THE SNOW LION BUDDHIST NEWS & CATALOG

In 1968 in Darjeeling, Chatral Rinpoche had a famous meeting with the Trappist monk Father Thomas Merton, an advanced Zen Buddhist practitioner held in high regard by other Buddhists. Merton wrote of the encounter,

       ...and there was Chatral, the greatest Rinpoche that I have met so far and a very impressive person. Chatral looked like a vigorous old peasant in a Bhutanese jacket tied at the neck with thongs and a red woolen cap on his head. He had a week's growth of beard, bright eyes, a strong voice and was very articulate. We started talking about Dzogchen and Nyingma meditation and "direct realization" and soon saw that we agreed very well. We must have talked for two hours or more, covering all sorts of ground, mostly around the idea of Dzogchen but also taking in some points of Christian doctrine compared with Buddhist Dharmakaya, the Risen Christ, suffering, compassion for all creatures, motives for "helping others," but all leading back to Dzogchen, the ultimate emptiness, the unity of shunyata [emptiness] and karuna [compassion], going "beyond the Dharmakaya" and "beyond God" to the ultimate perfect emptiness.

       He said he had meditated in solitude for thirty years or more and had not attained perfect emptiness and I said I hadn't either. The unspoken or half-spoken message of the talk was our complete understanding of each other as people who were somehow on the edge of great realization and knew it and were trying, somehow or other, to go out and get lost in it—and that it was a grace for us to meet one another. I wish I could see more of Chatral. He burst out and called me a Rangjung Sangay (which apparently means a "natural Buddha") and said that he had been named a Sangay Dorje. He wrote "Rangjung Sangay" for me in Tibetan and said that when I entered the "great kingdom" and "the palace," then America and all that was in it would seem like nothing. He told me, seriously, that perhaps he and I would attain complete Buddhahood in our next lives, perhaps even in this life, and the parting note was a kind of compact that we would both do our best to make it in this life. I was profoundly moved, because he is so obviously a great man, the true practitioner of Dzogchen, the best of the Nyingmapa lamas, marked by complete simplicity and freedom... If I were going to settle down with a Tibetan guru, I think Chatral would be the one I'd choose.

Merton was later overheard saying "That is the greatest man I ever met. He is my teacher."

Chatral Rinpoche was relentless in his study and practice. In India, he received teachings from Kalu Rinpoche, who became his close friend, and the 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje. He received teachings from over one hundred masters in all, from many traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. The breadth of his scholarship is evident in his writing, as he quotes texts from a myriad of traditions to support the points he makes in his essays.

Chatral Rinpoche does not spend a lot of his time giving teachings, as only a very few people are qualified to receive teachings like this. Instead, he tirelessly engages in virtuous activity, culminating in his famous annual trip to Calcutta, where he frees seventy truckloads of live fish back into a part of the Indian Ocean where fishing is prohibited, praying for each and every one. He receives donations from around the world for this great act of compassion, which is the subject of one of his essays in this book. Still, he is very supportive of serious practitioners, traveling to his different retreat centers as often as he can to check on their progress. He also graciously offers guidance to those from other faiths who meet with him. Recently, when an Anglican priest asked him for a teaching, Rinpoche said, "Just decide what is the most important thing Jesus ever said, and then take it as far as you can." This turned out to be the most profound advice the priest had ever received and it served to deepen his understanding and faith.

An Interview with Chatral Rinpoche

Question: Why did you decide to stop eating meat? How old were you when you made this decision?

Chatral Rinpoche: It is written in many Theravadayana and Mahayana texts that one should not eat meat. There is also a Vajrayana text that says the same thing, that one should not enjoy meat or alcohol. Because of this I am following the instructions of Shakyamuni Buddha. Being a religious person, I don't take meat or alcohol and at the same time I try to tell other people not to consume these things. This is my reason—I'm just trying to motivate other people. I was 47 years old when I went to Bodhgaya and made a vow to all of the buddhas and bodhisattvas to give up meat and alcohol.

Q: Why do you think vegetarianism is an important aspect of practicing the Dharma?

Rinpoche: If you take meat, it goes against the vows one takes in seeking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Because when you take meat you have to take a being's life. So I gave it up.

Q: Some claim that one can help the animals one eats by praying for them, and thus eating meat is compassionate. Other than for the most accomplished yogis and lamas, what do you make of this claim?

Rinpoche: With supernatural powers gained through certain meditation practices, it is true that there are some realized beings who can revive animals from the dead and help them reach a higher rebirth or enlightenment by consuming small amounts of their flesh. But this is not done for sustenance, only for the purpose of helping that animal. I personally do not have that power and, because of that, I never eat meat. Eating meat in one's diet is much different than eating flesh to liberate a being through supernatural powers. I am just an ordinary practitioner who really doesn't have these qualities. So, if I ate meat it would be the same if you or any other lay person ate meat. I would be committing a sin and I would be getting negative karma. I don't pretend as if I have special powers and eat meat, I just avoid it altogether.

Q: Do you know other lamas who are vegetarian?

Rinpoche: I know many of them from Tibet. There are Nyingmapa, Sakyapa, and Gelukpa vegetarians in Tibet. Compared to the many meat-eating lamas, vegetarian lamas are very few, though. I'm 88 and during my experience I have come across many lamas in Kham, Amdo—all parts of Tibet—who don't eat meat.

More about the authors . . .

Chatral Rinpoche, a yogi in his 90s, is one of the most revered spiritual figures in South Asia and is believed by many to be a Buddha in person. He lives in Nepal.

Zach Larson is an independent scholar and researcher. He lives in New York City.