday life, also two taverns (chang rwa ); see TsangJampa Dorje Gyaltsen, Sa skya 'khon gyi gdung rabs, 72.as, 73a4. THE FAULTS OF MEAT Tsultrim Gyaltsen (d. 1476), for instance, studied the Epistle together with the Lankdvatdra Sutra's seventh chapter on abstaining from meat. As another example, the famous tenth abbot ofNgor, Konchok Lhiindrup (1497-1557), received teachings on the Epistle from his ordaining preceptor after having received from him layman and novice-monk ordination at age twelve at Ngor. 174 Moreover, the Epistle was also utilized and referenced by other Tibetan scholars, as Gorampa Sonam Senge (1429-1489), the sixth abbot of Ngor, did in his brief section on abstaining from meat that he included in his commentary on Sakya PaQ.<;lita's Distinguishing the Three Vows. 175 Four years after the compilation of the Epistle, Ngorchen institutionally incorporated his personal condemnation of alcohol and meat into the monastic code he established at his new monastic seat ofNgor. To counter those developments at Sakya, he enforced a strict monastic discipline, prohibiting the consumption of meat and alcohol, banning women from entering the monastic complex, and forbidding his monks to engage in any form of sectarian debates. Moreover, in the territories of his benefactors, he is said to have put restrictions on hunting wild animals and fishing, stopped meat and blood sacrifices, and banned meat and alcohol from monastic institutions. 176 Two accounts suggest that the ban on meat was initially observed at Ngor and that vegetarianism was a customary practice of the early adher~nts of the Ngor tradition. The first account is found in the biography of Palden Dorje (14II-1482), the fifth abbot ofNgor. Like Ngorchen, he observed the ascetic discipline of the single mat in its even stricter vegetarian form. While he had already observed this discipline during his siitric studies at the monasteries of Sangden and Ngamring and during his tantric training at Sakya, his biographer informs us that it goes without saying that he also did so when he came to Ngor to pursue his training under Ngorchen. This narrative takes for granted that its readers are familiar with both Ngorchen's observance of a vegetarian single-mat practice and the strict monastic code that he had established at Ngor. 177 The second account is found in the biographies of two senior Sakya 17 4· See Lowo Khenchen Sonam Lhiindrup, Chos kyi rje tshul khrims rgyal mtshan gyi rnam par thar pa, 9a3-6; Konchok Palden, Rje btsun dkon mchog /hun grub kyi rnam thar, 18o.6-18I.I; Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, 2.53ni81. NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO masters: Lowo Khenchen Sonam Lhiindrup (1456-Is32) and Sangye Gyaltsen (1542-I618). Both present the same account of a conversation in which the speaker emphasizes the importance of giving up the consumption of both meat and alcohol as a highly important practice for an adherent ofNgorchen's tradition: At the time when the Dharma Lord, the Great Vajradhara (i.e., Ngorchen], traveled to 0 [i.e., the eastern province of Central Tibet], he saw that all the great kalyaQ.amitras of 0 were shamelessly enjoying all kinds of meat and thus he felt extremely sad. He then collected from the Siitra section authoritative works that point out the faults of consuming meat and alcohol, and later on arranged them as a treatise. His composition is the Epistle Benefitting Students.178 We Ngorpa followers should rely on the conscientious armor that does not transgress the prescribed rules taught in the Epistle Benefitting Students. The Lord, the Great Vajradhara, had never placed meat or alcohol on his tongue and had never touched women with his bare hands. Having investigated the activities of how he set an example of the Buddha's teachings, we must live up to his intentions, at least to a portion of those activities, because at the very end of the Epistle Benefitting Students he states: Hey! If you want to be followers of mine, give up the impure lifestyle of consuming meat, alcohol, and the like! Being the sole basis of all marvelous qualities, cherish the precious discipline more than your life! If one keeps only this versified Stages of the Path teaching, which is in accordance with the transmission of the Buddha's doctrine, it will be very meaningful. Since the root transgression of the pratimok~ training is alcohol and the root transgression of the bodhisattva training is meat, the practice of renouncing both meat and alcohol is the best example to build up the Buddha's teachings from their foundation .... In short, this renunciation of meat and 175. See Gorampa, Sdom pa gsum gyi rab tu dbye ba'i rnam bshad, 12.1.5. For the translation of Gorampa's passage, see chapter s of this volume. 176. See Sangye Phiimsok, Rdo rje 'chang kun dga' bzang po'i rnam par thar pa, 52.7.6-s2.8.1, 541.6-S42..1; Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, 2.49. Ngorchen sent a letter to the Jumla king Baliraja (r. 1404-1445) advising him to abandon in his domain the practice of sacrificing animals; see Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, 32.8-2.9. 177. See Drakpa Dorje, Mtshungs med ;hos rje dpalldan rdo rje'i rnam thar, 596.5-6; Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, 2.53-54. 178. As Ngorchen completed the Epistle on the fifi:h day of the first half of the first month of 142.5 at Sakya, Tsang, the 0 sojourn refers to his first visit to that area from 1414 to 1417; see Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, 2.12.-18, 498mss. NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO THE FAULTS OF MEAT alcohol is one customary practice of us Ngorpa and must therefore be practiced painstakingly by all means. 179 Emulating Ngorchen's example, many of his successors on the abbatial throne ofNgor are known to have either observed the ascetic discipline of the single mat in its vegetarian form or adhered to a meatless diet, though most took up this discipline at the time of their monastic ordination. Nevertheless, the biographies of some of those abbots make it very clear that a vegetarian diet was mandatory for the incumbent abbot ofNgor. 180 At one point, however, Ngorchen's prohibition of alcohol and meat was broken by members of the monastic community. Rinchen Migyur Gyaltsen (1717-1780), the thirtyseventh abbot ofNgor, complains that during his tenure there were only a few people left following Ngorchen's instructions. On top of that, by then the use of tobacco had become a huge problem as well, and so the N gorp as were slowly losing the reputation they once enjoyed as adherents of a very strict monastic discipline. 181 As an interesting aside, the life stories of these Ngorpa masters note that their protagonists became physically weak or emaciated because of adhering to a vegetarian diet. Ngorchen's biographers, for instance, report that his physical condition was always extremely weak since he began at age eight toJ;>bserve the ascetic discipline of the single mat in its vegetarian form. 182 His biographer Sangye Phiintsok relates in his own autobiography that though he himself adopted a vegetarian diet at about age fifteen, because of his many obligations his body could not be sustained on such a diet alone. He thus later, at about age twenty-nine, had to break his pledge to eat vegetarian. 183 179. Kiinga Drolchok, Dpalldan bla ma 'jam pa'i dbyangs kyi rnam par thar pa, 319.6-321.1; Arne Shab, Rje btsun mus pa chen po sangs rgyas rgyal mtshan gyi rnam par thar pa, Is 7.2- I 58.4; Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, 254-55. ss Structure and Themes After this brief excursus trying to shed some light on the possible genesis of the Epistle, a few remarks are due regarding its structure. Ngorchen arranged his work into three main parts: Explaining the Faults of Consuming Alcohol Explaining the Faults of Nourishing One's Body with the Meat of Slaughtered Animals 3· Explaining How the Two.,-Meat and Alcohol-Are Prohibited in the Secret Mantra 184 I. 2. The topics of each of the first two parts Norgchen discussed using a threefold progression: first the faults of consuming alcohol and meat are outlined in general, then the faults for adherents of the Sravakayana are discussed as a second step, before progressing to the third and final step, the faults for followers of the Mahayana. His third main point on the prohibition in a tantric context is presented under two subsections: I. 2. Explaining That Mantrins Must Give Up Meat and Alcohol Eliminating Objections about This'85 However, since my knowledge of tantric Buddhism is insufficient to translate Ngorchen's third main part, and since tantric topics are not openly discussed within the Sakya schooi without having received the necessary empowerments, this portion of the Epistle has been omitted from the translation. About the Translation 255n187. The Epistle asincluded in the revised Derge blockprint edition ofNgorchen's collected works from 1894 is the only traditional recension that is available at present, and it has been published in three different reproductions. 186 181. See Guru Phel, Rin chen mi gyur rgyal mtshan gyi rnam par thar pa, 13b5-14as; Palden Chokyong, E waT(J pa'i gdan rabs rin chen phreng mdzes kyi kha skong, s83.4-584-4; Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, 255ni87, 269-70. 184. See Ngorchen, Springyig slob ma Ia phan pa, 622.1-628.1, 628.x-640.4, 640.4-657-I. 182. See Miichen, Snyigs dus kyi rdo rje 'chang chen po chos kyi rje kun dga' bzang po'i rnam par thar pa, 468.2-5; Sangye Phiintsok, Rdo rje 'chang kun dga' bzang po'i rnam par thar pa, 554·5SSS-2; Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, 380. 185. Meaning that relying on meat and alcohol by those persons who have entered the Great Yoga-that is, the Niruttarayoga tantric system-is impermissible. See Ngorchen, Spring yig slob ma Ia phan pa, 640.4-643-3, 643·3-657.I. 183. See Sangye Phiintsok, Bya bra! ba sangs rgyas phun tshogs kyi myong ba brjod pa, 192.5-6; Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, 380. Epistle, see Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, 4IS-21, 459· Therein, the Epistle comprises I8o. For a list of references to those biographies, see Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form, 186. On the three reproductions of the revised Derge blockprint edition that include the 86 THE FAULTS OF MEAT Moreover, the Derge recension seemingly served as the basis not only for two new digital-input editions ofNgorchen's collected works containing the Epistle but also for two individual publications of it. 187 Since N gorchen pieced his work together with numerous citations from the siitras and tantras, it is highly important to identify these citations in their original canonical versions. But as those citations are rather fragmentary or selective-omitting parts that are otherwise found in the canonical versions, which ap~rs to be a general practice ofTibetan authors-it is difficult at times to locate them in their originals. The additional difficulty with the Derge blockprint edition is that some of its citations are corrupted to such an extent that it is hardly possible to understand them anymore, let alone translate them. 188 This is why I have translated all citations, as far as I succeeded in locating them, on the basis of their canonical versions, making use of the comparative editions of both Kangyur (K) and Tengyur (T) as prepared by the China Tibetology Research Center (CTRC), Beijing, China. For better readability, I have refrained (with few exceptions) from using brackets to supply any additional explanatory words or phrases that are implicit in the original works or clarified in their commentaries. NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO An Epistle Benefitting Students By Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo Translated by ]org Heimbel Svasti prajabhyab General Advicefor My Own Monks, Benefitting Students: I pay homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas. With his insight, he opens the words ofthe Sugata, 189 like the rays of the sun open the lotus grove. With his compassion, he outshines bad talk, like the moon outshines the stars. Through his activities, which are as endless as the sky, he riperis infinite living beings. With genuine faith, I take refuge at the feet of the second Munindra, my lama. 190 twenty-one folios in six lines (1b-2a, 21b only two lines). As catalogued by David Jackson in his handlist of Tibetan texts in the Bihar Research Society, Patna, another xylographic edition of the Epistle is housed there, which was "sponsored by Dpal Chu-mig bla-brang (an early Gtsang edition?)"; see Jackson, The 'MiscellaneousSeries' ofTibetan Texts in the Bihar Research Society, 222, nos. 1502-3. It comprises eighteen folios i~ seven lines and was contained in volume 6 (cha) of a further unspecified collection. This precious human body equipped with the eight freedoms and ten endowments, 191 which was accomplished f~om immeasurable virtuous merit accumulated in the past, and which has now been obtained once: there is no possibility that it will last for a long period of time. Thus apply your body and speech to virtue, my friends! 187. On the two new digital-input editions of Ngorchen's collected works, see Heimbel, Vtljradhara in Human Form, 459· The details of the two modern digital-input editions of the Epistle are as follows: Ngor chen Rdo rje 'chang Kun dga' bzang po, Sha chang gi nyes dmigs bshad pa: Springyig slob mala phan pa ( [s.l.]: Ngor E Wa.If1 chos ldan dgon, [s.d. ]); Rgyal ba gnyis pa Ngor chen· Kun dga' bzang po, Springs yig slob maLa phan pa (Dehradun: Sakya College Lovingkindness Vegetarian Committee, [2oo9]). 188. One explanation for these corruptions could be the faulty transmission history of the work, during which many such mistakes slipped into it while copying and recopying it. The fact that in one case the Derge recension of the Epistle reads rigs (family, lineage) instead of ri dwags (wild game) suggests that the Derge blockprint was originally based on a manuscript version in which ri dwags had been abbreviated as rigs, which the editors of the Derge recension were unable to recognize as an abbreviation; see the Mahaparinirvd?Ja Sutra, 122.8; Ngorchen, Spring yig slob mala phan pa, 631.4. 189. Sugata is an epithet for Buddha Sakyamuni meaning "well gone"; see Buswell and Lopez, The Princeton Dictionary ofBuddhism, 865. 190. Ngorchen's lama can most likely be identified as Sharchen Yeshe Gyaltsen (1359-1406); see the colophon of this text at the end of the translation. "Munindra," the Lord of Sages, is here used as an epithet for Buddha Sakyamuni. 91. The (eight) freedoms and (ten) endowments (kfa1Jasarrtpad, dal 'byor) characterize a rebirth as a human being under circumstances allowing for the study of the Buddha's teachings; see Buswell and Lopez, The Princeton Dictionary ofBuddhism, 445-46. I 88 NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO THE FAULTS OF MEAT Cast far away the doctrinal system of the tirthikas, 192 who propose heedless conduct as Dharma! In line with what Munindra, who benefits living beings, taught, it is reasonable to adhere to heedful conduct. Explaining. the Faults ofConsuming Alcohol This first point has three subpoints: 1.1 Therefore students who wish well for themselves, and who are endowed with discernment and insight, as for the way of studying the path that delights the Victorious One, listen, because I will explain it as it originates from the stainless authoritative scriptures! At this time when we have obtained the extraordinary support for practicing the holy Dharma-that is, the completely purified human body equipped with freedoms and endowments-in order to accomplish the precious unsurpassable awakening, by abiding properly in the correct view and pure conduct, the human bodily support equipped with freedoms and endowments must be nourished for a long time by a pure livelihood that is in line with the Dharma. People of an uneducated nature nourish their precious human body endowed with freedoms and endowments with alcohol that causes heedlessness and with the meat and blood of slaughtered sentient beings. Beyond this, they even formulate the argument: "In the Vinaya of the holy Dharma and Vajrayana, they were taught as permissible to consume." This kind of conduct is improper. It is an evil course of action and a tenet that causes others to also apply it after one engaged in it oneself, just like a frog with sores infecting all other frogs in the frog pit. It causes departure from the conduct that delights the Victorious One. It causes its adoption by the norwirtuous. And it produces great damage for oneself. For refuting this kind of condu~, there are thus three points: Explaining the Faults .of Consuming Alcohol Explaining the Faults of Nourishing One's Body with the Meat of Slaughtered Animals 3· Explaining How the Two-Meat and Alcohol-Are Prohibited in the Secret Mantra I. 2. The Faults of Drinking Alcohol in General In the Nandika Sutra, 193 it is explained that alcohol, which possesses numerous faults, should not be drunk by human beings: People who enjoy drinking alcohol are not able to benefit themselves and please others. Since it is alcohol that makes one dull and leads to a bad complexion, it should not be drunk, just as black aconite poison should not be drunk. 194 Its faults are also taught in that same siitra: The Bhagavan taught: "Nandika, the thirty-five faults of alcohol made of fermented grains and of plant or fruit juices, which are the basis for heedlessness, should be understood as follows. If one asks what is the group of thirty-five faults, it is the following: 1. One's wealth will be consumed during this lifetime. 2. One's diseases will increase. 3· One will bring forth fighting and disputes. 4· One will care about meaningless things. 5· One's bad repute will spread everywhere. 6. One's insight will weaken. 7· One's possessions, obtained once, will not be obtained anymore. 195 8. One's possessions, obtained once, will be consumed and exhausted altogether. 9· One will not be able to keep secrets anymore. 193. Sutra ofNandika (Tib: Dga' ba can gyi mdo ). 194· Nandika Sutra, n6.IO-I3. 195. In this and many of rhe following examples, the nominalized main verb (plus la don parI 92. The general term tirthika refers to followers of a non-Buddhist religion and is typically used for followers of non-Buddhist Indian schools; see Buswell and Lopez, 1he Princeton Dictionary ofBuddhism, 915. ticle) is followed by the auxiliary verb gyur, which I have left umranslated here. This auxiliary verb emphasizes a dynamic proq:ss-thar is, the main verb is going to happen, will rum out ro happen, or will come to happen (or that one will become that kind of person who performs or undergoes the action of the main verb). THE FAULTS OF MEAT o. The limit ofone's proper actions will be obscured completely. One's power will decrease. I 2.. One will not honor one's own mother. I 3. One will not honor one's own father. I4. One will not honor monastic renunciants [srama.Q.a]. I 5. One will not honor brahmans. I 6. One will not venerate the "head of the family." I7. One will not show respect for the Buddha. I8. One will not show respect for the Dharma. 19. One will not show respect for the Sangha. 2.0. One will not show respect for those who have properly undertaken the Training. 196 2.1. One's discipline will degenerate. 2.2.. One will not restrain one's senses. 2.3. One will go afi:er women heedlessly. 2.4. One will be abandoned by kinsmen, relatives, friends, and ministers. 25. One will become repugnant to many people. 2.6. One will disagree with many people. 2.7. One will conduct oneself in a non-Dharmic way. 2.8. One will embrace what is non-Dharma. 2.9. One will abandon the holy Dharma altogether. 30. One will abandon one's sense of shame and embarrassment. 31. Though living with hostile people, one will not think to ask learned persons [for help?]. 32. One will conduct oneself heedlessly and impulsively. 33. One will not at all abide in the words of the Tathagata. 34· One will be further removed from nirva.Q.a. 35· Since one created and accumulated the karma of a mad person, one's body will come to ruin, and afi:er one has died, one will be born among the hell-beings of the lower realms of existence. Even if one passes away from there and is born here in this world as one who has the same fortune as human beings, wherever one is born, one will turn into a mad person and one's memory will be blurred. I I 1. 196. The term "training" (ik~a, bslab pa) is mainly used in two contexts: (r) the three trainings in higher discipline or morality, higher meditation, and higher insight, and (:z.) the Vinaya, where it refers to proper conduct; see Buswell and Lopez, The Princeton Dictionary ofBuddhism, 819. NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO 91 Nandika, the faults of alcohol made of fermented grains and alcohol made of plant or fruit juices, which are the basis ofheedlessness, should be understood as this group of thirty-five." 197 1.2 Drinking Alcohol by Those Who Have Entered the Sravakayana Is Impermissible In the Vinayasittra, 198 it is taught: A sick person should not drink alcohol even with kusa grass. 199 Everyone, including upasakas, 200 should not pour it. 201 And in its Extensive Commentary, it is explained: Everyone, including upasakas, should not pour it. If poured, it was taught in the Sutra that one will be born in the WailingHell.202 Therefore it was explained that it is impermissible that those who have entered the door of individual liberation drink alcohol, even so much as a drop taken with the tip of a blade of grass. That is the case if the body abides in its natural state [i.e., free of any illness]. But if one wonders whether it is permissible to give alcohol to a sick person, it is not. As for the statement in the Vinayasittra that "for a sick person there is 197· Nandika Sittra, 77 4-I0-775·2.0· 198. GuQ.aprabha, Vinayasittra (Sutra ofMonastic Discipline; Tib: 'Dul ba'i mdo). 199. That is, even so much as a drop that was taken with the tip of kusa grass. :z.oo. An upasaka is a male lay disciple who has taken refuge and upholds the five basic precepts (not to kill, steal, engage in sexual misconduct, lie, or use intoxicants); see Buswell and Lopez, The Princeton Dictionary ofBuddhism, 941. :z.or. Gu11aprabha, Vinayasutra, 102.7.13-15. :z.o:z.. Quotation from the Extensive Commentary ( 'Grel pa) unidentified. Dharmamitra explains that even all those who have not taken on the moral training (Sik~d, bslab pa) of Buddhism, including upasakas, should not offer alcohol, and lists the selling of alcohol as one of the six activities upasakas should not engage in; see Dharmamitra, Vinayasutratikd (Commentary on the Sutra ofMonastic Discipline; Tib: 'Dul ba'i mdo'i rgya cher 'grel pa), vol. 91, 564.6-11. This is also stated by Gu11aprabha, Vinayasittravrttyabhidhii.nasvavyakhyii.na (Autocommentary on the Sutra ofMonastic Discipline; Tib: 'Dul ba'i mdo'i 'grel pa mngon par brjod pa rang gi rnam par bshad pa), u69.4-10. THE FAULTS OF MEAT NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO 93 203 no downfall," it means that alcohol is merely smeared on the body and kept in the cheeks but is not swallowed internally: A sick person should drink alcohol mixed with melted butter and · grain oil. If it has become nonalcohol, it has no faults. Nonalcohol is gained afi:er boiling alcohol. 204 In the Commentary, it is explained: "The mixture of alcohol with melted butter was boiled in three volume measures of butter and three volume measures of alcohol." 205 In line with that, the mixture should only be smeared on the sick person's body but not allowed to be swallowed internally. In case it must be drunk internally because of an illness, its alcoholic strength is withdrawn by boiling the alcohol. Other liquids that are imbued with the smell of alcohol can be drunk because it is taught in the Vinayasutra: "If the liquid is boiled, the alcohol vanishes from it." 206 And because it is taught in the Vinayasutra: In order to be freed from one's thirst for alcohol, one should drink a powder of dry medicine consisting of roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits that is imbued with the smell of alcohol and mixed with water. The powder should be imbued by leaving it hanging in avessel with alcohol. It should be prevented from touching the alcohol. Because of this, the vessel shbuld not be full and·the alcohol should be free of alcoholic strength. 207 Therefore what is nowadays known to Tibetans as changkof08 is permissible to be taken by a sick person if it does not possess either the taste or strength of 2.03. Gul)aprabha, Vinayasutra, 953.12. 2.04. Gul)aprabha, Vinayasittra, I02.7.2-4. For an explanation of this passage, see Dharmamitra, Vinayasittratika, vol. 91, s6o.z.o-s6I.Io; GuQaprabha, Vinayasittravrttyabhidhanasvavydkh ydna, u66.I4-II67.2.. z.os. Quotation from the Commentary ( 'Grel pa) unidentified. z.o6. Gul)aprabha, Vinayasittra, 953.6-7. 2.07. Gul)aprabha, Vinayasittra,102.].]-II. The detailed process is outlined by Dharmamitra, Vinayasittra{ikd, vol. 91, s62..13-S63.I2.; Gul)aprabha, Vinayasit.travrttyabhidhanasvavydkhyana, II6].2.0-II68.13. 2.08. "Boiled alcohol" -that is, a boiled soup made of traditional Tibetan chang beer and roasted barley flour. alcohol. But it is impermissible if the alcohol taste and strength have not vanished. Thus the meaning of changkol has been explained as not being alcohol. But if a person is not sick, even keeping alcohol in the cheeks is impermissible because it is explained in the Vinayasutra: "Keeping alcohol in the cheeks and smearing it on the body are similar to making use of it.'' 209 Also, some say: "There is no fault if one drinks alcohol in moderation." But this is extremely inadmissible. As Acarya Sakyaprabha explains: One may say, "Since the mind will not be deluded, it will not become a fault if one drinks in a controlled manner." It is not like that, because one does not know the right amount for becoming intoxicated and because one would overdo it greatly-and this is why people with such dispositions should completely abandon the drinking of alcohol. Therefore the drinking of alcohol was pro21 hibited in every possible way. The Bhagavan 210 taught: "Bhik~us, those of you who take teachings from me, the Teacher, should neither give nor drink intoxicating liquids, not even the amount taken with the tip of kusa grass." 212 Because of that, in line with the statement: "Alcohol is the root of all faults and thus not even a grass tip's worth should be drunk," 213 it has been prohibited 2.09. Gul)aprabha, Vinayamtra, 9S3·II-12.. 2.10. The term bhagavdn is used here as an epithet for Buddha Sakyamuni, meaning "endowed with fortune" and generally given in English by terms such as "Blessed One"; see Buswell and Lopez, The Princeton Dictionary ofBuddhism, 108. Z.II. The term bhik$u refers to a fully ordained monk; see Buswell and Lopez, The Princeton Dictionary ofBuddhism, IIS. 21 2.. Sakyaprabha, Mitlasarvdstivada5rdma1Jerakdrikavrttiprabhavati (Commentary on the Stanzas of the Mitlasarvdstivada Novice Vows, the Illuminator; Tib: Gzhi thams yod par smra ba'i dge tshulgyi tshig le'ur byas pa'i 'grelpa 'od !dan), 355.13-2.0. Cf. Ngorchen, Springyigslob ma Ia phan pa, 6z.s.s-6z.6.I: "... because one would overdo it greatly, and people with such dispositions, by merely drinking alcohol, will happen to experience a behavioral downfall. Therefore the Teacher taught: "Those who take teachings from me should neither give nor drink alcohol, not even with kufa grass!" 2.13. Jikten. Sumgon (II43-12.17) locates the source of this quote as the "Vinaya of the holy Dharma" but gives a slightly different reading: "... and not even the amount taken with kufa grass is thus drunk"; see BD RC (W 3]T13348 ): dam pa'i chos 'dul ba nasI chang ni nyes pa kun gyi rtsa ba stel rtswa mchog gis kyang blangs te mi mthung ngoli bgyi ba gsungl. Similarly, Mangtho Ludrup Gyatso (IS2.3-IS96) locates the source of this quote in the "Vinaya" and gives the second part as: "... and not even the amount of a droplet on kufa grass should thus be drunk"; see Mangtho Ludrup Gyatso, Bsnyen gnas cho ga'i lag len gsal ba'i sgron me, 267.4: 'dul bar! chang ni nyes pa kun gyi rtsa baste II rtsa mchog zil pa tsam yang btung mi bya II zhes bshadpa dangj. THE FAULTS OF MEAT 94 in every possible way. This is also the reason for what was explained by Arya Upagupta: "Because it is the source of the five acts that bring immediate ret~ ribution, of the five types of downfalls, and of all faults." 214 Acarya Gul)aprabha explained the statement, "Drinking alcohol is solely an action that is objectionable in virtue of prohibition" as "the transgression of an action that is objectionable in virtue of its prohibition."215 In the Exten~ sive Commentary, 216 it is explained: say:·"It is an action ~hat is by nature objection(Some Vaibh~ks able] because it was explained that it is faulty conduct just as kil~ ing and the like, because it was taught as the very cause for beings of the lower realms of existence, because it was explained as the basis of heedlessness, and because it does not allow one to stay focused single~potdy." 217 NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO 1.3 Relying on Alcohol by Those Who Have Entered the Mahayana Is Impermissible In the Angulimtiliya Sutra, 218 it is taught: As for those sentient beings who have turned away from the tathagatagarbha, having become mice and neuter, still drinking alcohol they will again turn into mice and neuter because of drinking something extremely impure. 219 And in the Saddharmtinusmrtyupasthdna, 220 it is taught that one must give up drinking alcohol from the perspective of its infinite faults: People relying on alcohol are the axe of all Dharmas. The foremost among those engaging in shameless activities, they were taught as lacking self-control. . In short, since it is an extremely severe wrongdoing, the Teacher properly prohibited the drinking of alcohol in the scriptural collections of the sriivakas. 2.14. The source for this quotation is most likely Sakyaprabha,Mulasarvdstivddifrdmar)erakdrikdvrttiprabhavati, 358.6-u: 'phags pa nyer sbas kyis ni myos par gyur ba'i khu ba bcas pa'i kha na ma tho ba dang bcas pa yin yang shin tu smad pa yin tel rang bzhin gyis kha nama tho ba dang bcas pa'i rgyu yin pa'i phyir dang! mtshams med pa bzhi po dag dang ltung ba ris [=rigs] lnga dag la rab tu Jug par byed pa yin pa'i phyir dang I nyes pa thams cad kyi 'byung gnas yin pa'i phyir ro zhes gsungs so II· The five acts that bring immediate retribution (pancdnantarya, mtshams med lnga) are listed in Buswell and Lopez, 1he Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 615-16, as: "(1) patricide, (2) matricide, (3) killing an arhat, (4) spilling the blood of a buddha, and (s) causing schism in the monastic commw1ity." The five types of downfalls (/tung ba'i rigs lnga) are likewise enumerated That which produces an extremely dull mind and causes both worlds to come to ruin, 221 that which solely makes the Dharma ofliberation burn, like a fire, is alcohol. 222 And in that same sutra, it is taught: As for always drinking alcohol, there are thirty-six faults. Thus the one who knows the faults should give up alcohol for good. ( 621-22, 752-53,637, 66s-66, 275-76) as: (1) "'defeat; ... those misdeeds that email automatic ... expulsion from the Sarpgha and reversion to laity" (pardjika, phas phampa); (2) "'probationary offense'; a category of offences in the roster of monastic rules ... that require penance and/or probation" (sayt1ghvie~, dge 'dun lhag ma); (3) "'requiring expiation: 'transgression to be confessed; a lesser category of violations of the monastic code" than the former two, and "those that are expiated simply by being confessed to another monk" (payattika, ltung byed); ( 4) "'entailing acknowledgement' or 'disclosure'; a group of four ecclesiastical offenses related to the receiving and eating of food, which are ro be disclosed to, or confessed before, another monk" (pratideianiya, so sor bshags par bya ba); and (s) "'wrongdoing'; a general category for the least serious of ecclesiastical offenses" (du?krta, nyes byas). 215. Both quotations unidentified. 216. Extensive Commentary (Rgya cher grel pa), that is, Jinaputra's Bodhisattvaiilaparivartatikd Tib: Byang chub sems dpa'i tshul (Commentary on the Chapter about the Bodhisattva Precpts~ khrims kyi le'u rgya cher grel pa). 217. Jinaputra, Bodhisattvaiilaparivartatika, s68.8-u. The beginning part supplied in brackets is as Ngorchen opens his citation; see Ngorchen, Springyig slob mala phan pa, 526.3. 95 218. Tib: Sor mo'i phreng ba la phan pa'i mdo. 219. Angulimdliya Sutra, 408.17-19. 220. Min4fulness ofthe the Excellent Doctrine (Tib: Dam pa'i chos dran pa nye bar gzhagpa). 221. The inanimate outer world or habitat, and the animate world of sentient beings that live in the former. Saddharmdnusmrtyupasthdna, vol. 68, 467.9-10, 467.14-16. The fourth metrical foot of the first verse is given differently by Ngorchen, Springyig slob mala phan pa, 627.2, which is, however, in line with a variant reading of that verse as included by Paltsek, Gsung rab rin po che'i gtam rgyud dang shakya'i rabs rgyud, 954.21-955·2, 1003, no. 955/I: "They were taught as what should be abandoned." 2.22. NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO THE FAULTS OF MEAT Those people who give up alcoh~ place their mind in the meditative equipoise of the nature of the Dharma. They go to those supreme holy places where there exists no death. 231 As for those of noble descent and scholars, it will defile them greatly. Human beings, just as kasa flowers, 223 it will only make them unrestrained. Deceived by the noose of craving, whatever sin you have committed, it will simmer fiercely in you. What else is there for me to say? As for those people who were distracted by alcohol, though alive, they resemble the dead. Whosoever wishes to always be alive should completely give up alcohol for good. 224 If not given up, great suffering will be encountered, and in the Sutra Discriminating between Virtuous and Sinful Karma, 225 it is taught thus: Since one drinks a lot of alcohol in this life, one will be born in the Hell of Drinking Molten Copper. 226 Not only that, even if one gives alcohol to others, that action will turn into a fault, because it is taught in the Sinzhapariprccha Sutra: 217 "If one gives alcohol, one will be born with crippled hands for five hundred births."228 And because in the lJ.#vyasapariprchha Sutra, 229 giving alcohol, poison, weapons, and the meat of slaughtered animals are explained as impure donations.230 Hence it is explained in the Saddharmanusmrtyupasthana: 2.2.3. The Saddharmdnusmrtyupasthana, vol. 69, 541.10, specifies the flower as ka sa'i me tog, whereas Ngorchen, Springyig slob ma Ia phan pa, 627.2, gives it as a spring flower (sos ka'i me tog). 224. Saddharmdnusmrtyupasthdna, vol. 69, 541.8-9, 541.9-u; vol. 68, 450.2-4, 466.18-19. 225. In general, the convention of this volume has been to use Sanskrit tides for canonical works originally written in Sanskrit. Neither the translator nor the ediror, however, have been able to identify a Sanskrit tide for chis work (Dge ba dangmi dge ba'i las kyi rnam par smin pa bstan pa'i mdo) so the tide has been provided in English. 226. Dge ba dang midge ba'i las kyi rnam par smin pa b;tan pa'i mdo, 604.8-9. 22 7. The tide found in the text Seng ges zhus pa (Questions ofSirrtha) refers most likely to the Sirrthapariprcchd (Questions ofSirrtha Sutra; Tib: Sengges zhus pa'i mdo ), though this identifica- 97 In line with that, those who have entered the Bodhisattva Pitaka should not drink alcohol and should study. . Now, the second main point shall be addressed: 2. Explaining the Faults ofNourishing One's Body with the Meat of Animals That Have Been Slaughtered This has three subpoints: 2.1. The Faults of Eating Meat in General In the noble Lankavatara Sutra/31 it is taught extensively: Mahamati, once in the past, there was a king called Sirphasaudasa. He ate meat as food and relied on meat that is impermissible to 233 eat. Due to his strong craving and desire for its taste, he happened to eat even the flesh of humans. As a result, he was abandoned by the masses of his people, including his friends, ministers, relatives, and kinsmen, let alone his townsmen and countrymen. Since he had to discard his political power and country, he became utterly afflicted emotionally. Mahamati, even Indra, having previously obtained dominion over the gods, took on the physical form of a hawk due to the fault of his karmic imprints of eating meat, and he greatly threatened ViSvakarma, who had taken, the form and appearance of a pigeon. The faultless King Sibi himself, who possessed loving affection for all living beings, had then to be weighed on a scale and forced to experience great suffering [to ransom the pigeon with his own 231. Saddharmdnusmrtyupasthdna, vol. 68, 467.I6-17. tion is tentative. 232. Sutra ofthe Descent into Lanka (Tib: Lang kar gshegs pa'i mdo ). 228. Quotation unidentified. 233. See also Jnanavajra, Tathdgatahrdaydlarrtkdra (Commentary on the Sidra ofthe Descent into Lanka, the Ornament ofthe Essence ofthe Tathagata; Tib: Lang kar gshegs pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo'i 'grel pa de bzhin gshegs pa'i snyingpo'i rgyan), 638.3-4. 229. Questions ofSage Vydsa Sutra (Tib: Drang srong rgyas pas zhus pa'i mdo ). 230. &ivydsapariprchha Sutra, 784.s-786.r8. THE FAULTS OF MEAT NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO 99 234 fl.esh]. Mahamati, having accustomed himself to the eating of meat over many lifetimes, even having become Indra, the lord of the gods, if he causes himself and others to experience faults in such a way, what need is there to speak of oth~rs? Mahamati, there was also another lord of men who was carried away by a strong horse and wandered about in the wilderness. To avert misfortune in his life, he united with a lioness and offspring were born as well. Because of his association with the lioness, the king's sons were called Speckled Feet and so on. Though they became the lords of men, they also ate meat due to their karmic imprints of the fault ofhaving eaten meat in previous lifetimes. Mahamati, if also in this present life in a village equipped with the Seven Households they extremely lust after meat and rely on meat that is impermissible to eat, 235 they will be born as malevolent, human-flesh-eating male and female tramen spirits. 236 Mahamati, even after they have changed lives, that very attachment to the taste of meat will have them fall into the birth realm of creatures eating lots of meat, such as lions, tigers, leopards, wolves, jackals, cats, foxes, and owls, and also into the birth realm of extremely ferocious creatures, such as rak~s who eat lots of meat. If, for those who have fallen there, it is difficult to obtain even a human realm of birth, what then of nirvaQ.a! Mahamati, if such as these are the faults of 2.34. The British Museum houses a panel depicting this scene (Zwalf, A Catalogue of the Gandhara Sculpture in the British Jv[useum, vol. I, color plate v, vol. :z., plate I36), which is described by Zwalf, vol. 1, I4:z., as follows: "The theme ... occurs, with variants, in different texts and tells how Indra tested the resolve of the Bodhisattva in his birth as King Sibi. Sibi, who had vowed to protect all creatures, ransomed a pigeon pursued by Indra disguised as a falcon, eagle, or sparrow-hawk, while the pigeon was really the god Visvakarma acting at Indra's behest. Sibi offered in his own flesh the equivalent of the pigeon's weight; parts of his body were successively cut off and heaped into a scale, but the pigeon proved still too heavy until the king, with what was left of himself, got into it. In this extremity he reaffirmed his joy at fulfilling the Bodhisattva vow and prayed, in token of his sincerity, to become whole again; and this then came about. The two gods resumed their own forms." On Buddhist and non-Buddhist textual sources of this tale, see Meisig, Konig Sibi und die Taube; Ohnuma, Head, Eyes, Flesh, and Blood, 2.75; Storm, Head and Heart, I i 6-I 9; Zwalf, A Catalogue ofthe Gandhara Sculpture in the British Museum, vol. I, I42fi3. See also the explanation given by Jnanavajra, Tathagatahrdayalar(Jkara, 638.4-Io. eating meat, what need is there to mention that people who devote themselves excessively to eating it will surely be born there. By turning away from it, there are a great many good qualities. Mahamati, spiritually undeveloped ordinary beings do not thoroughly comprehend these qualities and faults, and others as well. 237 And it is taught there: Also, in the Hastik~y, Mahdmegha, Mahdparinirvd1Ja, Angulimdliya SiUra, and Lankdvatdra Sittra, I condemned eating meat completely. 238 The buddhas, bodhisattvas, and sravakas condemned eating it. Someone eating it shamelessly will always be born as a mad person. Since one has given up meat and the like, in the brahman caste or as a yoga practitioner, as a wise or rich personas those one will be born. 239 As this says, the faults of eating meat were taught extensively in those five kinds of texts of the Siitra section, such as the Hastik~y Sutra. But fearing it would be too much here, I have not elaborated on them. In brief, those belonging to the human realm, such as those depending on the Seven Households, should know that the faults for consuming meat are infinite. 237. Lmikavatara Sutra, 382..2-383.10. 238. For the Hastikak?ya Sutra (Sittra ofthe Elephant's Exertions; Tib: Giang po'i rtsal gyi mdo ), Mahtimegha (The Great Cloud Sutra; Tib: Sprin chen po'i mdo), Mahaparinirvd1Ja Sittra (Sittra ofthe Great Nirvti'(la; Tib: Mya ngan las 'das pa chen po thegpa chen po'i mdo ), andAngulimaliya Sittra, see Bka"gyur dpe bsdur ma 2.2.5, 2 so, 13 8, 2 31, respectively. On these Mahayana siitras from 236. According to Jnanavajra, Tathagatahrdayala'f!'Jkara, 638.19-20, phra men are beings that belong to the class ofyak?as. Cf. Ngorchen, Springyig slob mala phan pa, 629.2, who has r,ldkas the fourth or fifth century and their arguments against meat eating, see Schmithausen, "Essen, ohne zu toten;' I77-93· For a briefer discussion in English, see Schmithausen, "Meat-Eating and Nature;' I90-94. According to Schmithausen, "My Scholarly Life;' xxxii, he is working on a "full-fledged monograph» on meat eating and vegetarianism, which will include "critical editions and annotated translations of the pertinent chapters of the Mahayana Maha-parinirva'(lasutra, the Angulimaliya-sutra and the Lankavatara-sutra.» and r,ldkinis instead. 239. Lanktivattira Sittra, 387.16-388.1. :Z.3S· InJfianavajra, Tathtigatahrdayala'f!'Jktira, 638.12.-I7, the Seven Households are enumerated as butcher, alcohol seller, prostitute, fowler, fisher, the royal palace, and either low castes, such as a hunter, or tirthikas who hold a wrong view and like the act of sacrificing lives. THE FAULTS OF MEAT IOO 2 • 2 • Eating Meat by Those Who Have Entered the Sravakayana Is Impermissible In the noble Lankdvatdra Sutra, meat is prohibited for sravakas: Mahamati, I explained that food made of meat is impermissible for monastics. Mahamati, whosoever thinks to denigrate me by saying, "Even the Tathagata eats meat," that one, Mahamati, is a foolish person abiding in the obscuration of his own karmic faults. Those kinds of people will bring about for themselves, for a long time, what has no benefit, what is harmful, and·what is unpleasant. Mahamati, if my noble sravakas do not even eat ordinary food, what need then to mention that food made of meat and blood is 240 impermissible ? Likewise, it is taught in the Mahdparinirvd1Ja Sutra: Son of the family, henceforth I will not permit my sravakas to eat meat. If one says, "The alms of the country are like the flesh of one's son," how could I permit eating meat? Eating meat will result in the 241 great loving-kindness being cut off. Thus have I taught. Due to that, let alone eating meat by sravakas in its entirety, it is explained that even food mixed with meat is impermissible to eat because in that same NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO IOI 243 other but the actual food was not mi~ed, has no fault. 244 Those foods that are adulterated by meat, fish, wild game, dried lizard, 245 or other contaminations of meat will turn into a downfall. Thus have I said."246 But what if one were to ask whether the two rules taught in the Vinaya scriptures contradict each other? [The two rules being:] "Food having come in one's begging bowl, such as meat and fish, that was offered by respectable people-if. after it was investigated by thinking 'Is it not prohibited meat, such as human flesh?' it is [found that it is] not, it should be eaten." And "One should not eat leftover meat that was eaten by a tiger and the meat of an animal that was specifically made [i.e., killed]." They do not contradict each other. 247 Their intended meaning by the Buddha refers to the spiritual sustainment of those who by simply having given up meat wrongly think to have a pure view, such as Devadatta, and of those who do not enter the Buddha's doctrine because they are attached to the taste of meat, like King Speckled Feet. The basis for the Buddha's thought is in regard to a fully ordained sick monk who relies on meat for medicine: A genuine, fully ordained monk, like Mati, who abides in great loving-kindness must rely on medicine made of meat. If he does not rely on it, he is going to die. If he dies, the hQly Dharma is going to disappear in the world. For this kind of a person it is permissible to eat meat. The valid cognition damaging the explicit teaching [i.e., the contradiction of taking a provisional meaning literally] is taught in the Mahaparinirvd1Ja Sutra: siitra it is explained: [A kinsman ofKasyapa asked,] "Fully ordained monks or nuns, or laymen or laywomen who subsist on alms food given by others, as for plenty of food, the object of which was not investigated, how should they purify alms mixed with me;~.t?" Reply: "Son of the family, in any case, without going against the 242 Vinaya, they should eat the alms-by washing them with water. Thus have I taught. "As for such an object-namely, food and drink that appear to have for the most part been mixed with food made of meatthey should be given up. Food, the vessels of which touched each 240. Lmikdvatdra Sittra, 38po-17. 24 x. Mahaparinirvd'f}a Sittra_(shorrer version), 118.20-119.2. 24 2. That is, washing out the meat contained within the alms. 243· That is, one vessel containing food with meat touched another vessel with meatless food. 244· That is, to eat the meatless food. 24S· The meaning of the Tibetan term rmig pa skam po (dry hoof) is unclear, as is the Sanskrit term that may be behind it. For some first speculative thoughts by Dorji Wangchuk, who suggestS "dried shellfish," or Dan Martin, who proposes "lizard;' see Wangchuk, "Rmig pa skarn po." 246. Mahaparinirvd'f}a Sittra (shorter version), 122.1-10. On this passage, cf. Schmithausen, "Essen, ohne zu toten," 181-82. 247. The first passage draws on Sak:yaprabha, Mitlasarvdstivadifrdma'f}erakarikii (Stanzas of the Mulasarvastivada Novice vows; Tib: Gzhi thams yod par smrt~. ba'i dge tshul gyi tshig le'ur byas pa), 187.12-15. For an explanation of this passage, see Sakyaprabha, Mulasarvdstivddafrdma'f}erakarikavrttiprabhavati, 373.17-374.14. For the second passage, see Sakyaprabha, Midasarvdstivddifrdma'f}erakdrikd, I88.r3-14. For an explanation of this second passage, see 'Sakyaprabha, Mulasarvdstivddafrdmarterakdriktivrttiprabhtivati, 38I.I2-383.10. For an explanation of both passages, see also Vinicadeva, Trifataktiriktivydkhytina (Exposition ofthe Three Hundred Stanzas; Tib: Tshigle'urbyas pasum brgya pa'i rnam parbshadpa), 646.8ff., 6ss.18ff., respectively. 102 THE FAULTS OF MEAT NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO Question: "Bhagavan, how then did you permit eating meat that is pure from three angles?" 248 Reply: "I endorsed the eating of meat that is completely pure from three angles for the sake of gradually tightening the code of precepts. But these days I discarded that rule." Question: "Bhagavan, what were you thinking when you taught the ninefold purpose and ten kinds of meat that should be given up?" Reply: "I also decided on these regulations for the sake of tightening the precepts for not eating meat." Question: "Bhagavan, what were you thinking when you taught even meat and fish as fine foods?" 249 Reply: "I did not teach meat and fish as fine foods. But I taught sugarcane, salu rice, grains, wheat, barley, black legumes, green legumes, ngarbag sugar, white sugar, honey, butter, milk, and grain oil as fine foods." 250 The explicit teaching on meat in the Vinaya was taught by the Teacher himself with an intended meaning. This is why Santideva, the son of the Victo251 along with a quotation: rious One, also clarified it in the Sik~dsamucy, What was permitted in the Vinaya when it says, "If one eats meat with threefold purity, it will not become an obstacle that needs to be given up," is so that those who have completely given up eating meat eliminate their exaggerated pride of wrongly thinking that they are holding a pure view. And it is so that those who have a good karmic fortune but are attached to meat dispose of their inability to enter the Buddha's doctrine. That was also taught in the Lankdvatdra Sutra: 252 "The proclamation of my teachings and the code of precepts therein is set up in stages in the manner ofhow the rungs of a ladder connect. Establishing the rule of meat with threefold purity, I prohibited both meat that was specifically prepared for onesel£ and later I even went so far as to prohibit the meat of animals that have died naturally from one of ten kinds of death. 253 Hence the Bud~ha proclaimed in the Lankdvatdra Sutra: Mahamati, if I am endowed with the conception that all sentient beings are like my own child, how could I permit the sravaka.s to eat the flesh of my own child? How can we speak of I myself eating it? As for the statements, "I permitted it for the sravakas" and "I myself ate it," Mahamati, they are without any basis. 254 This proclamation is true. That being so, some contemporary upholders of the Vinaya state: "In the Vinaya Pi~ak, it was taught that 'meat was permitted' and that 'eating meat has no faults because it does not contradict the rules of any of the three vows.' Many hundreds of bhik~us should loudly proclaim this everywhere.'' These developments were also prophesied by the Victorious One hiinsel£ and he taught in the Mahaparinirvd7Ja Sutra: Son of the family, when many hundreds of years will have passed after I have died, srotaapannas [stream-enterers], sak.rdagamins [once-returners], anagamis [non-returners], and arhats [worthy ones] will have disappeared. At the time when the holy Dharma will have perished in perpetuity, bhik~us will appear who imitate maintaining the Vinaya and Mat,rka and who possess various discursive thoughts. They will nourish their own bodies, 255 cherish all kinds of meat, be tormented by sickness, hunger, and thirst. Their appearance will be very frightening, they will be like cowherds and fowlers who wear Dharma robes bearing colored patterns but exhibit the deliberate behavior of a cat. 256 They will claim, "I am 2.48. That is, one had not seen, heard, or suspected that the animal had been killed particularly for oneself. Monks could only accept meat that was "pure from three angles" (triko{ipariiuddha, mus gsum yongs su dag pa)-that is, according to Schmithausen, "Meat-Eating and Nature;' 188-89, "if the monk had not seen nor heard that the animal had been killed particularly for him, nor had any reason for suspecting so." 2.49. That is, types of food a monk was not allowed to request for himself explicitly but allowed to accept and eat if offered. According to Schmithausen, "Essen, ohne zu toten," 159, "in this context [i.e., of fine foods] it is not about the connection of meat and fish with animal killing, but about asceticism: the monks are not allowed to ask for delicious food because this does not behoove ascetics and would raise doubts about their seriousness in the eyes of the laity" [translated by Jorg Heimbel]. 103 2.52.. Cf. theLankdvatiira Siitra, 385.5-8. 2.53. Samideva, Sik~dsamucy, n84.16-u8s-3- 254· Lankdvatdra Sutra, 386.5-9. 2.50. Mahdparinirviil}a Stitra (shorter version), II9.2.-14. On this passage, see also Schmithausen, "Essen, ohne zu toten," I8o-8I. 255. By being attached to food. 2.51. Compendium a/Trainings (Tib: Bslab pa kun las btus pa). 256. Though wear.ing saffron-colored monk's cloth, they are like a hunter: with eyes lowered to 104 THE FAULTS OF MEAT an arhat," but will be afflicted by many kinds of sufferings. Their bodies will be tainted with their own urine and excrement. Outwardly they will model their dress in an excellent style just like a sage [or the Muni]. 257 They will change into a sramal).a-like person without actually being a sramal).a. They will uphold fabricated texts that are similar to the holy Dharma. These people will destroy the Vinaya, rituals, and proper domains of conduct that I instituted, and they will destroy the texts of complete liberation from attachment to the impermissible and of the such ness of liberation. They will alter whatever they like from the Vinaya and individual Siitra sections and teach it. They will say: "In this way, the Bhagavan taught in our Vinaya: 'The donation of meat nutriments is permissible."' People pretending to be monastic renunciants [sramal).a], sons of the Sakya, are going to appear, who will themselves make up teachings and make assertions that contradict my teachings. 258 And the Buddha extensively taught ih the Lankdvatdra Sutra: Mahamati, whatever [meat of threefold purity] one considers, the meat permitted for sravakas-that is, meat not specifically made for them, meat not requested to be made for them, and meat one did not examine [that was given by benefactors]-this meat is also impermissible [because directly or indirectly it harms sentient beings]. 259 Mahamati, in future times, foolish people, ordained into the ground and walking slowly, they resemble a cat stalking a mouse. 257. But inwardly their mind is suppressed by j~alousy NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO my teachings and declaring "I am the son of Sakya," upholding the victory banner of saffron-colored robes, will have their minds corrupted by mistaken conceptual sophistry. They will think in manifold ways about the Vinaya, their advocated view of the transitory 260 collection will be comprehensive, and they will be attached to their lust for meat. They will teach all those pseudo reasons for eating meat, and I think they will also denigrate me by saying that I am not right. Investigating all those episodes when the matter of meat eating emerged in my discourses, they will say: "As for the emergence of this matter, in these episodes the Bhagavan allowed food made of meat and taught it as both permissible261 and a delicacy. Even the T athagata himself ate meat." Mahamati, nowhere in any of my siitras did I permit the consumption of meat, and I also did not specify it as permissible among the delicacies. 262 After that, it is taught in conclusion: In future times, those deluded propagators of meat eating will say: "The Buddha explained: 'Meat is without sin and permissible."' Food, being like medicine, and meat, similar to the flesh of one's own son, the former eaten moderately and the latter given up with the notion of being unwholesome 263 in such a manner the yogi should make use of food. and desire. 258. Mahaparinirvd?;Za Sutra (shorter version), uo.Il-121.9. Cf the respective passage in the enlargedMahaparinirvd?;Za Sutra (longer version), vol. 52, I3I·S-I32·S· as translated into Tibetan from the Chinese translation ofDharmalqema, which contains additional parts entirely missing in the Tibetan translation from Sanskrit done by Jinamitra, Jnanagarbha, and Devacandra. Cf Blum, The Nirvana Sutra, 113, for the translation of the respective passage from Chinese. some additional parts from the Tibetan translation of the Chinese For the sake of cl~rifaton, version have been supplied in notes 2SS-S7· On the different versions and translations of the Mahdparinirvd?;Za Sutra, see Buswell and Lopez, The Princeton Dictionary ofBuddhism, S04-S· 259. The explanatory remarks in brackets are given according to Jnanavajra, Tathd- . gatahrdaydlarrtkara, 639·5-10. Note that within this context the threefold purity of meat is formulated differently than outlined above.Jfianavajra explains it as: meat of an animal that was not killed by oneself, meat of an animal that one did not make someone else kill, and meat given by benefactors, the source of which one did not examine. In the versified summary at the end of the Lankdvatdra Sutra, 387.9-II, another formulation of threefold purity is found as well: "As for meat of threefold purity-that is, which was not examined, not begged for, and not requestedthere is none. Therefore meat should not be eaten" (rnam gsum dagpa'i sha rnams nil! ma brtagspa dangma bslangs dangll ma bskul ba yangyod medpas !I de bas sha ni mi bzao II). For a discussion of these different formulations, see Gorampa, Sdom pa gsum gyi rab tu dbye ba'i rnam bshad, I I 9.4ff. 260. That is, the mistaken view of a self 261. The Lankavatara Sutra, 384.13-14 reads "as not permissible;' which is very difficult to understand within this context. I have thus followed the version in Ngorchen, Spring yig slob maLa phan pa, 63 5·4· which has "as permissible." Such an understanding is also supported by the explanation given by ]fianavajra, Tathdgatahrdaydlarrtkara, 639.20-64o.I. 262. Lankavatara Sutra, 384.3-16. 263. Translated according to the explanation given by Jnanavajra, Tathdgatahrdayalartzkdra, 642.16-18. I06 THE FAULTS OF MEAT Since meat eaters will be born as lions, tigers, foxes, and so on, and associate with their own kind, for those who abide in loving-kindness, I condemned eating meat always and in all aspects. 264 Because of that, even ifone is not able to practice properly, one should not set up a scriptural tradition that proposes "the consumption of meat has no faults," for doing so will badly harm the teachings of the Victorious One and will lead one's followers onto a mistaken path. That being so, formerly, in the land of Tibet, the adherents of the Old Mantra school [i.e., the Nyingma school] took the w~rds of the tantras literally, such as of the Sarvatathagatatattvasatpgraha that says: 265 "Even though one would have killed all sentient beings, if it was for the benefit of sentient beings and for the purpose of the Buddha's doctrine, one would not have been tainted with sin."266 And so ritual practices and a scriptural tradition emerged that propound liberation through killing as Dharma. That system and the tenet system that was established by contemporary upholders of the Vinaya appear to be the same! Thus, with the palms of my two hands put together, I supplicate in all directions: "Do not establish a scriptural tradition such as this!" 2.3 Presenting That Eating Meat by Those Who Have Entered the Mahayana Is Impermissible In the noble Lankavatdra Sittra, it is taught at great length: Mahamati, living beings have been cycling through sa.rp.sara for a long time. Whatever it may be, a sentient being who has not 2.64. Lankavatdra Sutra, 388.5-10. Jnanavajra, Tathdgatahrdaydla7fJkara, 642..18-2.0, explains the first two metrical feet as: wa la sogs dang grogs bya basil zhes pa ni de de dag tu skye zhing de'i rigs dang grogs pao 11. and my translation reflects this explanation. Moreover, since this and the other verses, as found at the end of the Lankdvatdra Sutra, are a concise summary of points that were already explained in the preceding part in prose, the only fitting passage deals with meat eaters born in the birth realm of lions, tigers, and so on, as translated above. In addition, because the other occurrences of the verb smad (to condemn) in some preceding verses take meat eating as their object, it seems unlikely to me that the first two metrical feet should be taken as the object, and an alternative translation be: Those who band together with lions, tigers, foxes and so on, I, who abide in loving-kindness, condemned them always and in all aspects. 2.65. Compendium ofRealities (Tib: De kho na nyid bsdus pa). 2.66. Sarvatathagatatattvasa7fJgraha (Compendium of Reality of All the Tathagatas; Tib: De bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi de kho na nyid bsdus pa), 194.17-19. NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO been your father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, kinsmen, relative, or like a relative [i.e., a friend], there is no such type whatsoever that is easy to find. Those who were your relatives and friends changed their bodily form in another life and transformed into the birth realm of wild animals, livestock, and birds, whichever realm was karmically appropriate. A bodhisattva who is a mahasattva desiring the Buddha's Dharma and desiring that all living creatures become just like his own self, how could he eat the flesh that originated from all those previously related beings who have now turned into other kinds of living beings? Mahamati, even flesh-eating rak~s demons, after hearing the excellent inherent nature [dharmata] of all phenomena [dharma) of the tathagatas, they turn away from eating meat and, freed from their demonic nature, they become compassionate. If so, what need to speak of living beings desiring the Dharma? Under these circumstances, Mahamati, with regard to all those beings who moved on in their succession of lives, in order to cultivate the notion that all sentient beings are like one's only son through the association that all sentient beings were once one's own kinsmen and relatives, a bodhisattva of compassionate nature should not eat any meat at all. Mahamati, since it is also impermissible and mistaken to eat meat, a bodhisattva who observes proper conduct should not eat any meat at all. Mahamati, (tabooed or prohibited kinds of meat 67 such as)2 the meat of donkeys, camels, dogs, elephants, humans, and so on is not eaten by worldly people. 268 For their profit, butchers say that these kinds of meat are permissible to eat and sell them in the middle of streets. For this reason as well, Mahamati, a bodhisattva should not eat any meat at all. Also, Mahamati, because he desires to be pure, a bodhisattva should not eat meat, for meat originated from male semen and female blood. Since it would also scare living creatures, Mahamati, a yogibodhisattva desiring loving-kindness should not eat any meat at all. It is thus, Mahamati, that even ifdogs merely see people who eat dog meat from a distance-such as svapakas [dog cookers], caQ<;lalas, 2.67. See Schmithausen, "Essen, ohne zu toten;' 163-70. 2.68. That is, eaten only by outcasts. 107 108 THE FAULTS OF MEAT and fishermen-they bark at them out of fear, and some, thinking, "They come to kill us," almost die. Likewise, Mahamati, also those other very small beings who live in the sky, upon the earth, and in the water, as soon as they see meat eaters from a distance or sense their smell with their sharp nose faculty, they quickly turn away just like humans do from flesh-eating rak~s demons, some even fearing to die. Therefore Mahamati, since all those beings would get scared, a bodhisattva who abides in loving-kindness should not eat meat. Mahamati, by consuming meat a nonsuperior ordinary being is given a bad smell and infamy descends upon him. Since also a superior being [arya] has completely given up consuming meat, a bodhisattva should not eat meat. Mahamati, a superior being eats the food of sages [r#]. Because he thus eats no blood and meat, this is also why a bodhisattva should not eat meat. Mahamati, in order to safeguard the mind of many beings, a bodhisattva of compassionate nature who desires that denigrating the Teachings be given up should not eat meat. It is as follows: Mahamati, there are people in the world disparaging the Teachings, saying: "Oh my! What is the monastic renunciation of these people? Also, where could there be any practicing of purity among these people? After they discarded the food of the previous sages, their bellies filled with food of meat, just like carnivorous animals, they wander throughout these worlds, scaring small beings living in the sky, upon the earth, and in the water. Their monastic renunciation has degenerated. Their practice of giving up evil deeds has perished. Neither do they possess any Dharma nor discipline." Those holding a hostile mindset like that disparage the Teachings in various ways. Because of that, Mahamati, in order to safeguard the mind of many beings, a bodhisattva of compassionate nature who desires that disparaging the Teachings be given up should not eat any meat at all. Mahamati, corpses of dead beings smell bad and unwholesome; meat is similar. This is also why a bodhisattva should not eat meat. Mahamati, there is not any difference at all between the smell of the roasted flesh of a dead human and the roasted meat of another nonhuman being; both are equally bad-smelling. This is another reason why, Mahamati, a yogi-bodhisattva desiring to be pure should not eat any meat at all. NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO 109 Mahamati, eating meat obstructs practicing magical formulas and liberation for those who dwell in charnel grounds, for yogis who live in far-off places in the wilderness haunted by ghosts, for those who engage in yoga and abide in loving-kindness, for those upholding magical formulas, and for those wanting to accomplish magical formulas. Therefore a bodhisattva desiring to benefit his own body and that of others should not eat any meat at all upon perceiving that eating meat is going to cause hindrances for all those practicing yoga among the sons and daughters of the family who have entered the Mahayana. Since eating meat also generates attachment due to an awareness that focuses on matter, a bodhisattva having the compassionate nature that all living creatures were once he himself should not eat any meat at all. Mahamati, in order that the gods give it up as well, a bodhisattva having a compassionate nature should not eat any meat at all. Mahamati, because even in this very life his mouth will be badsmelling, a bodhisattva should not eat any meat at all. 269 Thus and so on it is taught at great length in the noble Lankdvatdra Sutra. Therefore, for bodhisattvas who have entered the Mahayana, meat has been prohibited in every aspect. Omittedfrom the translation: 270 2.69. Lmikdvatdra Sutra, 377.10-380.I6. For a discussion of the different arguments of the Lankdvatdra Sutra against meat eating, see Schmithausen, "Essen, ohne zu toten," 186- 9 1. 2. ?~· ~s mentioned in the introduction, I have not translated Ngorchen's discussion of the prohibltlon of meat and alcohol from a tantric point of view. My knowledge of tantric Buddhism is insufficient, and tantric topics are not openly discussed within the Sakya school without having previously received the related empowerments. THE FAULTS OF MEAT IIO NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO 3· How the Two-Meat and Alcohol-Are Prohibited in the Secret Mantra ;.1 Explaining That Mantrins Must Give Up Meat and Alcohol ;.2 Eliminating Objections about This271 III For liberating them from the ocean of sa111sara, generate supreme bodhicitta, insightful people! The Three Disciplines, the Six Perfections, and so forth: the powerful conduct of the sons of the Victorious One, constituting the roots of the unmistaken path of liberationuphold them properly and respectfully, intelligent people! Concluding Verses At this time when the completely purified human body equipped with freedoms and endowments has been obtained, bodily support for practicing the holy which is the extra~diny Dharma, and which is difficult to acquire through many hundreds of hardships, adhere to a heedful conduct, insightful people! All three levels of existence possess the nature of impermanence. Also, the life of human beings, just like dew on the tip of grass, is impermanent. Since one will certainly die quickly, generate strong diligence, intelligent people! Since present pleasure and pain, rising and falling, meeting and parting follow after previously accumulated karma, cause and result are without deceit and unobscured in their content. Thus behave properly in line with what should be accepted and what rejected, insightful people! All of sa111sara possesses the nature of suffering. Having understood that there is no chance for happiness, one recalls the virtuous and fine qualities of liberation. Engage thus in the conduct of a bodhisattva, intelligent people! Infinite living beings, as one's father and mother they acted and helped numerous times. That is, relying on meat and alcohol by those persons who have entered the Great Yogathat is, the Niruttarayoga tantric system-is impermissible. 2 7 r. The various nets of conceiving a grasped object and a grasping subject bind one to the great suffering of sa111sara. Train this agitated mind in calm-abiding and concentration! One-pointedly engage in virtuous practice, insightful people! Make yourself realize that all external and internal phenomena such as matter are devoid of any self-nature from the very beginning. With the firelight of the individually discriminating insight, burn the firewood of ignorance, intelligent people! Hey! Followers of mine, give up the impure lifestyle of consuming meat, alcohol, and the like! Being the sole basis of all marvelous qualities, cherish the precious discipline more than your life! The Madhyamaka scriptural system, the essence of the Buddha word, I ask you to study it correctly by means of hearing and contemplation. The Vinaya scriptures and Bodhisattva Pi~ak, by relying on them, comply with a heedful conduct! Attending to a king and the like because of desiring gain and esteem, give up all activities that impair your own benefit! At remote, far-off places praised by the Victorious One, cultivate the two types ofbodhicitta and tame your mind! When in that way through respect and diligence in application the mind training of the common path has been completed, enter the path of the profound Vajrayana, which is far superior than ~he other vehicles! THE FAULTS OF MEAT II2. Making one practice on the nonvirtuous path, distance yourself from a master who is of a demonic type! With whomsoever one associates, he should be able to make one practice in virtue. Wherever a qualified lama resides, rely on him! Since the basis of the path is the lama, please him, even as far as with your body and life, , . with the conception that he is inseparable from ones own spec1al practice deity, · and drink the nectar of the essential instructions of the Great Secret! Discard this bad system of people pretending to be Mantrins and of people reciting only arrangements of rituals and scriptu~! The Tantra sections that have been purified through ~he three kinds of analysis, . I practice them properly by way o f correct reasonmg. Understand the supreme root of all mantrie siddhis as the perfectly pure tantric samayas and vows! According to the intent of the flawless scriptures, practice and especially generate diligence! Since the intent of the perfectly pure T antra sections. is inconceivable, one does not find their tantric meaning in just one portion. Study thus impartially the myriad mantric scriptures . . of the four tantra classes together with the commentanes on theu NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO Il3 In order to benefit and show the excellent path of happiness to my group ofkarmically fortunate students in such a way, this profound epistle for urging you toward the Dharma, I put this heartfelt advice into writing with a pure intention. Though I merely happened to piece it together, the other parts I recorded just as they originate from the words of the Teacher, the treatises, and stainless tantras. Thus accept this respectfully, just like the words of the Sage! Having completely cleared away the dense darkness of sinful conduct through the one-hundred-thousand-light-ray-possessing merit of compiling this epistle, may the four continents of the Buddha's teachings be illuminated throughout with the radiance of the light of the unmistaken Dharma. This Epistle of General Advice for My Own Monks, Benefitting Students was Ngorchen Kunga Sangpo-who respectfully took compiled by me, Sakya bhik~u with the crown ofmy head the dust ofthe feet ofthe Venerable Lord, the Lord of Scholars, Yeshe Gyaltsen Palsangpo, 272 who has traversed the ocean ofour own and others' tenets, and.from whom I received the kindness ofgranting me the three vows-on thefifth day ofthefirst halfofthefirst lunar month ofi425 at the great monastic university ofGlorious Sakya, the source ofnumerous precious qualities. Shenyen Sangpo acted as scribe. And may this teaching be beneficialfor all human beingsF 3 intent! When hearing and contemplation have been concluded in such a way, the yoga of the two stages together with its ancillary practices, engage in its practice unceasingly and clearly, like the current of a river and the tip of a butter lamp! If done in such a way, you karmically fortunate ones will swiftly achieve happiness or the status ofSakya, the Lord of Sages, the Teacher who actualized the three bodies, the perfect buddha, oh my supreme friends. 2.72. On thelife ofSharchen Yeshe Gyaltsen (1359-1406), one ofNgorchen's mainteachers, see Heimbel, rajradhara in Human Form, III-38. 2 73· I would like to thank Prof. Kazuo Kano for suggesting this translation for the aspiration that is given in Tibetanized Sanskrit at the end of the text (Ngorchen, Spring yig slob ma fa phan pa, 66o.2): idartZ fdsanaf ca sarvasatvd hito bhavantu [=aya?!l fdsanaf ca sarvasattvahito bhavatu]. THE FAULTS OF MEAT 1I4 Kangyur (Canonical Scriptures) Angulimaliya Sutra (Sor mo'i phreng ba Ia phan pa'i mdo). In Bka' gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. 23 I, mdo sde, vol. 62 (tsha), 347-549. Bka' gyur dpe bsdur ma. I o8 vols. Krung go'i bod rig pa zhib 'jug lte gnas kyi bka' bHan dpe sdur khang, ed. Beijing: Krung go'i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, wo6-wo8. BDRG: WIPD96682. Dge ba dang midge ba'i las kyi rnam par smin pa bstan pa'i mdo. In Bka' 'gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. 375, mdo sde, vol. 76 (ah), 596-6I6. Hastikak!ya Sittra (Glangpo'i rtsalgyi mdo). In Bka' 'gyurdpe bsdur ma, no. 225, mdo sde, vol. 62 (tsha), 254-92. Lankavatdra Sutra (Lang kar gshegs pa'i mdo ). In Bka' 'gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. I :i 5, mdo sde, vol. 49 (ca), I41-506. Mahamegha Siitra (Sprin chen po'i mdo). InBka' 'gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. 250, mdo sde, vol. 64 (wa), 314-598. Mahaparinirvii1Ja Sutra (Mya ngan las 'das pa chen po'i mdo; longer version translated from Sanskrit via Chinese). In Bka' 'gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. I 37, mdo sde, vols. s2 (nya)-5 3 (ta). Mahaparinirva?}a Sutra (Mya rigan las 'das pa chen po theg pa chen po'i mdo; shorter version translated from Sanskrit). In Bka' gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. 138, mdo sde, vol. 54 (tha), 3-376. Nandika Siitra (Dga' ba can gyi mdo). In Bka' gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. 3 52, mdo sde, vol. 72 (sa), no-78. fJ.!ivyiisapariprchha Sutra (Drang srong rgyas pas zhus pa'i mdo ). In Bka' 'gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. I Io, dkon brtsegs, vol. 44 (cha), 776-842. Saddharmiinusmrtyupasthana (Dam pa'i chos dran pa nye bar gzhag pa). In Bka' gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. 305, mdo sde, vols. 68 (ya, 238)-7I (sha, 603). Sarvatathagatatattvasar(Jgraha (De bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi de kho na nyid bsdus pa ). In Bka' 'gyurdpe bsdur ma, no. 504, rgyud 'bum, vol. 84 (nya), 3-432· Si,.hapariprccha Sutra (Seng ges zhus pa'i mdo). In Bka' gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. 98, dkon brtsegs, vol. 44 (cha), 72-81. Tengyur (Canonical Treatises) Bstan gyur dpe bsdur ma. I 24 vols. Krung go'i bod rig pa zhib 'juglte gnas kyi bka' bstan dpe sdur khang, ed. Beijing: Krung go'i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, I 994-2007. BDRC: WIPD95844· Dharmamitra ( Chos kyi bshes gnyen). Vinayasutratika ('Dul ba'i mdo'i rgya cher 'grel pa ). In Bstan gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. 3 3 5o, 'dul ba, vols. 90 ( 'u, I 77) -9 I (yu, I 7 8). Gul).aprabha (Yon tan 'od). Vinayasittra ('Dul ba'i mdo ). In Bstan gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. 3 347, 'dul ba, vol. 88 (wu, I 74), 8 37- I I 04. - - · Vinayasittravrttyabhidhdnasvavydkhyana ( 'Dul ba'i mdo'i 'grel pa mngon par brjod pa rang gi rnam par bshad pa ). In Bstan gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. 3 349, 'dul ba, vol. 89 (zhu-zu, I75-76). Jinaputra (Dzi na mi tra). Bodhisattvafilaparivarta{ikd (Byang chub sems dpa'i tshul khrims NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO IIS kyi le'u rgya cher 'grel pa). In Bstan gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. 3 2 7 s, sems tsam, vol. 7 s ( 'i, 147), 526-6o6. Jiianavajra (Dznya na badzra). Tathdgatahrdayalar(Jkara (Langkar gshegs pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i mdo'i 'grel pa de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po'i rgyan ). In Bstan gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. 325 I, vol. 70 (pi, I 37 ), 3-802. Mahavyutpatti (Sgrasbyor bam po gnyis pa). See Sakaki I987. Paltsek (dPal brtsegs). Gsungrab rin po che'i gtam rgyud dang shdkya'i rabs rgyud. InBstan gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. 3602, sna tshogs; vol. I Is (co, 2I 9), 6so-Ioo6. Sakyaprabha (Shakya pra bha). Mulasarvdstivadiirdmal}erakdrikd (Gzhi thams cad yod par smra ba'i dge tshulgyi tshig le'ur byas pa ). In Bstan 'gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. 3 3 54, 'dul ba, vol. 93 (shu, I 8 I), I 67-99. - - · Mulasarvdstivadasrdmar)erakdrikavrttiprabhavati (Gzhi thams cad yod par smra ba'i dge tshul gyi tshig le'ur byas pa'i 'grel pa 'od lddn ). In Bstan gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. 3355, 'dul ba, vol. 93 (shu, 181), 200-443. Santideva (Zhi ba lha). Sik!dsamuccaya (Bslab pa kun las btus pa). In Bstan gyur dpe bsdur ma, no. 3 I 70, dbu rna, vol. 64 (khi, I 26), I 009- Is I 9· Vinitadeva (Dul ba lha). Trifatakdrikavyakhyana (Tshig le'ur byas pa sum brgya pa'i rnam parbshadpa). InBstan 'gyurdpebsdurma,no. 33 56,'dulba, vol. 93 (shu, x8I),444-722. Tibetan-Language Works Arne Shah (Ames zhabs Ngag dbang kun dga' bsod nams, Is 97- I 6 s 9). I 97 4· Mkhyen brtse nus pa'i mila' bdag rgyal ba sras dan slob mar bcas pa'i spyi gzugs dam pa dus gsum sgrib med du gzigs pa'i rje btsun mus pa chen po sans rgyas rgyal mtshan gyi rnam par thar pa byin rlabs kyi char 'bebs no mtshar sarga gsum pa: The Biography ofthe Sixteenth-Century Sa-skya-pa Scholar and Saint Mus-chen Sans-rgyas-rgyal-mtshan. Reproduced from a print from the Sde dge or Nor blocks at the order of H. H. the Sa-skya Khri-'dzin Rinpo-che. Dehra Dun, UP.: Sakya Centre. Dobi Tsering Dorje (Rdo sbis Tshe ring rdo rje) et al., eds. 20 I 6. Deng rabs bod skad tshig mdzod. Lhasa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe ski"m khang. Drakpa Dorje ( Grags pa rdo rje, fl. I sth century). 2008. Mtshungs med chos rje dpalldan rdo rje'i rnam thar. In Path with the Fruit 2, vol. 27 (sha), s 59-608. Dungkar Losang Trinle (Dung dkar Blo bzang 'phrin las, I 927'-'-''i 991). 2002. Mkhas dbang dung dkar blo bzang 'phrin las mchoggis mdzadpa'i bod rigpa'i tshig mdzod chen mo shes bya rab gsal. Beijing: Krung go'i bod rig pa dpe skrun khan g. Gorampa (Go rams pa Bsod nams seng ge, I429-I489). I995· Sdom pa gsum gyi rab tu dbye ba'i rnam bshad rgyal ba'i gsung rab kyi dgongs pa gsa1 ba. In Kun mkhyen go bo rab 'byams pa bsod nams sengge'i bka' 'bum: The Collected Wotks ofKun-mkhyen Go-ramspa Bsod-nams-seng-ge, vol. 9 (ta), 1-323. I 3 vols. Kangr:a, H.P.: Yashodhara Publications for Dzongsar Institute India. Guru Phel (Guru 'phel, fl. I 8th century). n.d. Dpal shar pa mkhan rin po che rdo rje 'chang rin chen mi 'gyur rgyal mtshan gyi rnam par thar pa I smra ba'i seng ge'i gsung rdo rje sgra ma'i mchod pa rgyas par spros pa zhing khams rgya mtsho't mchod sprin. In Dpal ldan shar pa mkhan chen rdo rje 'chang rin chen mi gyur rgyal mtshan gyi gsung 'bum, I 57a-2s4a. Dege blockprint. BDRC: WooEGSio16236. u6 THE FAULTS OF MEAT Konchok Palden (Dkon mchog dpalldan, Is 26-I s 90 ). 2008. Rje btsun dkon mchog /hun grub kyill rnam thar 'dod dgu'i dpal 'byunggill rnam bshad 'dod dgu'i chu gter mchogll blo gsa/ ngangpa'i bsti gnas lagsll. In Path with the Fruit 2, vol. 28 (sa), I73-232. Kiinga Drolchok (Kun dga 'grol mchog, Is 07-I s66). 20 I I. Dpalldan bla ma 'jam pa'i dbyangs kyi rnam par thar pa legs bshad khyad par gsum ldan. In Bod kyi lo rgyus rnam thar phyogs bsgrigs thengs gnyis pa, edited by Dpal brtsegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib 'jug khang, vol. s6 (li), 2I3-3 s I. 30 vols. ( 3 I -6o ). Xining: Mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang. Lowo Khenchen Sonam Lhiindrup (Glo bo Mkhan chen Bsod nams lhun grub, I4S6I s3 2 ). n.d. Chos kyi rje tshul khrims rgyal mtshan gyi rnam par thar pa dgos 'dod kun 'byung. In Glo bo mkhan chen bsod nams lhun grub kyi gsung 'bum, vol. I (ka), I48a-I74b. 7 vols. BDRC: WooKGoi66o. Mangtho Ludrup Gyatso (Mang rhos Khi sgrub rgya mtsho, I 523-I 596). I999· Bsnyen gnas cho ga'i lag len gsa/ ba'i sgron me. In Mang thos klu sgrub rgya mtsho'i gsung skor, edited by the Sa skya rgyal yongs gsung rab slob gnyer khang, vol. 1 (ka ), 2 5 I-79· 6 vols. Dehra Dun, U.P.: Sakya College. Miichen Konchok Gyaltsen (Mus chen dKon mchog rgyal mtshan, I 388-I469). I983. Snyigs dus kyi rdo rje 'chang chen po chos kyi rje kun dga' bzang po'i rnam par thar pa mdor bsdus pa. In Path with the Fruit I, vol. I (ka), 432.-73. Ngorchen Kiinga Sangpo (Ngor chen Kun dga' bzang po, I 382.- I 4 S6). I 99 3. Springyig slob ma laphan pa. InNgorchen kun dga' bzangpo'i bka"bum, vol. 4 (a), 619-660.2.4 vols. DehraDun, U.P.: Ngor PalE-Warn ChoDan. BDRC: WI I577· Padma Dorje (Padma rdo rje) et al., eds. 2000. Bodkyi nyer mkho'i zas rigs tshig mdzod. Xining: Mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang. Palden Chokyong (Dpalldan chos skyong, I 702- 1760 ). I 98 s. E wa1p pa'i gdan rabs rin chen phreng mdzes kyi kha skong rtogs brjod byin rlabs 'dod dgu'i dpalster. 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Path with the Fruit 2. 2oo8. (isung ngag lam 'bras tshogs bshad chen mo: The Great Collection ofthe Lamdre Tshogshe Teachings. s vols. (vols. 27-42). Edited by Khenchen Ape Rinpoche Yontan Sangpo (Mkhan chen A pad Rin po che Yon tan bzang po, 19272o I o). Kathmandu: Sachen International (Rgyal yongs sa chen). Sangye Phiintsok (Sangs rgyas phun tshogs, 1649-1705). I983. Rdo rje 'chang kun dga' bzang po'i rnam par thar pa legs bshad chu bo 'dus pa'i rgya mtsho. In Path with the Fruit I, vol. I (ka), 47s-s8s. - - · 2oo8. Bya bral ba sangs rgyas phun tshogs kyi myong ba brjod pa nges 'byung gtam gyi rol mtsho. In Path with the Fruit 2, vol. 29 (ha), I45-264. T~anP" Tamoa Dorie Gvaltsen (Gtsang Byams pa Rdo rje rgyal mtshan, 1424-1498). n.d. NGORCHEN KUNGA SANGPO. II7 [title on the title page illegible; incipit title: J Sa skya 'khon gyi gdung rabs. Dbu can an~script,m 90 fols. (incomplete, folio 91 missing). NGMCP (Reel no. L ; ). 591 4 Zhang, Yxsun, ed. I 99 3. Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo. 2 vols. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1993. Non-Tibetan-Language Works Blum, Mark L., trans. 2013. The Nirvana Sutra (Mahdparinirvd?Ja Sutra), vol. Volume I 2, Number 374). Translated from the Chinese. BD K English Trip~ak Berkeley, CA: Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai America, Inc. Buswell, R~bert ~· 1. (Taisho Series. Jr., and Donald S. Lopez, Jr., eds. 20 I 4. The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhzsm. Pnnceton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Heimbel, Jorg. 20 13· ."The Jo gdan tshog~ sde bzhi: An Investigation into the History of th.e F~ur Monastic Communities in Sakyasribhadra's Vinaya Tradition." In NepalicaTzbettca: Festgabe for Christoph Cuppers, edited by Franz-Karl Ehrhard and Petra Maurer, vol. I, I 87-242. Beitrage zur Zentralasienforschung 28. I -2. Andiast: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies GmbH. - - . 2o I 7· .Vajrdh~ i~ Human Form: The Lift and Times ofNgor chen Kun dga' bzang po. 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Honyaku myogi taishu (Mahdvyutpatti). 2. vols. Tokyo: Kokusho Kankokai. Schmithausen, Lambert. 2.ooo. "Essen, ohne zu toten: Zur Frage von Fleischverzehr und Vegetarismus im Buddhismus." In Die Religionen und das ~sen, e~it_d by Perry Schmidt-Leukel, I45-2.o2.. Diederichs Gelbe Reihe 163. Mumch: Hemnch Hugendubel Verlag. - - · 2.oos. "Meat-Eating and Nature: Buddhist Perspectives." Buddhism and Natu~e (Bukkyo to shizen ). Supplement to the Bulletin ofthe Research Institute ofBukko Umversity, Kyoto: 183-2.01. . - - · 2.0I6. "My Scholarly Life: A Brief Sketch Presented at the International Col~8, 2.o1 2.:' In Lambe.rt lege for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies (Tokyo) on ~ovembr Schmithausen: Collected Papers, vol. I, I9tfJ-I977• edt ted by Flonn Deleanu et al.,.xxlxxxiii. Studia Philologica Buddhica, Monograph Series 34a. Tokyo: The I~ternaol Institute for Buddhist Studies. Storm, Mary. 2.o I 3. Head and Heart: Valour and Self-Sacrifice in the Art ofIndia. London: Routledge. Wangchuk, Dorji. "Rmig pa skarn po." Philologia Tibetica, November I?, 2.017. http:// philologia-tibetica.blogspot.de/ 2.0 I 7I I I /blog-post:html. .. Zwalf, w. I 99 6. A Catalogue ofthe Gandhdra Sculpture m the Bntzsh Museum. 2. vols. London: British Museum Press. · 4. Khedrup Je on Meat in the Monastery By Anna J17olcott johnson HEDRUP J:E GELEK PALSANG (1385-1438?74 was a monk and scholar in fifteenth-century Central Tiber. Khedrup studied with several prominent scholars of his time, from hoth the Sakya tradition and the emerging Geluk (Ganden) tradition, including Bodong Chokle N amgyal (I37S-I4S1), Rendawa Shonnu Lodro (1349-1412), and most famously, Tsongkhapa (1357-I4I9). His position as one of two primary disciples ofTsongkhapa would be established by the sixteenth century when he begins to be referred to within the epithet "The three: noble father and his sorts,"275 in which "noble father" refers to Tsongkhapa and "sons" refers to Khedrup and Gyaltsap Je Darma Rinchen (1364-1432). Tsongkhapa was a prolific scholar and exegete whose work formed the basis for the philosophical and doctrinal positions of the Geluk sect. During his lifetime, Khedrup played a central role in elucidating and defending the philosophical positions _chat would pur Tsongkhapa at odds with Sakya orthodoxy. Khedrup wrote extensive commentaries, gave taneric initiations, taught philosophy and doctrine, founded monasteries, and served as abbot to several of those monasteries. Most notably, in 1432 Khedrup became the third abbot of Ganden monastery (afi:er Tsongkhapa and Gyaltsap) and founded the first monastic college there. Khedrup was born in Western Tsang to a government administrator. He became a novice monk at age seven and was fully ordained at age twentyone by ,the Sakya scholar Rendawa Shonnu Lodro. He met Tsongkhapa at age twenty-three, became abbot of Ganden at forty-seven, and passed away at the age of fifi:y-three. He is known for his biting polemics and his role in debates that determined the separation of the Geluk as a distinct sect from the Sakya tradition in which Khedrup and Tsongkhapa were originally educated. One of his most notable opponents was the Sakya scholar Ngorchen 2. 7 4· Tib: Mkhas grub Rje Dge legs dpa! bzang. 2.75. Tib: rje yab sras gsum.