法苑珠林 93.5

93.5

Alcohol is the gateway to heedlessness; the Great Sage knows it to be the root of suffering. Therefore, he distanced himself from indulging in revelry, kept apart from the conditions of alcohol, discarded drunken companions, drew close to Dharma friends, exited the gate of stupor, and entered the realm of awakening. Meat severs the seed of great compassion; the Great Sage knows it to be the cause of killing. Therefore, he cast away fishy stench, purified body and speech, ate vegetables, clarified the mind and spirit, attracted benevolence and goodness, and gained longevity. Thus the secular Book of Rites says: 'Seeing them alive, one cannot bear to see them die; hearing their cries, one cannot bear to eat their meat.' This also conveys the meaning of not killing. If one eats meat and drinks alcohol, one is no different from beasts, jackals, and wolves; one also fully slaughters all of one's own kin and drinks and devours one's own relatives. Turning into enemies and taking retribution, through kalpas of long nights there is no end. As the treatise quoted above explains: a woman killed a wolf cub for five hundred lives, and the wolf cub also killed her as its mother for five hundred lives. Furthermore, a woman severed the life-faculty of a ghost for five hundred lives, and the ghost also severed her life-faculty for five hundred lives. Hence one knows that undergoing transmigration through the six destinies, one fully receives vengeful retribution: they may once have been one's teachers, one's parents, one's brothers, one's sisters, one's children and grandchildren, or one's friends. Now, in this mortal body, each lacks the eye of the Way and cannot distinguish them; devouring one another in turn, they do not realize it themselves. When devouring them, this creature possesses a spirit; it immediately gives rise to anger and hatred, turning back into an enemy. What were once the closest kin on the contrary become enemies. How could one not ponder such a matter? To momentarily vie for a brief trivial taste on the tip of the tongue, and forever become hostile adversaries with one's closest kin—this is truly heartbreaking and difficult to put into words! Therefore the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra says: 'All meat is entirely severed, including that which dies of itself.' Even what dies of itself is still prohibited, how much more so that which does not die of itself! Furthermore, the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra says: 'For profit, living beings are killed; with wealth, meat is netted. Both karmas are unwholesome; dying, they fall into the Raurava Hell.' What is meant by 'netting meat with wealth'? On land one sets traps and snares; in water one sets nets and fish-traps: this is netting meat with nets. If one buys meat with money among butchers, this is netting meat with wealth. If one causes this person not to net meat with wealth, practicing evil vows and capturing and harming living beings, does this person intend merely to feed his own mouth, or does he also intend it for something else? If he intends it for something else, does the one who eats the meat not partake in the act of killing? How can one say 'I do not kill living beings'? This is obvious: it contradicts the sūtra texts, severs the seed of great compassion, and creates an obstacle to seeing the Buddha.