Beggars' Sect originated when Sakyamuni Buddha was alive, and a pregnant woman was frightened by her disciples begging at night, resulting in miscarriage. And if he asks for bowls twice a day, the time for disciples to learn Buddhism and practice monks will be reduced. From then on, the commandment stipulates that you should not eat in the afternoon, but you are not necessarily vegetarian, that is,' fasting' is also true. Here, from the perspective of Buddhism, the real meanings of "vegetarian" and "fasting" are as follows:
(1) The original intention of vegetarianism is that in order to cultivate "compassion", Buddhists were instructed by Liang Wudi in accordance with the Shurangama Sutra to order "monks" all over the country not to eat the flesh of all beings, so only China abides by this regulation, but from the medical point of view, vegetarianism is very good and worth promoting.
(2) The original intention of fasting is to reduce the interference of monks to donors (begging for food) and increase the time of studying Buddhism and practicing. The Buddha himself made a commandment not to eat after noon (fasting). However, from the perspective of medical care,' fasting therapy (similar to not eating after noon to reduce the burden on the stomach)' is helpful to health and the treatment of certain diseases. Fasting is very good and worth promoting. At present, Buddhists observe' June Ramadan (fasting on the 8th, 14th, 15th, 23rd, 29th and 30th of the lunar calendar)' and' October Ramadan (fasting on the 1st, 8th, 14th, 15th, 18th, 23rd, 24th, 28th, 29th and 30th of the lunar calendar)' or' 1st.
(3) In fact, people who are interested in learning Buddhism practice can also eat "five clean meats" (that is, no killing, no hearing of killing, no killing, dead birds) if the environment does not allow. In this way, they can not only accept the "three conversions and five precepts", but even accept the "Bodhisattva precepts at home" (only the "ten heavy and forty-eight light" of the Sanskrit)
(4) At present, Mahayana countries such as Japan and South Korea, and Hinayana countries such as Indochina Peninsula (Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar) are not vegetarian; At that time, in the era of Sakyamuni Buddha, disciples also abided by the commandment of "holding bowls". They eat whatever the benefactor gives them. They are very kind. They decided not to embarrass the benefactor, but they must provide vegetarian food. There are also countless people who are "enlightened" or "Arhat grosvenor". It can be seen that Buddhist monks do not have to be "vegetarian" to achieve something.
(five) or think that the butcher is a carnivore (consumer) to kill, and non-vegetarians are in danger of sponsoring killing; I don't know that the rice, noodles, vegetables and fruits of vegetarians are also caused by farmers turning over the soil or spraying pesticides to kill many small animals and make them blossom and bear fruit. Is there any danger of sponsoring murder? Besides, the water you drink has to be boiled before you can drink it, and there is a danger of killing people.
(6) Vegetarianism is a part of spiritual practice, not the whole; Practice is all-round, although it includes vegetarianism to cultivate compassion, but it is still necessary to adhere to other precepts and practice the "Thirty-seven Laws", "Four Truth Laws", "Twelve Karma Laws" and "Six Paramitas" in order to get rid of life and death and transcend the three realms, otherwise "vegetarianism is unreasonable, like sheep eating grass (Taiwan Province proverb)".
(7) Not being a vegetarian has great merits. It is by no means heretical to say that you can register in heaven and lose your name in hell. This is just part of practicing compassion. If you are a vegetarian and don't keep precepts, then you can't "see your heart clearly" more than Buddhist monks in other countries (including Mahayana and Mahayana).
(8) Don't be afraid to learn from Buddhism and accept the "three conversions and five precepts" or even "the precepts of being a bodhisattva at home" because the environment does not allow vegetarianism (such as family, career and entertainment), and you will regret it for life. Why? It is rare to build a life today, and Buddhism smells bad today; This body does not live in this life, but how can it live? In addition, there are eight victories in accepting the precepts of Bodhisattva, namely
(1) The interesting Dojo is extraordinary;
(2) extraordinary heart;
(3) Fukuda wins;
(4) Excellent merit;
(5) Fighting crime is extremely successful;
(6) pregnancy is extremely successful;
(7) Extraordinary divine power;
(8) remarkable achievements.