By Chatral Rinpoche
(By Tsem Rinpoche)
By Chatral Rinpoche
I bow down before the Lama, Buddha Amitayus,
And the bodhisattvas in training.
I shall now in brief describe the benefits
Of freeing animals and ransoming their lives.
To save animals from slaughter or any mortal danger,
With an entirely pure motivation and conduct,
Is without doubt a practice to be taken up
By all followers of the Buddha Shakyamuni.
Many sutras, tantras and commentaries
Describe in detail the advantages it brings,
And countless learned and accomplished masters of India and Tibet
Have stressed the value and importance of benefitting beings.
Even in the basic vehicle one avoids inflicting harm on others,
In the mahayana this is the very training of a bodhisattva,
And in the secret mantra, a principal samaya of the ratna family.
The reasoning behind this is as follows: in this world,
Nothing is as dear to someone as his or her own life,
So no greater crime is there than taking life away,
And no conditioned virtue brings greater merit
Than the act of saving beings and ransoming their lives.
Therefore, should you wish for happiness and good,
Exert yourself in this, the most supreme of paths,
Which is proven through scriptures and through reasoning,
And is free of obstacles and potential dangers.
Consider your own body and with this as an example,
Avoid doing anything that might bring harm to others.
Make every effort not to kill any living creature,
Birds, fish, deer, cattle and even tiny insects,
And strive instead to save their lives,
Offering them protection from every fear.
The benefit of doing so is beyond imagining.
This is the best practice for your own longevity,
And the greatest ritual for the living or deceased.
It is my main practice of benefiting others.
It dispels all external and internal adversity and obstacles,
Effortlessly and spontaneously, it brings favorable conditions,
And, then inspired by the noble mind of bodhichitta and
Completed with dedication and pure aspiration prayers,
It will lead one to complete enlightenment,
And the accomplishment of one’s own and others’ welfare—
Of this you need have no doubts at all!
Those whose minds incline to virtue and acts of merit,
Should prohibit hunting and fishing on their land.
Some birds, in particular, such as geese and cranes,
Are impelled by their karma to migrate
And fly south in autumn, north in spring.
At times, weary from the efforts of their flight,
Or having lost their way, some are forced to land,
Distressed, afraid and anxious; when this happens,
You should not throw stones or shoot at them,
Nor try to kill them or do them any harm,
But protect them so they may easily fly once more.
To offer care and affection to sentient beings
In desperate situations who lack protection
Brings just as much merit as the meditation
On emptiness with compassion as its core—
So it has been said by glorious Lord Atisha.
Lamas, officials, monks, nuns, men and women,
In all the places over which you have control,
Exert every influence and do all within your power
To release animals and ransom their lives,
While encouraging others to do the same.
In all those places where this is done,
Sickness among people and livestock will cease,
Harvests will be plentiful and life will be long.
All will enjoy happiness and wellbeing in abundance,
And at death let go of deluded experience,
Before finding an excellent rebirth within the higher realms.
Ultimately, there is no doubt that this will lead one easily
To find the supreme and perfect state of awakening.
In response to the request of Doctor Dordrak,
Who offered a pure silk scarf and a hundred Nepali rupees,
The one called Chatral Sangye Dorje,
Who strives continuously to ransom lives,
Wrote down spontaneously whatever came to mind.
By the merit of this may all sentient beings
Come to practice enlightened actions!
Mamakoling samanta!
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Chatral Rinpoche was a Dzogchen master and a reclusive yogi known for his great realization and strict discipline. Beautiful and meaningful poems, all I can say the poem is full of wisdom. All animals deserves a life free from fear and pain. They do have hearts to feel the pain, eyes to see and families to care, just like one of us. Animal should be the right to be here, long before we arrive. If only we understand we care for them , we will help and save them or we can liberate them .
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
The above written down by Chatral Rinpoche is not a mere advice nor a piece of marvellous linguistic expression, but it’s a practice that should be followed through. It is the heart advice on Dharma practice, where it ignites kindness and fuel compassion for ours and others’ journey of salvation.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this piece of advice written down by Chatral Rinpoche ?
Beautiful poems to ponder and meaningful full of wisdom. A reminder for us to be kind, caring and compassionate to all sentient beings. Encourage us to free all beings from pain and suffering.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing with us.
Tashi delai rimpoche I was taught this practice by your disciple sonam t kazi I’ve released a bag of Louisiana crawfish at lozar in homage to your ransom ing $ 88.00 dollars us for freeing 300 crawfish into the swamp waters they run to freedom from the sack of bondage thank you for your guidance in this Kali Yuga time-sincerely chela of chamkusho
This peom is full of wisdom which accord with the universal rules of cause of effect. It is the truth. If everyone in the world observe this there will be world peace, no calamities, less diseases and less premature deaths.
I love this peom. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing with us.
When I read the peom and reflect on it, I feel it is so meaningful and so apt. While cherishing all form of lives including that of animals’ we are developing our compassion to a higher level in spirituality and developing peace, harmony and happiness in the world.
Thank you, Rinpoche, for this lovely post, which gently reminds us about being equally kind and compassionate to all beings,be they birds or animals or insects.
I feel deeply touched by the lines on migrating birds who are often stoned or hurt or killed in other ways, after having flown so far from their previous ‘homes’.These poor beings, who, through the force of their karma, have to suffer the pains of annual migration to warmer climes. Shouldn’t they be treated with care and love and not with such callous cruelty?
Then there is the line –
‘Nothing is as dear to someone as his or her own life’.
How true! Why is it that we cannot see this when we callously treat what we denigrate as ‘lesser beings’.
Behind all this is the grim reminder that what goes out from us will come back to us.The beautiful message the poem also sends us is that Bodhicitta is about loving all beings equally and well.
Thank you , Rinpoche, for not only embodying Bodhicitta in all your actions and thus showing us the way, but also in constantly posting such lovely poems and articles and videos on love and compassion for all, on top of all your constant teachings on them.
Thank you for another beautiful poem. Animals suffer more than humans as they cannot expressed their emotions, pains and sufferings. We are more fortunate than the animals so we must put in more effort not to hurt or harm them.
There are some people who avoid watching documentaries on animal abuse as they loved eating meat and there are some who claimed they loved animals and have pets in their home yet still eating meat. They are just contradicting themselves.
We, in Kechara, are so fortunate to have Rinpoche who taught us to go vegetarian – a diet of loving kindness and also on the benefits to liberate animals.
What a beautiful poem that relates the experience of safeguarding and liberating animals. It is a wonderful experience to liberate fishes and birds into lakes and beautiful forests. We tend to worry that the animals might not survive in the wild and so we refrain from this practice.
However, it is good to understand that the motivation is a powerful one that brings about powerful results. Hence, we take precautionary measures and ensure that the place where the animals are liberated are conducive. Tsem Rinpoche taught us to recite Medicine Buddha mantras to calm and ensure their survival. Hence, we should do this and blow on the animals before releasing.
Dear Rinpoche
Thank you for the poem. I like it very much. Saving animals or feeding them is not popular. Many people laugh at this and keep arguing that animals are born to feed human. It is more difficult to find support to feed animals than to feed the homeless.
Some that do claim themselves as animal lovers, only favor one or few breeds of animals and have other types of animals killed to feed their beloved breed.
I folded my hand to you who see all sentient beings as equal regardless of their current state and forms.
Warm regards
Valentina