諸經要集 8.31

8.31

As the Brahmajāla Sūtra says: If a disciple of the Buddha, out of a compassionate heart, performs the act of releasing living beings, [he should reflect:] "All men have been my fathers; all women have been my mothers. There is not a single rebirth through which I have not received birth from them. Therefore, sentient beings of the six destinies are all my parents. If I kill and eat them, I kill my parents and also kill my former body. All earth and water were my previous bodies; all fire and wind were my original nature." Therefore, one should constantly release living beings, generation after generation as one receives birth. If one sees worldly people killing animals, one should use expedients to rescue and protect them, liberating them from their suffering and adversity. One should constantly educate, teach, and explain the bodhisattva precepts to deliver sentient beings. On the day a parent or sibling dies, one should invite a Dharma master to explain the sūtra and vinaya of the bodhisattva precepts, dedicating merits to aid the deceased so that they may see the Buddhas and be born in the human or heavenly realms. If one does not do so, one commits an offense of light defilement.