廣弘明集 26.131

26.131

The edict further addressed Zhou She, saying: "Regarding what Sengbian said about meat from animals that died of themselves: if spoken of like this, kites, crows, doves, and pigeons die in every place—why does one never see a single one that died of itself? Roes, deer, pheasants, and hares fill the wilds and marshes, yet one has never seen a single one that died of itself either. But when seeking meat of the dead, one always goes to a butcher's house; when seeking dead fish, one must go to the place of fishing nets. Were it not for killing living beings, how could there be meat of the dead? The sūtra says: 'Buying meat and killing it oneself—these sins are equal.' Originally, I did not do this for myself, but precisely to create for the monks and nuns the causes and conditions for leaving suffering."