Enlightenment for the Dear Animals Tibetan Buddhist Animal Liberation Practices at the Kopan Monastery in Nepal Bettina Torgersen M.A. Thesis (60 Credits), History of Religions REL 4990 Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages UNIVERSITY OF OSLO 03.06.2019 i Enlightenment for the Dear Animals Tibetan Buddhist Animal Liberation Practices at the Kopan Monastery in Nepal Bettina Torgersen M.A. Thesis (60 Credits), History of Religions REL 4990 Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages UNIVERSITY OF OSLO Spring 2019 ii © Bettina Torgersen 2019 Enlightenment for the Dear Animals Bettina Torgersen http://www.duo.uio.no/ Print: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo iii iv v Abstract Animal liberation practices are common among Buddhists across Asia. How these practices are performed and what they signify varies from place to place. This thesis explore how animal liberation rituals are performed at the Animal Liberation Sanctuary (ALS) at the Kopan Monastery in Nepal, Kathmandu. The Kopan monastery is directed under The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), an organization in the Gelug Tibetan Buddhist tradition. This thesis reviews how Tibetan Buddhist informants view animals’ potential for enlightenment and spiritual advance. It also considers clashes between idealism and practicalities, in regard to Tibetan Buddhists keeping animals, such as euthanasia and sterilization, use of insect repellents and de- worming. At the ALS the goal is not only to liberate the resident animals, that mostly consists of goats and cows, from death by slaughter. The main goal is to liberate the animals from saṃsāra – the cycle of repeated rebirths and redeaths all unenlightened beings are seen as being trapped in by helping the animals start their path towards nirvāṇa. The founder of the Kopan Monastery, the ALS and the FPMT, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, states that he wants to challenge which animals our society consider precious and worthy of long-term care. At the ALS the animals are not just liberated, they are kept and continually exposed to the Dharma for the rest of their lives. At the ALS the animals are taken around a stupa in the their paddock, and recited or played mantras for. They are also head- bopped with holy objects blessed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. When an animal dies, local monks perform puja’s for the animals. In many of the animal liberation practices the animals seem like passive receivers of these rituals and practices. The Tibetan Buddhist informants did, for the most part, not believe animals can get enlightened or practice meditation, unless the animal is a bodhisattva, an enlightened being in disguise, and thus not really an animal. “Regular” animals are not seen as capable of reaching enlightenment without incarnating as humans first. The aim at the ALS is not to get the animals to meditate or practice Buddhism in an intellectual way, rather the practices are aimed at improving the chance of the animal of obtaining a beneficial rebirth. Still, nothing was completely certain regarding the spiritual abilities or status of animals. The Tibetan Buddhists informants liberated animals for various reasons. The benefit or merit of Animal Liberation practices are always dedicated. Improving human health seemed to be a key motivating factor, based on a belief that when one liberate an animal from death the merit of this practice can cure the recipient of the dedication from various diseases, such as HIV, cancer or various psychological problems. vi Acknowledgments Several of the people I have met during the process of writing this master thesis has not only opened my eyes and inspired me in a professional way but also in life more generally. Among them are Tania Duratovic who tirelessly work for the best interest of animals across the world. I am very grateful for all the information she shared during the field research. Another person who continuously lighten up my mood and enlighten me through talks and discussions, is Simon Bergersen. Thank you for all the encouragement and interesting viewpoints you have provided from the beginning to the end of this master study, it has been invaluable. I owe a big thanks to Kopan monastery for lending me a room, and generously offering me help with gathering information for this thesis while I was conducting field research. I also want to thank Tilo for keeping me company in Kathmandu, as well as Phüntsok and all the other animals I was lucky to meet and get to know at the Animal Liberation sanctuary. Additionally, I want to thank friends and family members who have helped me by being sparring partners while I was developing the idea, for proof-reading my thesis, and just generally being supportive and patient with me throughout the research and writing process. Last but not least, I want to thank my supervisor Dag Øistein Endsjø for helpful guidance, enthusiasm and encouragement. vii viii Table of Contents 1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................1 1.1 Research Questions...............................................................................................................2 1.2 Scope, Significance and Limitations of the Research...........................................................3 1.3 Structure of the Thesis..........................................................................................................5 1.4 Research Overview...............................................................................................................6 2 Method:..............................................................................................................................................8 2.1 Qualitative Method...............................................................................................................8 2.2 Participant Observation.......................................................................................................10 2.3 Interviews............................................................................................................................10 2.4 Content Analysis.................................................................................................................11 2.5 Triangulation.......................................................................................................................13 2.6 Reflexivity...........................................................................................................................13 2.7 Ethical Considerations........................................................................................................14 3 Context............................................................................................................................................15 3.1 Buddhism in Nepal..............................................................................................................15 3.2 Animal issues in Nepal........................................................................................................15 3.3 Kopan Monastery, FPMT and the founders........................................................................20 3.3.1 FPMT’s Vast Visions..............................................................................................22 3.4 The Animal Liberation Sanctuary.......................................................................................23 4 The Position of Animals in a Tibetan Buddhist Worldview............................................................24 4.1 Animals in Tibetan Buddhism – Research History.............................................................24 4.2 Animals in the Buddhist Cosmology..................................................................................28 4.3 Compassion for Animals in Tibetan Buddhism..................................................................30 4.4 The First Precept – Ahiṃsā.................................................................................................33 4.5 Hells of Repetition..............................................................................................................35 4.6 Animals in the Jātaka tales and other early Buddhist texts.................................................37 4.7 Anthropocentrism and Speciesism in Tibetan Buddhism...................................................38 5 Animal Liberation in a Tibetan Buddhist context............................................................................42 5.1 Giving the Gift of Fearlessness...........................................................................................42 5.2 Animal Liberation in Buddhism..........................................................................................43 5.3 Animal Liberation and Material Well-being.......................................................................45 5.4 Ecological Consequences of Animal Liberation Practices..................................................45 5.5 Focus on Individuals in Buddhism......................................................................................48 6 Animal Liberation Practices at the ALS..........................................................................................52 6.1 108 Yaks..............................................................................................................................52 6.2 The Animal Liberation Sanctuary at Kopan........................................................................56