Please enjoy this New Year's message from Mingyur Rinpoche, now in India, where he is preparing for a one month solitary retreat. If you haven't made a New Year's resolution yet, Rinpoche offers some guidance.
13 responses on "2016 New Year's Message from Mingyur Rinpoche"
How about taking it one step further and going vegan?
When it comes to dietary choices, going vegan really is the ultimate show of compassion. I'm surprised more buddhists don't see the connnection. For a better 2016 for all sentient beings, take the plunge, go vegan!
Wonderful point Mikael, whatever we can do in all of our activities to which protects life is the Buddhist way. However that said there are even more levels which would have more impact than Vegan diet. As my root lama says, how many insects are killed for one grain of rice? How many grains of rice are on your plate?
How many insects are killed in making silk, or harvesting cotton for the clothes we wear. How many shirts and pants etcdo we have in our closet (my root lama keeps 2 sets of clothes, including underwear. While 1 is being worn, the others is being cleaned.
So there is lots we can do to protect life in the choices we make. We have to try our best.
Yes we have to try our best but I just want to say this: There's a difference here. We cannot stop eating food or wearing clothes or walk out our door every day. At least not in practical sense. But we can stop eating meat and drink the milk that is really meant for the new born calves – quite easily actually. There is actually a lot of suffering and actual killing of animals that comes with the milk production and egg production. For example, what happens to the male calves and what happens to the male chickens?
I'm another happy vegan and it becomes increasingly easy to live as a vegan now that more and more vegan products are available and more restaurants serve vegan food – in many western countries at least.
Tergar. Look forward to seeing you all in 2016.
Many thanks for sharing this congratulation from Rinpoche!
Happy New Year to all at Tergar. I look forward to more posts from Mingyur Rinpoche now that he is back (after his next retreat!). Thanks and best wishes.
This is such a heart warming message. Rinpoche's advice, to help yourself that you may help others and the world, emphasises connection, purpose and responsibility.
Aside: I really admired how Rinpoche spoke about accepting meat while begging for food on his retreat. Reconciling spiritual practice with the nitty gritty of life in the world seems to me to be a very real and compassionate path.