20200626茹素造福心清明 Going Vegetarian for Better Health and a More Peaceful World
This situation in Europe has improved, globally is still getting worse. In the first month of this outbreak, less than ten thousand cases would have reported to WHO. In the last month, almost four million cases has reported.
Every day, I pray with sincere piety for the COVID-19 pandemic to ease off and end. When will it end? We are not sure as it is not under control yet. Due to the pandemic, many countries around the world nave close their borders. Industries and businesses have been affected substantially, making a direct impact on the economy. We can imagine how this has brought great suffering to the poor.
The COVID-19 pandemic puts economies into great lock down that saved lives but also triggered the worse recession since the Great Depression. No country has been spared, both emerging market and developing economies, advanced economies, all have been very badly hit during this crisis.
About four or five people are stranded in Manila. Originally, they insisted on walking home as the metro was closed. Yet, since the city is under lockdown, they can only stay. They have no family here, so they sleep under a bridge.
I’m very grateful for Tzu Chi for bringing us rice just in time.
The pandemic is still going on around the world. There is no sign of abating and the number of confirmed cases is still rising. How much longer are we to wait for the pandemic to pass? Recently, I heard how diligently our Tzu Chi volunteers in the U.S. promote vegetarianism. When we all eat vegetarian, no animals will be killed for meat.
If people eat less meat, fewer animals will be killed. Gradually, everyone will go vegetarian. This way, people will no longer raise livestock or create bad karma as a result of killing. We don’t need to eat meat to obtain sufficient nutrients and enjoy good health. Many diseases are caused by what we eat.
As oceans have been polluted, fishes are unhealthy themselves. Recently, there were youg whales stranded on a beach in Kaohsiung. Many were found dead. According to the anatomy result, they’d been in poor health before they die. Eating meat is really not good for our health.
Meat is unhealthy for us because it may carry germs. It can pass diseases onto us humans. As a saying goes: “We may contract diseases from our foods and incur troubles because of our words.” So, we must be very careful.
Recently, I often use a picture to show that 2,443 animals are killed per second, or more than 210 million per day, because many people consume meat. To ensure the daily supply of meat, countless livestock are raised and slaughtered. As more than 210 million are killed per day, an equal number of livestock must be bred daily.
This is how the number continues to accumulate. Let us reflect upon this and share with others the numbers and the meaning behind them. We truly must give more thought to what is happening in the world. Because of people’s desire for meat, over 210 million animals are killed every single day.
Won’t the animals harbor hatred and retaliate against people? Killing so many animals every day, people have been creating bad karma collectively. If we do not stop killing animals now, their hatred will continue to accumulate, and disasters will occur more and more frequently.
We must think this through and share with others how many animals are killed and why we should stop killing them. People kill animals just because of their desire for meat. This is simply not right.
Is meat good for our health? No. It can make us ill instead. Mother Nature already provides us with abundant plant foods. To live in harmony with Mother Nature, we must eat a vegetarian diet.
I hope everyone will reflect upon this and closely observe issues and matters in the world. To make a difference quickly, I cannot but share with you the crucial lessons from the pandemic, the number of animals killed for meat, and the relationship between humans and animals.
We truly must keep all this in mind and excise our wisdom to sow blessings for the world. We may contract diseases from our foods and incur troubles because of our words. So, we should go vegetarian to enjoy good health. This is how we experience the benefits of vegetarianism for ourselves. We should also share life’s truths with others so as to guide everyone towards the right direction in life.