Master Xing Yun's Wonderful Answers to Ten Questions about Vegetarianism
Release: Haizhitong [all articles leave a message in space] Date: 2013/11314:18: 00 Collect WeChat to share.
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Taiwan Province Foguang Mountain Nebula Master was interviewed by Li Jingyu, a well-known anchor, on "Human Satellite TV" to share his eating habits and concepts. I believe that the following free heart dialogue will arouse the wisdom and spirituality that is dormant in your heart.
Li: Excuse me, Master, how many years have you been a vegetarian?
Master: I have been a vegetarian since I was born. I grew up in troubled times, and my hometown's economy was very backward. At that time, when food was extremely scarce, I ate wheat residue porridge. I ate sweet potatoes three times a day, and I was afraid of it. After becoming a monk at the age of twelve, porridge is still used instead of dry rice in the temple, and you often can't eat a piece of tofu or some vegetarian dishes for a month.
Some bean curd dregs are taken to the pot for frying. If there is no firewood, they are left outside to bask in the sun, even sparrows come to eat them, and even leave feces and urine, so there are often worms and maggots in them, but at least they are a little salty. Many years passed like this, and I didn't get much sick. I'm thinking, it's probably that we have to recite the offering mantra before eating every day, with the blessing of the Buddha.
? Li: Now vegetarianism seems to have gradually become a popular culture, which covers not only the Chinese cultural circle, but also European and American countries. Can you ask the master to talk about vegetarian culture?
Master: Now vegetarian culture is popular all over the world. Many people use vegetarian food for health care and beauty. According to medical research, vegetarian diet is good for health, and it can cultivate endurance and develop a gentle personality. Some old monks who eat vegetarian food get up early and stay up late every day, and they are in high spirits all day. What is the reason? The most important thing of vegetarianism is to cultivate compassion, reduce anger from spiritual purification, and achieve inner peace and harmony.
As for western vegetarian culture, as far as I know, there is an urban area in the United States where only vegetarians are allowed to sell meat, and they are not Buddhist believers. They promote vegetarianism entirely on the basis of health.
Although Buddhism was the first to advocate vegetarianism, it was not vegetarian in the Buddha's time at first, because at that time, people begged for food by "begging along the way", and believers ate whatever they were given.
China Buddhism advocates vegetarianism for two reasons:
Confucianism says, "I can't bear to see him die when I see him alive;" I can't bear to eat its meat when I hear its voice. "
It is mentioned in Buddhist classics that it is necessary to be merciful and not kill animal life.
Others say that plants also have life and feelings. If you don't kill animals, you should kill neither animals nor plants. In fact, the life of plants is "vitality", and the meaning of growth function is different from life. Life is "intentional". When you look at pigs, horses, cows and sheep to be slaughtered, you will have fear. Plants, on the other hand, are "unintentional". Although they have a life-and-death reaction, they do not feel bitter and happy. Therefore, the definition of killing lies in whether it is intentional or unintentional.
Being a vegetarian, apart from being compassionate, the most important thing is to respect life.
Vegetarianism makes people compassionate and happy.
Li: What are the benefits of being a vegetarian besides helping your health?
Master: You see, at present, some people eat meat and meat, and they eat a lot of tricks. What kind of abnormal eating methods, such as 30 live fish and 10 seafood, will make people develop abnormal hearts.
Sometimes when parents take their children out to play, they will get some small crabs and small fish for their children to play with, some will dump the fish, and some will peel off the crab shells and abuse them to death. This will make children disrespect life from an early age, don't know the value of life, and will disrespect people when they grow up in the future, and even evil deeds such as murder will be triggered. ? Buddhism does not encourage people to be vegetarian, but it advocates that you should not kill things. You can buy ready-made food, but you should not kill things yourself. Parents teach their children to form the habit of respecting the value of life and cherishing small life and animals from an early age. Therefore, I think that today's family education first requires children to respect life and let them cherish life, which will improve the social atmosphere in the future.
Li: A research report in a magazine even pointed out that if everyone in the world is a vegetarian, there will be no more famine in the world. Master, what do you think?
Master: I have been a vegetarian for decades, and I deeply feel that vegetarians are better than those who eat meat. Vegetarians will gradually reduce the killing industry. Nowadays, the killing industry in Taiwan Province is so heavy that I feel very worried. In today's society, the monkey brain and snake gall eat raw and burn alive, so how can the social atmosphere be kind and beautiful?
Li: People with different religious backgrounds and different regions will have different food cultures. For example, Muslims don't eat pork, Hindus don't eat beef, etc. For the differences between different religious cultures, I would like to ask the master's opinion.
Master: It is difficult to unify vegetarianism and religion. However, I think that basically all religions should be able to respect life, cherish life and protect life.
Li: Many people studied Buddhism diligently and were vegetarian. Finally, they heard that Tantric Buddhism can eat meat, so they went to school secretly. Ask him why he studied Tantric Buddhism, and he says it's good to learn Tantric Buddhism. You can eat meat and become a Buddha instantly!
Master: In the past, vegetables could not be grown on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the external traffic was closed. In this case, we had to eat meat. However, now that the vegetarian culture in Taiwan Province is generally developed, it should be possible to become a vegetarian. Don't say that you can eat meat just because you practice tantra. I don't think that's appropriate.
Vegetarian first, clean center of gravity
Li: If you are not really used to being a vegetarian, is there a step-by-step method, such as some people eating side dishes with meat or eating three clean meats? Can you ask the master to explain these two ways of eating?
Master: You are quite right. In order to be a vegetarian in a gradual way, you can choose to be a vegetarian on the first day, the fifteenth day, or the sixth day of fasting, or you can only eat meat-side dishes and three clean meats on weekdays.
Meat-side dishes: After the epiphany of Master Hui Neng, the sixth ancestor of Zen Buddhism, he hid in the hunters' team for fifteen years in order to avoid people who were vying for clothes everywhere. Whenever the hunters raised the fire to cook the wild animals, Master Hui Neng went to the barren hills and valleys to find some edible leaves and wild vegetables and cooked them in a pot. People laughed at him for not eating meat, so he said, "I only eat meat and vegetables!" Therefore, Master Hui Neng is the one who truly understands the meaning of vegetarianism and practices. The so-called true compassion does not necessarily mean what you eat and what you can't eat in form. The meaning of vegetarianism is to be constantly sorrowful. Therefore, learning Buddhism is not just a vegetarian.
Sanjing meat: it is called "Sanjing meat" if you don't see the killing, hear the sound of being killed, and don't kill for me.
Li: Some of my friends, after they start to be vegetarians, will feel stinky and faint whenever they smell meat. How can this happen?
Master: Because he is not used to it. For example, I once went to Japan, and the believers cooked a bowl of noodles for me to eat. When I ate it, alas! It smells bad. How can it smell so bad? However, because I was a banquet hosted by believers, I just held my breath and swallowed my face. Later, I learned that the Japanese have a habit of cooking soy sauce with small fish and seasoning it in their noodles. Am I guilty of this? I believe I'm not a meat eater, I'm still a vegetarian.
Some people are vegetarians, and they must pay attention to the fact that the pots and pans they use have never cooked meat. This is a wrong idea, and vegetarianism is not a problem. I think peace of mind is the most important thing. Therefore, we vegetarians should never cause trouble and burden to others.
Li: Many processed vegetarian foods look like chickens, ducks and fish. Do you have any comments on this vegetarian way?
Master: I once felt very disgusted with the way some people make vegetarian dishes into meat dishes. I always thought that vegetarianism is to cultivate compassion. If you are vegetarian with the mentality of eating meat, it is not really the case. Therefore, every time I see vegetarian chicken, duck, eel, meat, ham and mullet roe on the table, I refuse to eat them. But one day, I saw that believers love to eat them.
Therefore, this way of presentation can be ignored, but some vegetarian dishes make the dishes taste like meat too much, which is unnecessary.