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Enjoying a bowl of food provided by Ven. Gyalten Lekden on the roof of House 999, Sera Je Monastery, India, January 2017. Photo courtesy of Ven. Gyalten Lekden.
Ven. Gyalten Lekden
Ven. Gyalten Lekden, an International Mahayana Institute (IMI) monk who studies at Sera Je in South India, reports on some of his most beloved housemates. Cats. And more cats. The cats are strays that Ven. Lekden has taken to feeding and watching over, in keeping with Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s vast visions, which include caring for animals.
Usually between four and eight cats spend part of each day playing and lounging on the roof of House 999, where Ven. Lekden lives. Since they turn up their noses at local brands, he buys them imported cat food, and every day feeds the “clowder” (the official name for a group of cats) a few bowls of dry food, along with some eggs mixed into milk. He adds, smiling, “I spend more money on cat food than on my own food! But I feel happy doing it.” While setting out the food, he recites mantras and rubs bellies, meeting the kitties’ needs both in the moment and, hopefully, for the long term.
Cat napping on the robes of an unidentified monk, Sera Je Monastery, India, January 2017. Photo courtesy of Ven. Gyalten Lekden.
It started with just one, as these things do. Tom the Unnamed Tomcat arrived, and when it was cold Tom used to doze on Ven. Lekden’s lap while he recited or studied. When Tom got badly injured in a fight, Ven. Lekden cleaned his wounds and saved his life. Tom was later joined by a small female, Mama. After she had kittens, Ven. Lekden tried to save the weakest one, who Mama had abandoned, feeding her and naming her Tamdrin (Hayagriva), but she died after a few days. “She wouldn’t have lasted one night if I hadn’t taken her in,” says Ven. Lekden, “so hopefully she got some imprints and benefit. I gave her a fierce name so she could have a fierce spirit.”
Little Tamdrin wearing a coat made for her by Ven. Lekden, Sera Je Monastery, India, January 2017. Photo courtesy of Ven. Gyalten Lekden.
Soon other kittens started coming around. Says Ven. Lekden, “In addition to Mama and Tom we then had Mary Jane and her brother Sneaky Pete. My teacher, Geshe Chenga Tsering, who runs the house, advised I start feeding them on the roof. I moved their bowls up there, and when I got back from class one day he showed me a small lean-to he had built to keep them out the rain. I then made a small bed to put inside. Shortly thereafter, Mama had more kittens. These four are now my main customers. The boy is Big Red. The girls are Squeak, Pipsqueak, and Einstein. Tom still comes most days too. He just wanders around making noise until someone gives him attention or food.”
The “clowder” enjoying a meal at the feet of Ven. Lekden, Sera Je Monastery, India, January 2017. Photo courtesy of Ven. Gyalten Lekden.
The monks all like the cats, but the cats are wary of anyone but him, their main benefactor, says Ven. Lekden. Do they protect the house? “Not really,” he laughs. “Mice aren’t a problem here, and the rats are too big for the cats. I can’t see them going after the black cobras either. These guys are not very formidable foes … I don’t take care of them because they are useful. They’re hungry, and I have the means to help them, so I do.”
Watch Ven. Lekden on YouTube as he feeds and converses with the cats—and listen to them explain their side of the story too!
https://youtu.be/iqqTuiJiISo
Benefiting animals is one of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for FPMT:
https://fpmt.org/fpmt/vast-vision/#animals
For more about FPMT’s activities to benefit animals see:
https://fpmt.org/tag/animals/
Lama Zopa Rinpoche is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.