四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔 3.118

3.118

Timed medicine has two types: In the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, there are five kinds of bhojanīya (translated here as primary food), namely parched flour, boiled rice, dried rice, fish, and meat; and five kinds of khādanīya (translated here as secondary [food]), namely branches, leaves, flowers, fruits, and finely ground food (as in the section 'According with Characteristics'). The Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya states: Timed foods are turnip root, onion root, lotus root, radish root, and antitoxic herb root (namely adenophora root); timed beverages are all grain broths, flour broths, milk, and curd whey. The various Vinayas all explain fish and meat as timed food, but this was a teaching abolished later. The Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra states: From this day forward, I do not allow disciples to eat meat; observe it as if it were the flesh of one's own child. Those who eat meat sever the seed of great compassion; beings moving in water, on land, or in the air harbor enmity toward them, therefore I do not allow them to eat it. It is as extensively explained there. The sūtra states: When meat was previously permitted, it did not refer to the meat of beings of the four modes of birth, but was only manifested through transformation for the sake of liberating sentient beings. The Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra states: There are immeasurable causes and conditions for not eating meat; briefly stated, there are ten kinds: First, all sentient beings from beginningless time have continually been one's six kinds of relatives; because of the thought of kinship, one should not eat meat. Second, butchers mix and sell fox, dog, human, and horse [meat]. Third, it is generated and grown from impure exhalations. Fourth, sentient beings all produce terror upon smelling the odor. Fifth, it causes practitioners not to produce a compassionate mind. Sixth, it is practiced by the foolish and vulgar, is foul and impure, and has no good reputation. Seventh, it causes incantations to fail to achieve success. Eighth, because eating meat causes consciousness to arise upon seeing the form, one is tainted by attachment to flavor. Ninth, it is abandoned by the gods, brings many nightmares, and tigers and wolves smell its scent. Tenth, from eating various kinds of meat, one eventually eats human flesh, as explained in the Sūtra of King Kalmāṣapāda. Nowadays there are foolish and vulgar people who are overly fond of various meats; among offenses, the greatest does not exceed this. Butchers trade and sell only for the sake of those who eat meat; if there were definitely no eaters, there would also be no slaughter. Therefore, know that eaters create karma along with butchers and partake in the share of killing life—how could one not be warned! The Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya states: If it was killed for a bhikṣu, all seven assemblies should not eat it; down to if killed for an upāsikā, none of the seven assemblies eat it likewise. Nowadays those who study the precepts mostly do not eat it, in the same manner as the Mahāyāna monks of India. There are those who study Mahāyāna rhetoric and take alcohol and meat as their practice and understanding; they are not accepted by either the Mahāyāna or Hīnayāna teachings, and enter of themselves into the ranks of butchers. Even heavenly demons and tīrthikas do not consume alcohol and meat; these [people] are merely generals and officers of Yama! The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya states: If the killer performs the ten unwholesome actions and kills for my sake, down to meat from places of great sacrifice, it must not be eaten; because when provisions are brought, the mind has no fixed master. Nowadays butchers slaughter indiscriminately, so according to the teaching there is no meat that may be eaten, which squarely proscribes eating meat. The Vinayamātṛkā is largely the same. The Vinaya states: If they maintain the ten virtues, they will never terminate the life of sentient beings for my sake; such [meat] may be eaten. Based on this, from what source could meat be obtained to consume? Only naturally dead animals. Even bird leavings incur an offense! The Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra states: Alcohol, meat, onions, garlic, and leeks of all kinds should not be tasted at all. Even worldly proverbs say that one should not drink tavern wine or eat market dried meat; how much more so for eminent monks who have left the world to take alcohol and meat as their intention—what they harbor in mind can easily be seen! The Vinayamātṛkā states: If one cooks timed, untimed, or seven-day medicine with alcohol and may consume it, it means that where there is no alcoholic nature it may be consumed. The medicinal alcohol of today causes confusion, intoxication, and stupor, having full vapor and flavor, and is consumed out of craving; if bitter poison were added, it would not be brought to the mouth. Through these two paths, examining and knowing their disposition, they are completely distant from the Way.