Vegetarianism: indifferent to life, inner peace

·Clear heart and few desires, wholeheartedly devoted to the Tao·

Compassion: Compassion is the foundation and convenience is the door

Buddhism is based on compassion and sorrow, with convenience as its gateway. The heart of compassion is generated through the wisdom of Prajnaparamita. Those who study Buddhism develop a bodhisattva heart of great compassion and universal compassion due to their understanding of the truth of karmic and karmic phenomena, and thus abstain from killing. The first of the five precepts is not to kill, and to adopt a vegetarian diet instead of killing is a positive behavior of abstaining from killing.

In the Surangara Sutra, the Buddha tells his disciple Mahavairocana Bodhisattva:

All flesh has an immeasurable fate, and Bodhisattvas should have compassion and not eat it. I am now speaking for you about its lack of points. Great wisdom, all sentient beings come from scratch and are constantly reincarnated in life and death. They have never been parents, men and women, family members, or even friends, lovers, or attendants. They are easily born and are subject to birds and animals, so why take them from them and eat them? Great Wisdom, Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta believes that all sentient beings are one and the same, and that all flesh comes from a destiny. Where can one eat? ……

The meaning of this passage is: Firstly, all sentient beings are their own six relatives, friends, etc. from the beginning, and it is foolish and pitiful to do so just because they do not know how to eat in another life. 2、 He is me, equal to him. We should understand that his joys and sorrows are my joys and sorrows. We cannot ignore the pain of animals being killed just because we are addicted to food and drink. This is the most cruel thing.

The great virtues of Buddhism and their predecessors have many poems about the prohibition of killing and releasing animals, fully reflecting the spirit of compassion. Here are three selected songs:

My flesh is made of many raw meats, each with its own name and body;

Originally of the same gender, but with different forms of body.

For thousands of years, the bitterness in the bowl has been as deep as the sea of hatred, difficult to reconcile;

I want to know about the world's knife and weapon robberies, but listen to the sound of the butcher's door at midnight.

The blood is abundant and the taste is precious, and it is difficult to express grievances and hatred;

Passersby may ask themselves, who dares to cut themselves with a knife?

In 2011, Elder Wei Xian published a paper titled "Buddhism and Vegetarianism" at the Second Chongqing Ancient Sword Forum, detailing the formation and development of the vegetarian viewpoint, as well as the influence of Buddhism on it. The Buddhist scriptures and practices of vegetarianism provide four main reasons for our vegetarianism: health, compassion, causality, and spiritual practice.

Article source: Paper "Buddhism and Vegetarianism" from the 2nd Chongqing Ancient Sword Forum

Author: Elder Wei Xian