Tu Viện Quảng Đức105 Lynch Rd, Fawkner, Vic 3060. Australia. Tel: 9357 3544. quangduc@quangduc.com* Viện Chủ: HT Tâm Phương, Trụ Trì: TT Nguyên Tạng   

The Horror of Taking Lives and Eating Meat

07/03/201104:27(Xem: 2337)
The Horror of Taking Lives and Eating Meat

The Horror of Taking Lives
 and Eating Meat

by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua

(Venerable Master Hua’ s Talks on Dharma, vol. 9, pp. 165-175)

The mere use of such names as "vegetarian chicken" and "vegetarian duck" plants seeds of defilement.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty, when Buddhism flourished in China, people would always invite monks to recite Sutras at weddings and funerals. Times have changed, and now monks are invited to recite Sutras only at funerals. No one asks them to recite Sutras at weddings or baby showers. Actually, this is wrong. Whether it is an occasion for rejoicing or mourning, left­home people should be asked to recite Sutras and transfer the merit, on the one hand to save the deceased, and on the other to increase the blessings of the living.

During Emperor Wu's time, there was a high monk called the Venerable Zhi. Having attained the Five Eyes and the Six Spiritual Penetrations, he could clearly discern causes and effects. One time, a rich man asked him to recite Sutras at a wedding. Upon entering the house, he sighed and said:

How strange! How very strange indeed!

The grandson marries the grandmother.

The daughter is eating her mother's flesh,

And the son is beating on a drum stretched with his father's skin.

Pigs and sheep are sitting on the couch,

And the six kinds of relatives are cooking in the pots.

People have come to offer congratulations,

But I see that it is truly suffering!

What does this mean? The grandson marries the grandmother. Would you say this is strange or not? Right before she died, the grandmother of the family had held her grandson's hand, not being able to part with him. She said, "You all have your own families, but this little grandson of mine has no one to take care of him. Ah! What is there to be done?" Then she died.

When she arrived at King Yama's court, King Yama gave her the following verdict, "Since you love your grandson so much, you might as well go back to be his wife and take care of him." And so the grandmother was reborn as her grandson's future wife. The workings of the law of cause and effect in this world can be quite frightening.

The daughter is eating her mother's flesh. Outside the house, a girl was eating a pig's foot with great relish, not realizing that the pig had been her mother in its previous life. And the son is beating on a drum stretched with his father's skin. Venera­ble Zhi then took a look at the musicians who were beating drums and blowing on their trumpets and flutes. What excitement! One man was banging away vigorously on a drum stretched with mulehide, not knowing that the mule had been his father in a previous life.

Venerable Zhi looked at the people sitting on the couch and said: Pigs and sheep are sitting on the couch. Then he looked in the pots and said: And the six kinds of relatives are cooking in the pots. All the former pigs and sheep that had been slaugh­tered before were now getting even and eating the people who had eaten them before! The six kinds of relatives who had eaten those pigs and sheep were now being chopped up and cooked in the pots to pay off their debts.

People have come to offer congratulations, / But I see that it is truly suffering! Everyone thought it was a happy occasion, but the Venerable Zhi only sighed and said, "This is really suffering!" People take suffering to be joy!

After hearing this story you should understand the horror of killing and eating meat. Let us look at the Chinese character for meat (肉 ) .

    Two people (人) are inside the character for meat (肉).

The person inside is linked to the one outside.

Living beings eat the flesh of living beings.

If you really think about it, it is people eating people.

Thus it is best to be vegetarian. However, we shouldn't use names such as "vegetarian chicken," "vegetarian duck," and "vegetarian abalone" for vegetarian dishes. If we are vegetarians, why can't we forget about meat? The mere use

of such names plants seeds of defilement. Vegetarian dishes shouldn't be called by non‑vegetarian names.

Some people who came to the City of Ten Thousand Bud­dhas this time have vowed to become lifelong vegetarians. This is a very good thing, because this way one severs unwholesome affinities with living beings in the six paths. If you don't eat them, they won't eat you; if you don't kill them, they won't kill you. The cycle of karmic retribution will thus be purified.

"What benefits are there in being vegetarian?" someone asked.

I said, "There aren't any. You're taking a loss while you're alive." Because vegetarian food isn't as tasty as meat, you take a loss by being vegetarian during your life. However, if you don't keep a vegetarian diet, then you will take a loss after death. It's like a scale. You have to figure out for yourself which side is heavier and which is lighter.

Why will you take a loss after death if you eat meat? Well, your body is composed of the foods you eat. If you eat vegetables, you will smell like vegetables; if you eat onions, you'll smell like onions; drink milk, and you'll smell like milk; eat cheese, and you'll smell like cheese. If you eat some garlic, your breath will smell of garlic. The things you eat become part of your body. If you eat a lot of a certain thing, your body will become very similar to it. Therefore, if you eat a lot of pork, you will become a pig. Eat a lot of beef, an you will become a cow. This accords with science and logic. The meat you eat incorporates with your body, and after you die you turn into that kind of animal. If you smell like a pig, for instance, after you die King Yama takes a sniff and says, "You smelly thing, you should be reborn as a pig." The same goes for sheep, cows, chicken, and dogs. That's what I mean by being cheated after death.

You can investigate this carefully. Why does a butcher of pigs have eyes resembling those of a pig? It's because he had been slaughtered as a pig many times in the past, and now he has come to seek revenge. Although he is human, his eyes are those of a pig. Cattle butchers have the eyes of a cow. The law of cause and effect is never off. There is a verse:

For hundreds of thousands of years,

The stew in the pot has boiled up

A resentment very hard to level.

If you want to know why

There are wars in the world,

Just listen to the haunting cries that come

From a slaughterhouse at midnight.

The grief and hatred brewed up in a pot of meat stew is as deep as the ocean. It could never be fully described. The wars and massacres in the world are brought about by the convergence of the evil karma of living beings, causing beings to undergo retribution at the same time. If you listen carefully to the cries of misery coming from a slaughter­house in the middle of the night, you will realize the horror of the ceaseless killing that goes on in there.

Scientists have discovered that people who eat a great deal of meat tend to get cancer. This is because the resentful energy in the bodies of slaughtered animals accumulates in the bodies of those who eat meat and eventually turns into a harmful toxin. We should cut off this relationship of causes and effects with animals and stop the vicious cycle of creating offenses against cows, sheep, chickens, and other animals. Then we will gradually be able to lessen the inaus­picious energy in the world.

At the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, we want to uphold the Proper Dharma and avert the crisis of killing in the world. We want to slowly and imperceptibly avert this disaster. Therefore we advocate: not killing, not stealing, not engaging in sexual misconduct, not lying, not drinking, and not taking drugs. At the very least, we should observe the Five Precepts and maintain our purity in that regard. Since you have come to this treasure mountain, don't leave empty‑handed!

A talk given on November 20, 1979.

___________

 SOURCE: http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/BuddhismAnimalsVegetarian/EatingMeatHorror.html

Featured at: http://groups.msn.com/mindofthebuddha/ourtreasurebox.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=509

 

 

 

---o0o---

Update : 01-10-2004
Gửi ý kiến của bạn
Tắt
Telex
VNI
Tên của bạn
Email của bạn
23/09/2021(Xem: 8324)
Kính mời quý Phật tử xem thông báo này của Moreland City Council (nhân viên council vừa đến chùa nhờ thông báo), nếu quý vị chưa chích Covid-19 vaccine xin liên lạc booking số: 1800 675 398 và đến Fawkner Community Hall, 79 Jukes Rd, Fawkner (cách Tu Viện Quảng Đức một con đường, 5 phút đi bộ) vào các ngày 27, 28 và 29 tháng 9 năm 2021 để được chích vaccine. Từ 12 tuổi đến 60 tuổi sẽ được chích Pfizer; từ 60 tuổi trở lên sẽ được chích AstraZeneca. Cầu nguyện đại dịch sớm tận trừ và mọi người vui khỏe và bình an. Nay xin thông báo, Thích Nguyên Tạng Trụ Trì Tu Viện Quảng Đức 🙏🙏🙏🌹🥀🌷🌷🌸🏵️🌻🌼🍁🌺🍀🌹🥀🌷🌸🏵️
03/05/2021(Xem: 7568)
In the Dhammapada, the Buddha says, “What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind.” The Covid-19 pandemic has given many millions of people worldwide time to reflect on their lives and habits of thought, speech and action. I know quite a few who have found a refuge of peace in their gardens. Cultivating, planting seeds, adding water and nutrients all help in maintaining a healthy garden. They are also a necessary part in taking care of our bodies. But what about the mind? Generosity, ethics, loving-kindness, compassion, meditative concentration and wisdom are the food for our inner spiritual garden. Without them there is no harvest, no fruit of Awakening, Buddhahood.
14/03/2020(Xem: 24373)
The Book was first published in 1942. The present edition has been revised and expanded. Though primarily intended for the students and beginners rather than scholars, the reader will find it an extremely valuable handbook, offering a sound foundation to the basic tenets of Buddhism as found in its original Pali tradition.
30/01/2020(Xem: 11662)
You are invited to a multifaith gathering to acknowledge Victoria’s bushfire crisis Join Victoria’s faith and political leaders for a special multifaith gathering on the steps of Parliament House on Tuesday 4 February 2020. Hosted by the Faith Communities Council of Victoria and the Multifaith Advisory Group (convened by the Victorian Multicultural Commission), the gathering will bring Victorians together to pray for those who have lost their lives and for the devastation of land, property and wildlife caused by the recent bushfires. Together, we will show our appreciation and say thanks to the firefighters, emergency services and volunteers for their dedication, bravery and service. We will also demonstrate our support for leaders on all sides of politics as they continue to lead our state through this unprecedented tragedy. With the fire season not yet over and with relief and recovery efforts expected to take months, if not years, this event will demonstrate the stren
15/12/2019(Xem: 17755)
INTRODUCTION "WITHIN A TREE, THERE IS A FLOWER WITHIN A ROCK, THERE IS A FLAME" BY SENIOR VENERABLE THICH NGUYEN TANG, QUANG DUC MONASTERY MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. "...The gift of the Dhamma excels all gifts; the taste of the Dhamma excels all tastes, and delight in the Dhamma excels all delights. The eradication of craving (i.e., attainment of arahatship) overcomes all ills (samsara dukkha). The gift of the Dhamma is the greatest giving among the all other givings. The one who is well trained in the Dhamma will share his understanding of the Dhamma either by writing a book, by preaching Dhamma, by discussing Dhamma, or by writing an article. Master Thich Nguyen Tang has used all these methods in his contribution to the Dhamma. Giving food or clothes or any other material items to a person makes them happy and they indeed will survive in the world, but they cannot get rid of this terrible circle of birth and death. It can be done only by understanding the noble Dhamma. Thus, the wr
09/08/2019(Xem: 12760)
Life as historically manifested is twofold, individuals and communities as well. The teachings of the Buddha are meant as much for the building of an order of communities as for the harmonious ordering of an individual’s personal life. In addition, Buddhism is concerned with the cessation of suffering, it must necessarily teach the way to the cessation of social suffering no less than the suffering of each individual. It is precisely to mention of forgiveness and reconciliation.
09/08/2019(Xem: 11020)
‘Dukkha and The Cessation of Dukkha’ are the heart of the Buddha’s teaching which are expounded in the Dhammacakka-ppavattana-suttaṃ(Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth).[2] ‘Idaṁ dukkhaṁ ariyasaccaṁ’ pariññeyyan-ti ‘this is the noble truth of suffering’ refers (i.e. suffering itself) ought to be fully known.[3]
07/07/2019(Xem: 9203)
Buddhist Approach to Mindful Leadership through An Auspicious Day Bhikkhuni. Dr. Tinh Van Nowadays, we all care about findingResponsibilities for Sustainable Peace (santi). It is called Truth,Fact,Reality,Standard, Settlement… and in this proposal/ offermeans objective / universal truth: ‘Truth is one, there is no second.’[1]Because of this quality/ value, Truth is also considered as the noblest gift/ truth in the ultimate sense(paramattha) for the Self-guided Way of the Sublime Teaching of the Buddha/ the way of life, i.e., the way out of universal suffering/ Ariyasacca/ the Path to Freedom (free from negligence/ carelessness/ pamāda). With the goal of the Buddha’s teachings to create instead of following the micchā/ blind belief/ unreasonable faith/ ignoble search/ conventional truth (sammuti-sacca). By this reason, my main proposal/ offerwill be aimed at ‘Mindful Leadership for Sustainable Peace’ with the title ‘Buddhist Approach to Mindful Leadership throug
17/06/2019(Xem: 18919)
The Catering Unit of Minh Quang Retreat in Sydney, Australia has offered good services in a very solemn and deliciated manner and its very first meal reminded me of the nice smell of the Bowl of Rice of Fragrance in the old times.
facebook youtube google-plus linkedin twitter blog
Nguyện đem công đức này, trang nghiêm Phật Tịnh Độ, trên đền bốn ơn nặng, dưới cứu khổ ba đường,
nếu có người thấy nghe, đều phát lòng Bồ Đề, hết một báo thân này, sinh qua cõi Cực Lạc.

May the Merit and virtue,accrued from this work, adorn the Buddhas pureland,
Repay the four great kindnesses above, andrelieve the suffering of those on the three paths below,
may those who see or hear of these efforts generates Bodhi Mind, spend their lives devoted to the Buddha Dharma,
the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Quang Duc Buddhist Welfare Association of Victoria
Tu Viện Quảng Đức | Quang Duc Monastery
Most Venerable Thich Tam Phuong | Senior Venerable Thich Nguyen Tang
Address: Quang Duc Monastery, 105 Lynch Road, Fawkner, Vic.3060 Australia
Tel: 61.03.9357 3544 ; Fax: 61.03.9357 3600
Website: http://www.quangduc.com
http://www.tuvienquangduc.com.au (old)
Xin gửi Xin gửi bài mới và ý kiến đóng góp đến Ban Biên Tập qua địa chỉ:
quangduc@quangduc.com