20141120減少口欲安天下The Negative Karma of Eating Meat
We see that in Europe, a new outbreak of avian flu has occurred. Authorities have culled hundreds of thousands of poultry due to fear of them spreading the virus. Therefore, when there is a confirmed outbreak of avian flu, people respond by culling poultry en masse.
Humans raise these birds but kill them en masse when some get infected.People raise these birds for the purpose of eating them, and now they kill these birds in mass numbers due to the risk of infection.
Think about, animals are also living beings. We also saw a video of a show in which a man demonstrated making sausage. First, he let shoppers taste the sausages and showed them how the sausage is made from pork.
He dramatized it by putting a live piglet into a sausage machine and started grinding it. Sausages then came out. When shoppers saw this, they immediately spat out the sausage in their mouths.
One shopper even got angry and hit the man selling the sausage for killing the piglet. She said that she refused to buy sausages made in this way. However, no matter where people boy sausages, when they eat sausages, they are really eating the flesh of live animals that were butchered.
Seeing this shopper get so angry, I wonder if this incident is enough to make her curb her desire for meat from now on and never eat sausage again to protect the life of animals. Can she truly understand the truths of life to love all living creatures?
Buddhism informs us that we go through reincarnation and we can be reborn in any of the six realms. With such mass culling of all these animals today, when this karma we collectively create builds up to a certain point, sometime in the future, the karmic retribution will manifest as an entire country destroyed by violence and war.
Our collective karma will lead us to be born in that same country.This is how the law of karma plays out. Like those turkeys being culled, in a past life, they crated karma collectively and now, together, are bred to be slaughtered to become food for humans.
Or should they have a disease, they will be culled or slaughtered en masse. Such innocent lives being taken. Given the way humans treat them, truly, the animal- kingdom will also “fight back” such as with mutating viruses that go on to infect humans and cause fear and illness among humankind.
This kind of cause and effect is a real and true principle of life. In truth, humans and animals all have feelings and can form bonds of affection.We must we humans kill and eat animals? It really is hard to comprehend.
In a word, let us not create this kind of karma. If we continue to do so, we never know where we may be reborn in our next life, due to the karma we’ve created. We have to know this and discipline ourselves.
We see the great love of Tzu Chi volunteers in Fujian, China. Three years ago, when our local volunteers carried out a home visit, they met a girl. She was 15 years old then. She was born with brain damage and is not able to take care of herself.
It was really hard for her grandmother. Seeing this family in need, Tzu Chi volunteers started making home visits to see her every month. They go to help clean her home and to help her get cleaned up as well.
She is always joyful to meet the volunteers. This girl was total stranger at the beginning. For three years, we have kept on giving her love and care, so now when she sees Tzu Chi volunteers she is close and friendly with them.
Tzu Chi volunteers have great loving-kindness for strangers and great compassion for all. Making such a monthly home visit to give compassionate love and care is not easy.
All in all, bodhisattvas cannot bear to see living beings in suffering, not even animals who are also living beings. We should love them just the same. When humans are cruel to animals, the world cannot be in peace.
We see that there is a large group of bodhisattvas who can curb their desire for meat and has inspired their parents and grandparents to eat vegetarian with them. They know to cherish life. Small children can do this, why can’t we adults do this?
On her grandpa’s birthday, we had pork knuckles with thin noodles. When she saw it, he couldn’t control herself and went to hide behind me. Then I saw tears in her eyes. She said that she really wished everyone could eat vegetarian.
If we don’t eat humans, why do we eat animals? She eats vegetarian. Actually, we learn to do this from our daughter. She inspired us to eat vegetarian.
I want to make delicious vegetarian food for people to eat. When they like to eat my food, they won’t eat meat anymore. Then they’ll all turn into vegetarians.
See how children have innate goodness in them. The smaller the children, the purer their hearts are as their hearts have not been tainted by desires in the adults world, so it is easier to inspire love in them.
Moreover, their love is long-lasting.No matter what temptations they encounter, they are not influenced and remain vegetarian to protect animals. Small children can do this, why can’t we adults do it?
Look at the avian flu now in Europe where several countries have killed hundreds of thousands of poultry. To see such mass killing is truly worrisome. All life is equal. To kill these birds is very cruel. They do it as a measure to protect human life.
However, such mass killing breaks our heart. There are many problems in our world where we cannot fathom how people come up with the ways they do deal with them.
It really depends on people’s frame of mind. If everyone can take good care of their heart and mind, all living beings can live in peace and harmony. Humans can then live a worry-free life.
In summary, we need to be more mindful. If we can reach far remote places to provide relief and inspire people, we can overcome problems that are in front of us now.
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