Based on the teachings of the Buddha, this book offers the most compelling and impassioned indictment of meat-eating to be found in Tibetan literature and is pertinent to anyone interested in vegetarianism as a moral or spiritual issue. The Buddha's teachings show how destructive habits can be examined and transformed gradually from within. The aim is not to repress one's desire for meat and animal products by force of will, but to develop heartfelt compassion and sensitivity to the suffering of animals, so that the desire to exploit and feed on them naturally dissolves.

There are two texts presented here. One is an excerpt from Shabkar's Book of Marvels, consisting of quotations from the Buddhist scriptures and the teachings of masters of Tibetan Buddhism that argue against the consumption of meat, with Shabkar's commentary. The second, the Nectar of Immortality, is Shabkar's discourse on the importance of developing compassion for animals.

Food of Bodhisattvas; Buddhist Teachings on Abstaining from Meat, Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol, Shambhala Publications, Paperback, 2004, 144 pages, $18.95

Shabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol (1781-1851) � regarded as an emanation of Milarepa, he was an extraordinary lama, born in Amdo, who spent much of his life in mountain retreats, including three years on the inaccessible island of Tsonying Mahadewa in the middle of Lake Kokonor. He studied with masters of all schools, receiving Dzogchen teachings from his principal root guru Ch�gyal Ngakgi Wangpo (a Mongolian king and disciple of the First Dodrupchen), who had spread them widely in Amdo. Shabkar was a prolific writer, said to be able to compose a hundred pages a day, and amongst the more popular of his writings is his poetic composition on Trekcho and Togal, Khading Shoklap�Flight of the Garuda.