法苑珠林 93.56

93.56

Furthermore, the Aṅgulimālīya-sūtra states: 'Mañjuśrī addressed the Buddha, saying: "World-Honored One, is it because of the tathāgatagarbha that the Buddhas do not eat meat?" The Buddha said: "It is so. In the beginningless saṃsāra of all sentient beings, revolving through death and birth, there are none who have not been one's father, mother, elder brother, younger brother, elder sister, or younger sister; like performers, they transform impermanently. One's own flesh and the flesh of another are just one flesh; therefore the Buddhas all do not eat meat." He further addressed Mañjuśrī: "The realm of all sentient beings and my realm are just one realm; the meat that is eaten is just one meat. Therefore the Buddhas all do not eat meat." The Buddha addressed Mañjuśrī: "If an ox dies of itself, and the ox's owner takes its hide to make leather shoes and donates them to a person who observes the precepts, should they be accepted or not? If they are not accepted, that is the rule of a bhikṣu. If they are accepted, it is not loving-kindness and compassion; yet it does not break the precepts, because it is step by step removed from the causes and conditions of killing."'