廣弘明集 26.51

26.51

Disciple Xiao Yan respectfully addresses the venerable monks and nuns, the doctrinal scholar monks and nuns, and all three officers of the monasteries. Previously, I briefly set forth how fish and meat create obstacles and entanglements that incur painful retributions. Now, I wish to convey once more a single statement. The lifespan in Jambudvīpa is said to be one hundred and twenty years, yet in the world, one rarely hears of such a person; transformation and demise happen without distinction between old and young. A sutra states: in a single thought-moment there are sixty kṣaṇas; birth, aging, and impermanence wither away without lingering for an instant. The sense faculties exist for a brief moment and are suddenly ruined and destroyed; the sufferings of the three evil destinies and the like arrive in a flash. Wishing to escape hell is an exceedingly difficult matter; even those whose virtue of precepts is pure still fear that they may not avoid it, so how could those who break and transgress [the precepts] possibly avoid it? Even if one observes a perpetual fast and eats vegetables, if one does not diligently apply skillful means wishing to avoid painful retribution, that too is impossible. Why is this so? Although in this life one might not commit various offenses, the karma of later retribution is strong and one currently lacks skillful means, so the sufferings of the three evil destinies cannot be warded off. How much more so for drinking wine and eating sentient beings! Monks and nuns must believe the Buddha's words and should exert themselves. If one says that a vegetable diet is difficult, this is because one's faith is thin and scant. If one has faith, one should strengthen oneself. If one has a resolute mind, what difficulty is there in a vegetable diet? Vegetables and fish or meat are both [objects of] a single delusion. If the mind can be at peace, it is the supreme taste of amṛta; if the mind is not at peace, it is foul and inferior food. Therefore, the Nirvāṇa Sūtra states: when receiving food, let one form the thought of [eating the flesh of] one's own son. If neither were delusions, why would such a practice be needed? Setting aside remote matters, let us simply draw a close analogy: those who are now able to eat vegetables loathe blood and stench more than those who cannot eat vegetables loathe vegetables. Such matters are completely alike. One should exert oneself to turn an unwholesome delusion into a wholesome delusion, and within wholesome delusion, further apply skillful means, eating vegetables with the thought of one's son. With such a mind, one will attain resolution. All those who cannot abandon fish and meat say: 'Vegetables are cold and deplete a person; fish and meat are warm and nourish a person.' Making such statements is entirely inverted view. Now let me try to briefly state again: the matter is not so. If a person eats vegetables for a long time, the nutritive and defensive qi circulate freely; as a rule, such a person's physical state often tends toward warmth. When the nutritive and defensive qi circulate freely, one can eat and drink; because of eating and drinking, one's energy is abundant. Thus vegetables are not cold and are capable of nourishing. All those who practice austerities also eat vegetables; most of them tend toward warmth, and as a class they are all robust; their spirits are clear and brisk, with little torpor or fatigue. As a rule, the nature of fish is mostly cold; blood and stench naturally increase the hundred diseases. Therefore, for those who eat fish and meat, their spirits ought by principle to be turbid, and their four limbs are naturally heavy—not to mention that in the future they will incur later retributions with the sufferings of the three evil destinies, while in the present the four great elements will suffer mutual deficiencies. How could this not be delusion? The workings of minds each have their attachments: those who relish fish and meat claim they are warming and nourishing. This is an inverted view and must not be trusted. Furthermore, there is a kind of person who, eating vegetables and considering them cold, then breaks their vegetarian diet. This is a practitioner who has not grasped the import of vegetables. Vegetables and fish or meat are like water and fire: just as one eats vegetables and is about to gain strength, one eats fish and meat again; the rank stench of fish and meat can extinguish the power of vegetables. Therefore deluded people say that the nature of vegetables is cold. As a rule, people who repeatedly break their vegetarian diet can neither advance to attain the strength of vegetables nor retreat to gain the perverse benefits of fish and meat; their constitutions are mostly frail and cold, with little capability. You monks and nuns should also know one thing: eating fish and meat is the domain of Māra and the practice of Māra's conduct. If the mind is not resolute, there will be many impediments, and inner and outer demons will jointly harass you. Therefore, when practitioners reflect on this, [they see that] fish, meat, and wine are Māra's broth; this goes without saying. Those who eat fish and meat and crave drinking wine are abandoned by good deities and lack proper qi within; people like this mostly decline and suffer affliction. Furthermore, there is a kind of person who, although able to eat vegetables, relies on this with arrogance, has much anger, and is prone to greed and craving; such people also fall into Māra's realm and have much decline and affliction. There is also a kind of person whose outward practice seems mature, but whose inner mind is coarse and evil; seeing others surpass themselves, they always harbor resentment and jealousy, and conceal all the unwholesome deeds they perform; such people also practice in Māra's realm, and even if they eat vegetables, they still have much decline and affliction. If the power of the mind is resolute and upright, eating vegetables with austere discipline, such people are mostly supported by the power of goodness and are highly capable in nature. Those who are not upright should reflect and awaken; do not measure resolute people with an irresolute mind. For all venerable monks and nuns whose practice is already accomplished, from this day forward, skillfully guide others so that those who have not yet attained it may from now on all attain it. If you have already practiced it, may you strengthen your resolve; if you have never practiced it, may you reform. Today, let us together become seeds of bodhi. Do not find fault with what disciple Xiao Yan has stated all along.