22 Responses to What’s on your Altar?

1. 

   Samfoonheei on Nov 22, 2021 at 2:10 pm

   Great message …. Rinpoche thanks for this sharing. May more people going on vegetarian to stop the sufferings of animals who has no voice of their voice, and cannot speak for themselves. Not to mention millions of animals are been slaughtered every day, ended on dinner’s tables. There’s no doubt that vegetarian diets are good for our health. Research shows that people on balanced plant-based diet are consistently slimmer and healthier than meat eaters. They also have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, cancers and diabetes. Vegetarians happen have a healthier BMI, controlled blood pressure and low cholesterol levels as well.
   Thank you Rinpoche for this great message. It has opened up our eyes and we have to go on vegetarian for a healthy life . For most not to ignore the sufferings of animals .

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2. 

   Pastor Shin Tan on Jun 8, 2019 at 8:25 pm

   Your Next Meal!

   Yummy? Tasty? Behind the scenes of the meat on your plates. Meat is a killing industry.

   https://video.tsemtulku.com/videouploads/comment-1559986650.mp4

   
   

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3. 

   Pastor Shin Tan on Jun 8, 2019 at 8:24 pm

   This is Daw

   This is what they do to get meat on tables, and to produce belts and jackets. Think twice before your next purchase.

   https://video.tsemtulku.com/videouploads/comment-1559986627.mp4

   
   

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4. 

   Pastor Shin Tan on Jun 8, 2019 at 8:24 pm

   Don’t Take My Mummy Away!

   Look at the poor baby chasing after the mother. Why do we do that to them? It’s time to seriously think about our choices in life and how they affect others. Be kind. Don’t break up families.

   https://video.tsemtulku.com/videouploads/comment-1559986609.mp4

   
   

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5. 

   Pastor Shin Tan on Jun 8, 2019 at 8:24 pm

   They do this every day!

   This is how they are being treated every day of their lives. Please do something to stop the brutality. Listen to their cries for help!

   https://video.tsemtulku.com/videouploads/comment-1559986591.mp4

   
   

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6. 

   Pastor Shin Tan on Jun 8, 2019 at 8:23 pm

   What happened at Fair Oaks Farm?

   The largest undercover dairy investigation of all time. See what they found out at Fair Oaks Farm.

   https://video.tsemtulku.com/videouploads/comment-1559988165.mp4

   
   

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7. 

   Stella Cheang on Jan 10, 2017 at 12:39 am

   It is our human ability to envision and to empathise with the joy and suffering of others. When we witness suffering, especially animals who has no voice of their voice, we have the ability to put ourselves in their shoes, empathise their suffering and visualise their experience. From that, develop a genuine sense of compassion. If we do not do something about it, the suffering continues. It is this act that makes us a better person. Thank you Rinpoche for this potent teaching.

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8. 

   Chris Chong on Mar 10, 2016 at 12:12 am

   Dear Rinpoche,

   Thank you for sharing this video about stop eating meat and vegetarianism. It showed me a entirely different perspective to look at no meat diet and I am stunned by it.

   Many people that I know of, enjoyed eating meat. However, when they came across videos of butchery or how animals are being slaughtered, they are unwilling to watch it through. Some of them do not want to be remind of what happens before the meat end up on their table. They just want to enjoy the meat guilt free.

   Going Vegetarianism is not an act of being a hipster. It is an act of compassion and empathy. Going Vegetarianism is to show that we do care for the animals.

   Humbly,
   Chris

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9. 

   James Larkin on Jan 13, 2015 at 2:42 pm

   Well said. If only all the world could get messages like this daily instead of the intense and massive advertising from the money making food industry.

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10. 

    pavara on Oct 15, 2014 at 10:16 pm

    Millions of animals are getting slaughtered every day just for the sake of ourself. A lot of times on the highway I see trucks carrying chickens , ducks and sometimes cows.
    I really can’t believe how cruel people are getting nowadays.
    More and more animals are getting killed every day as the population increases.
    Soon enough there would be no more animals left in this world.
    I really urge people to become vegans because it would make healthier than those people who eat a lot meat.
    Meat can cause a series of health problems.
    Also vegetables have more nutrients than meat , so you would be wasting money buying meat and ending up getting sick.
    Lets not kill animals for nothing and just eat things that does not kill innocent animals.
    Hopefully in future everyone would be a vegetarian.

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11. 

    Kechara Penang Study Group on Sep 14, 2014 at 8:22 pm

    Kechara Penang Study Group has completed a blog retreat on this article today. All were very moved by the strong message given by Rinpoche on the sufferings of the these animals, being slaughtered to satisfy our unnecessary taste buds. We even shared a story of a cow that tried to seek protection from a nearby family as this cow was too terrified to face its own death. This story was published in the newspaper before. Besides that, we also described some of the pains that these animals have to go through in the process of being slaughtered i.e. the teary eyes, horrible sounds, being tied up, the tools and methods used to kill them and etc. Although we were not supposed to blame others but we did acknowledge that this was partly due to our culture and the way we were being brought up. For this reason, the members are trying to cut down the consumption of meats. One of the member is in the process of going meatless for at least twice a week while another is trying to go vegan for nine days and thereafter will reduce accordingly. He is keen on becoming a vegan in the near future. Once again, we thank Rinpoche for this message. It has opened up our eyes and we have concluded that we cannot simply continue to ignore the sufferings of these animals. By taking up this responsibility, hopefully it will influence more and more to vegan.

    Attendees: Sharyn, Soon Huat, Leonard Ooi, Kai Lynn, Calvin Thum and Jacinta Goh.

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12. 

    Norbu Dorje on Sep 9, 2014 at 12:29 am

    OM MANI PEME HUNG
    endless times for the suffering animals, the poissened waters, the contaminated airs, the poissened soils and all suffering beeings in all realms, dimensions and universes.

    Leo Tolstoi wrote:
    As long there´re slaughterhouses,
    will be battels between humans.

    Since Fukushima I´m again Vegeterian,
    since a few month Vegan.

    In Theresienstadt where killed 1 milion Jews by the Nazi system,
    world wide many bilions of animals are killed every year.

    STOP THE WORLD WIDE FASCISM AGAINST ANIMALS!

    Reply
13. 

    Joy on Sep 6, 2014 at 10:43 pm

    This perspective is a very strong, powerful, gory and truthful. Thank you Rinpoche for consistently sharing about animal abuse.

    Most of us do not think of it this way, basically do not ever think about it because we know if we do, it will bring us so much disgust in ourselves, the guilt will stop us from stuffing our face with that pork chops. We basically refuse to think of it because we simply wish to continue pretending it is okay to indulge in another being’s flesh and not feel guilty of the crime. Cos if we really think about it, what makes us any different from those who murder people? They also take away someone’s life, just like we do when we devour the meat on our plate, someone had to die for us to eat it. So how come we are entitled to take an animal’s life and not face any consequences for it?

    It would be a huge mistake to think there is no consequences for this… our health is one huge consequence of this as study has shown that eating all these dead animals, have so many repercussions to our health, diabetic, high blood, heart attack, cancer because of the amount of toxic it releases when they are being executed. Even the British MP is encouraging people to eat less meat https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/animals-vegetarianism/british-mps-says-eat-less-meat.html

    I guess if we don’t really care about those being killed for us to eat, would we at least care about our very own health? For those that do not care about both, they will get their own results and hopefully it is not too late/ugly.

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14. 

    Uncle Eddie on Aug 30, 2014 at 5:02 pm

    We only have to open our eyes to a very few common practices to see that animals suffer terribly. Actually all farm animals in U.S., roughly ten billion of them, raise annually to be killed for food. They live in facilities that anyone would call factories rather than farms. The suffering of these animals is considered no more important than their tools and materials in any factory. Virtually, all pigs, chickens(for eggs and meat) live in metal cages, with hardly enough rooms to move around, let alone fulfill their natural behaviours. A large and ever-increasingportion of the Dairy cows suffer similarly. But the animal factory owners like to tell the public that they care for their animals, that they have to because those animals are their livelihood. But what they care about is whether the animals grow rather than die. The suffering is not part of the consideration! Why should we care about the animals? Animals are actually intelligent living beings, and they can feel, think and suffer too! They are like us humans and many can act in ways that communicate or suggest their feelings. In today’s modern and enlightened society, we should come to recognize that basic similarities of human and animal beings are not that great in difference and, therefore, we should broaden our circle of compassion. As such, it’s time to eliminate the impact of suffering of animals in ending upon our human’s dinner plate too, by us taking a joyful step to adopt ” a Vegetarian Lifestyle”. One can even reduce one’s killing of animals and strenghten one’s compassion towards the pain and suffering of all animal beings. Om mani padme hung.

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15. 

    Pee Bee Chong on Aug 29, 2014 at 11:38 pm

    Thank you Rinpoche for the sharing, I don’t want to be a murderer. I am cutting down eating meat because I feel bad that I have had hurt so many animals.

    Every time when I recite the Confession Clause in Tsongkhapa Gaden Lhagyama, I feel bad and regret about this. I know if I truly regret from the depths of my heart, I should stop eating meat. I am trying and I hope I will give up eating meat and become a vegetarian in future.

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16. 

    Karen Chong on Aug 28, 2014 at 12:00 am

    Before taking vegetarian vow, I used to hide my identity of being a (part time) vegetarian just because I was afraid people would laugh at me and I didn’t want to cause inconvenience for people around me while ordering food. So sometimes I forced myself to eat meat just to look good and thought it would be better to be a “flexitarian”, so I don’t need to explain too much to my friends and also to feed my cravings for meat.

    It was until I watched “Earthlings” and kept on reading Rinpoche’s teachings on vegetarianism, I learnt how animals suffered just to get on my plate and fulfill my desire on my taste buds. The fear, uncertainty, mourn…when they knew they will be slaughtered for unreasonable reasons..I felt so ashamed for it. I do believe in karma. I knew the pain that caused by me directly and indirectly are all gonna come back to me… So, few months back, I decided to be a vegetarian, officially, by taking vow, and I’m proud to announce this to everyone I met on the dining table. “Yes, vegetarian, please.”

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17. 

    So Kin Hoe (Ipoh) on Aug 26, 2014 at 10:05 pm

    Thank you Rinpoche for giving us a good explanation that all the animals are being killed through tremendous pain, fear and suffering before they are made as food for people to eat. I would like to share some of my little story that I saw with my own eyes. There was one night with little rains fall and the wind was cool. I was driving back home after my work. There was a big lorry in front of my car, carrying many live chickens and these chicken are shivering inside the small plastic cages without much space for them to stand or move. As they were being transported for slaughter in front of my car, my heart was really saddened and feeling really despair as I was not able to free them and not able to save them from being killed. I kept on chanting Medicine Buddha mantra and dedicated to the chicken along the same road until I reached to another cross road. It was a sad experience for me that keep on reminding me that we should not make the animals to suffer for us. Animals are being controlled, abused and tortured until their last breath before they are brutally killed without pain killers. May all the animals be freed from suffering and pain, and live freely with happiness and protection.

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18. 

    Pastor Han Nee on Aug 25, 2014 at 3:43 pm

    Thank you Rinpoche for this powerful teaching about the importance of generating genuine compassion.

    We can only generate true compassion by first putting ourselves in the place of animals who have been slaughtered or are being slaughtered to be served up as the piece of meat on the dining table.We must be able to feel their pain and their anguish every step of the way until their death. Likewise, with the other six realms,especially the other lower realms of suffering.

    Also only through frequent contemplations and meditations can we generate sustained and genuine feelings of compassion.

    The highest potential of the mind is brought to bear in generating empathy and eventually bodhicitta.

    The most important of all is for us to develop the realization that the piece of succulent meat, dressed up with all the sauce, gravy and garnish, came from a life that had been murdered and slaughtered in the most brutal and callous manner. How can we then say that living our lives by looking forward to such a meal, no matter how fine and stylish the dining set up and ambience, is positive and meaningful living?

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19. 

    KYC on Aug 24, 2014 at 11:50 pm

    Dear Rinpoche,

    This morning, in the Lamrim class, the topic was on the suffering of the lower realms. We went through some of the sufferings of beings in the hot hells. The suffering is intolerable. Rinpoche’s message reminds us that we must develop compassion for the animals. Out of compassion, we must do something about it, not only for the animals but also for those who, out of ignorance, are committing negative karma. We need to create awareness of the suffering of animals.

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20. 

    Oya on Aug 24, 2014 at 1:49 pm

    Dear Rinpoche, Thank you for such a powerhouse video to share with others. The part about ‘which utensil to use” was very liken to the type of attention one takes when creating a detailed alter. I thought this is so fitting for a society which considers very little sacred. It draws attention to how we are still offering animal sacrifice. Carion eaters . Carion Alters. I love and respect the Earth and Nature and all her family so much that i can’t watch too much torture or else my mind becomes very disturbed. But I do think that if one is eating meat then one should watch these beings slaughtered before eating and see if it doesn’t eventually or immediately result in a change of heart.
    Sincerely and with deep respect for your extensive deeds to rescue all beings, Om Ah Hum,
    Oya

    Reply
21. 

    Hee TS on Aug 23, 2014 at 8:56 pm

    Thank you Rinpoche for sharing,I do agree with what Rinpoche is trying to translate here.Few years back then, I was a chef.I used to prepare poultry meals, which involved a lot of slaughtering done by myself but after a deep understanding towards Buddha’s teachings,I decided to let go of stuff I used to do.Althought, I’m still a chef but no longer serving poultry dishes instead plainly Vegetarian dishes.Dear Rinpoche, in replying your past message, I’m currently doing well with my business up growing.Thank for your concern,and I will try my best to prepare variety of selections for people to choose from.There’s actually few of my customers who thank me as they find it hard to find a decent vegetarian meal around residence.Its comforting to know they are people out there who appreciates.

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22. 

    Edwin Tan on Aug 23, 2014 at 3:56 pm

    Dear Rinpoche,

    Thank you for the powerful message on this video. I have watched and commented in another related article on Battery Cage System under the blog title “Win A Manjushri” https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/animals-vegetarianism/win-a-manjushri-statue.html

    Thank you.

    Reply