Description
Book SynopsisGeoffrey Barstow explores the tension between Buddhist ethics and Tibetan cultural norms to offer a novel perspective on the spiritual and social dimensions of meat eating within Tibetan religiosity. Barstow offers a detailed analysis of the debates over meat and vegetarianism from the tenth century through the Chinese invasion in the 1950s.
Trade ReviewA creative and nuanced exploration of Tibetan religiosity that has heretofore remained largely in the dark. An important and exciting book. -- Andrew Quintman, Yale University A very welcome and entirely novel work on the place of vegetarianism in Tibet, Food of Sinful Demons will make a solid scholarly contribution to religious studies, Buddhist studies and Tibetan studies. Covering a topic of broad interest in fields from religion to animal rights, it offers something new for specialists but is also accessible to undergraduates as well as educated Buddhists trying to understand the role of vegetarianism and meat-eating in Tibetan Buddhism. -- Gray Tuttle, Leila Hadley Luce Associate Professor of Modern Tibetan Studies, Columbia University In this first in-depth study of the history of vegetarianism in Tibet, Geoffrey Barstow clearly shows that vegetarianism has always existed in Tibetan culture and was essentially motivated by compassion for the animals. Food of Sinful Demons is a most welcome contribution to the important debate over the relationships between and among vegetarianism, health, and religion. -- Matthieu Ricard, author of A Plea for the Animals: The Moral, Philosophical and Evolutionary Imperative to Treat All Beings with Compassion
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Note on Transliteration and Translation
Map of Tibet
Introduction
1. A Brief History of Vegetarianism in Tibet
2. Meat in the Monastery
3. The Importance of Compassion
4. Tantric Perspectives
5. A Necessary Evil
6. A Positive Good
7. Seeking a Middle Way
Epilogue: Con temporary Tibet
Tibetan Names and Terms
Notes
Bibliography
Index
