淨慈要語

1. Prohibiting the Taking of Life

In Buddhism, the precept against taking life ranks foremost. Not only Buddhism, but other traditions as well, regard this precept as important. This is because what human beings and animals cherish most is life, while nothing is more painful than death. Therefore, the greatest evil and the gravest offense is taking life.

It has been said: “The great virtue of Heaven and Earth is giving life; the greatest evil of human beings is taking life.” Heaven possesses the virtue of cherishing life, so we may know with certainty that Heaven abhors killing. Preserving the lives of sentient beings is foremost among all good deeds, while taking life is foremost among all evil deeds. Benevolence is the human heart; therefore, we know that killing living beings is contrary to the human heart. How, then, could we fail to regard the precept against taking life as important?

Moreover, when a person takes benevolence as the heart, the measure of that heart pervades the whole of empty space—where could it fail to reach? It extends throughout past and future—when could it ever cease? To say that Heaven, Earth, and the myriad beings are one body is precisely to speak of this heart, this benevolence. Therefore, the Confucian sages taught: “If one can fully realize the ultimate state of harmony and balance, one attains the perfect realm in which Heaven, Earth, and the myriad beings all find their proper place and flourish.”

A person whose heart is earnest and sincere can fully comprehend their own nature. Only when one can fully comprehend one’s own nature can one fully comprehend the nature of other human beings; only when one can fully comprehend the nature of human beings can one fully comprehend the nature of the myriad beings. This is not an impractical fantasy. The benevolence that regards all as one body is inherently so. Why, then, could the sages, when governing the realm, not avoid the use of fresh meat as food? It was because they had no alternative.

I once examined the Buddhist scriptures. In the earliest kalpa, human beings lived honestly and simply, without deceit; therefore, Heaven produced fertile land and flourishing grain, sufficient to meet their daily need for food and drink. Later, deceit gradually increased, and the fertile land and grain of former times ceased to arise. Human beings then had to labor arduously to obtain food. Driven by hunger, they began killing: the strong oppressed the weak, the clever overreached the foolish, and people captured birds and beasts for food, just as animals devour one another. At first, this was merely to ward off hunger, but in the end people became increasingly addicted to the taste of flesh. Slaughterhouses and butcher shops filled the land and multiplied with each passing day.

Out of compassion for living creatures, the sages established rites to restrain such conduct. Thus it was said: “In mid-spring, one must not destroy birds’ nests or break their eggs, nor may young fish be caught. Sacrifices conducted according to the rites must present only the prescribed offerings; banquets conducted according to the rites must likewise observe the prescribed quantities. A great officer must not slaughter cattle or sheep without cause, and a scholar must not slaughter pigs or dogs without cause.” Was this not the original intention of the sages? Although they could not completely halt the tendency to take life, they could at least restrain indiscriminate slaughter to some extent. Therefore, this is called “that for which the sages had no alternative.”

Although animals and we differ in outward form, our awareness is fundamentally the same. Their love of life and fear of death are no different from those of human beings! Yet merely so that we may enjoy a delicious meal, we cause them to endure the utmost agony.

Is this reasonable or just? We take the precious lives of other beings to satisfy our own frivolous craving for enjoyment. Is this reasonable or just?

We take their lives in the hope of prolonging our own. We kill their bodies to nourish our own. We kill their parents, spouses, and children to support our own parents, spouses, and children.

Is this reasonable or just? There is no need even to examine ourselves deeply; simply imagine what it would feel like, while still alive, to have our flesh cut with a sharp knife or to be cooked in boiling water. Could we have the heart to devour them amid their terrified cries, their pain, resentment, and anguish?

If anyone believes they could bear to devour them, that person’s heart is no longer a human heart! Mencius said: “When a noble person sees an animal alive, he cannot bear to see it die; having heard its anguished cries, he cannot bear to eat its flesh.” How could this be dismissed as merely the tender sentiment of women and children?

As for carefully examining how to remedy the faults of recent times, there are many practices that cannot be sufficiently admonished against. The customs of the age are callous and corrupt; people delight in extravagance and pursue the desires of the mouth and belly to the utmost. They cast nets and hunt rare creatures in the waters and on the land. In a single meal, they slaughter hundreds of living beings. This wrongdoing is truly grievous!

While mourning their parents, people eat meat and drink wine as though joyfully holding a feast, slaughtering an incalculable number of living beings. This one practice alone, when considered in relation to antiquity, greatly violates the rites of the ancient sages; considered in the present, it transgresses the laws of Heaven and Earth. Outwardly, it creates further enmity and hatred; inwardly, it destroys benevolence and filial devotion. Is this Confucianism, or is it not Confucianism? Is it good, or is it not good? Whenever anyone admonishes them, they devise every possible argument to conceal their faults.

Alas! They do not fear the institutions of the sages, the laws of emperors and kings, evil conduct, inhumanity, or lack of filial devotion; they fear only the empty criticism of worldly people. What kind of judgment is this?

Alas! Ordinary fools already follow customary habits, but could heroes and people of outstanding character possibly imitate them without reflection?

In former times, Huang Shangu composed this verse:

"My flesh and the flesh of beings—

Bodies differ, essence does not;

Fundamentally sharing one true nature,

They differ only in bodily form.

The agony that they endure

Becomes a savory pleasure in my mouth.

Do not say that King Yama shall judge;

Examine yourself—what do you see?"

This verse fully expresses the meaning of prohibiting the taking of life.

As for the teaching of cause, effect, and karmic retribution, it is an inevitable principle from which it is certainly difficult to escape. It is not only explained in detail in the Buddhist scriptures and recorded in histories and biographies; it is also plainly evident in what our own eyes see and ears hear, and is no deception. A noble person does not cease from evil out of fear of punishment, nor perform benevolent deeds in the hope of reward, but simply acts to preserve the integrity of their own heart. May those of clear and lofty understanding carefully reflect upon this!

2. Exhortation to Release Living Beings

It has been said: “All Buddhas and sentient beings share the same essence of mind. The Buddhas transform the craving and attachment of sentient beings into compassion; therefore, their compassion is exceedingly vast. Sentient beings obscure the compassion of the Buddhas and turn it into craving and attachment; therefore, the craving and attachment of sentient beings are exceedingly deep and powerful.”

When craving and attachment are deep and powerful, there is nothing one does not cherish, but what one cherishes most is the preservation of one’s own life. When compassion is vast, there is nothing one does not pity, but the greatest expression of compassion is the act of rescuing the lives of sentient beings.

Therefore, noble people of ancient times delighted in releasing living beings. This was because, above, it accorded with the great compassion of all Buddhas and, below, it fulfilled sentient beings’ profound desire to cherish and preserve their own lives. No wholesome deed can compare with it in breadth and greatness.

Moved by compassion at the sight of killing, one beholds scenes of cruelty and misery laid bare: a hundred devices and a thousand schemes are employed to spread nets and set hooks to capture them; some are tightly confined in cages or pens, while others have their lives hanging upon the edge of a sharp blade. Their souls flee and their spirits scatter; mothers and offspring are torn apart. Their mouths cry out in anguish, yet to whom can they speak? Their tear-filled eyes plead for rescue. They are like prisoners about to be executed, oppressed by the nearness of death; or like people dwelling in peace who are suddenly attacked and plundered.

Such suffering and grief are truly beyond description! Therefore, because of this suffering, all Buddhas prohibit killing and exhort us to release living beings.

We expend our impermanent wealth to redeem their most precious lives. Whether only one or two creatures, or as many as tens of thousands of lives, we help them turn peril into safety and return from the brink of death to life. Beneath the lofty heavens and across the vast seas, they may roam as they please; amid warm sunlight and gentle winds, they may freely soar through the clear sky. Although the gift of a little wealth may be considered insignificant, the kindness of saving life is truly boundless.

Here we need not discuss whether these creatures will become Buddhas in future lives or whether they have been our parents throughout many lifetimes. Because sentience is something we share in common, when considered according to principle, it is very difficult to bear acting cruelly toward them. Nor need we discuss whether retribution will be suffered in this life or debts repaid after death; once one has personally committed killing, it naturally becomes difficult to forget within one’s heart.

Even the sight of grasses and trees shedding their leaves and withering evokes sorrow and compassion, and the sight of dark clouds and mist spreading gloom makes one sad and joyless—how much more so when the lives of sentient beings are concerned! From this one should understand that the true mind pervades the whole of empty space throughout the ten directions, and the person of consummate benevolence is united in one continuous current with the myriad things. Since all share the same red blood, how could there truly be no compassion?

I humbly hope that everyone will constantly practice rescuing and redeeming the lives of creatures, so that the wellspring of benevolence may flow without cease. Guide friends far and wide so that the winds of compassion may surge everywhere, and ultimately return to the perfect, true original mind within oneself. If one can do this, all Buddhas will offer the highest praise!

3. Resolving Doubts Concerning the Precept Against Killing

Question: Things are fundamentally not things, and birth is fundamentally unborn. One need only fully realize the nature of mind, and the myriad things are thereby perfected. Casting oneself into an abyss or cutting off one’s flesh for sentient beings still belongs to the conditioned. Would releasing snails and mussels not merely add needless toil and wasted effort?

Answer: When the ultimate principle is investigated to its very depths, there is indeed neither birth nor death; yet according to ordinary feeling, all creatures cherish life and fear death.

Everything possessing form is the “true nature of emptiness,” and within phenomenal appearances the principle of inherent nature is fully present. If one clings to the unconditioned and disparages the conditioned, then discussions of the unconditioned serve only to further increase one’s stinginess. If one clings to the unborn and disparages the release of living beings, then words about the unborn serve only to support a greedy and cruel mind.

If eating meat does not hinder genuine cultivation, how could releasing living beings contradict the wondrous principle?

In casting oneself into an abyss or cutting off one’s flesh to save sentient beings, all attachment to the body is forgotten; in giving one’s body to a starving tiger or as food for a hawk, compassion becomes ever more expansive. By exercising compassion, the merit of conditioned deeds shines forth; by eliminating attachment to the body, one silently accords with the purport of the unborn.

Yet now people value their own bodies and disdain the lives of other creatures. Clearly, they cherish only their own lives and, out of their desire to live, kill other sentient beings. Can they still resort to sophistry and claim that there is no birth or death? Such conduct is worse even than that of the utterly inhumane!

Question: The sutras say, “Neither arising nor ceasing.” If there is no arising, there is no ceasing; if there is arising, there is ceasing. In that case, what harm is there in killing?

Answer: The sutras say: “The empty character of all dharmas is originally neither arising nor ceasing. Because it does not arise, it is eternally quiescent; because it does not cease, it is eternally illuminating. Eternal quiescence and eternal illumination are called the Land of Eternal Quiescent Light.” This is the wondrous mind possessed by everyone. Why turn words of ultimate truth into a futile argument? That fools should speak such reckless nonsense is truly lamentable!

Question: Because creatures are subject to fixed karma, they cannot easily escape death. Why is it necessary to release them?

Answer: Whatever possesses life shares the same fundamental nature, and all species fear death. If one maintains that creatures cannot escape death and therefore it is only natural to cook them, then since human beings also cannot live very long, may they likewise be exterminated?

Prisoners in jail who are certain to die must still undergo interrogation and punishment, and their executions are carried out only in due order during autumn or winter. Even when critically ill patients lie upon their beds, physicians still seek to preserve their lives from morning until evening. Though these people are certain to die, there remains hope that they may live; how much more, then, should one refrain from callously killing a living animal without the slightest pity!

Question: A benevolent person should broadly provide relief to the people. Why attend only to such minor compassion toward tiny creatures?

Answer: Deeds may be great or small, but the mind is neither great nor small. Whether seizing an elephant or catching a rabbit, a lion exerts its full strength; a single rainfall moistens grasses, trees, and dense forests alike, without distinction. Since the mind is not great, how could one disdain a small good deed and refuse to perform it? Since the mind is not small, why see a small good deed and regard it as not great?

According to what you say, are such acts as digging ponds in which to release fish and removing nets to rescue birds and beasts merely trifling deeds, while only great acts of goodness are worthy of esteem?

Question: Releasing living beings is fundamentally an act of compassion. Yet today people do not release chickens, pigs, geese, or ducks, but release only birds, fish, and eels. Why is there such inequality?

Answer: Among the domestic animals in the human realm, there are two kinds. The first undergo fixed retribution and are certain to be killed, such as chickens and pigs. The second undergo no fixed retribution of being killed, such as birds and fish.

Animals undergoing fixed retribution and certain to be killed cannot be saved; those whose retribution of being killed is not fixed can be saved. This is because sentient beings have created differing karma, not because compassion is unequal.

Question: When inviting guests to a banquet, if one does not kill living beings, it greatly violates ordinary human sentiment and will certainly invite ridicule. What should one do?

Answer: Confucius sought counsel even from those beneath him; he did not regard going against common opinion as something worthy of ridicule. Mencius possessed great eloquence; although others criticized him, he did not regard it as a matter of shame.

When we uphold what is right, why should we fear that others will consider it wrong? Moreover, the right wisdom of all Buddhas thoroughly perceives the vast benefits and harms extending through countless ages. The deluded sentiments of worldly people see only the petty gains and losses of a single moment. If one follows the deluded sentiments of sentient beings, one may escape temporary ridicule but must endure immense suffering for myriad kalpas. If one follows the right wisdom of all Buddhas, one may presently be subjected to ridicule, but will certainly attain the joy of true permanence for myriad kalpas.

The Buddha’s teachings must not be violated; why should the words of ordinary people trouble us? This is the choice that the wise should make!

Question: Fish, shrimp, eels, and tiny prawns have very small lives. In a single day, these creatures are killed in incalculable numbers. If killing them is sinful, does that mean everyone will fall into the three evil realms?

Answer: There are those who kill them yet have not fallen into the three evil realms, because their merit remains strong and thus they are spared for the time being. Once the fruits of their good karma are exhausted, they will certainly sink into the cycle of suffering.

Moreover, although animals may be small, they all possess Buddha-nature. To kill even a tiny living being is to kill a child of the Buddha.

Most people make light of small lives and consequently kill great numbers of living beings. Even several thousand lives may not suffice to provide for the needs of a single meal. They cause these beings to suffer and die merely to enhance the flavor of one meal, thereby engendering resentment lasting ten thousand kalpas. How could one bear to eat such food!

Question: Is observing a vegetarian fast and refraining from meat superior to releasing living beings?

Answer: The reason the Buddha taught people to observe a vegetarian fast was that he wished everyone to expand their compassion. Giving happiness is called loving-kindness; relieving suffering is called compassion. If one now observes a vegetarian fast but does not release living beings, how can this be called giving happiness, and how can it be called relieving suffering? Therefore, even though one does not eat meat, this may still be called a grave violation of the vegetarian precept.

Furthermore, the Buddha taught the three groups of pure precepts:

1. The precepts of restraining oneself through moral discipline.

2. The precepts of embracing wholesome Dharma.

3. The precepts of benefiting sentient beings.

– Refraining from eating meat is the precept of restraining oneself through moral discipline.

– Releasing living beings is the precept of embracing wholesome Dharma.

– Teaching others to abstain from killing and to release living beings is the precept of benefiting sentient beings.

Nowadays, people not only refrain from releasing living beings but also teach others that there is no need to do so. This may likewise be called a grave violation of the precepts.

Alas! Our Buddha even cut flesh from his own body to feed a hawk in order to save a dove’s life. Yet we, disciples of the Buddha, cannot relinquish illusory wealth to ransom the lives of living beings. When, then, shall we ever attain Buddhahood?

Question: Followers of non-Buddhist paths say, “The soul of an animal differs from the soul of a human being. After a human being dies, the soul is not extinguished, whereas after an animal dies, its soul perishes.” Therefore, they freely kill animals and maintain that this brings no karmic retribution. What should be said of this?

Answer: Since their blood is equally red, their fundamental nature is originally the same. Since the fundamental nature is originally nondual, how could animals differ from human beings? They likewise possess the desires for food and sex, and the instinctive love of life and fear of death. In these respects they are clearly the same as human beings. Their bodies differ only because of the karmic forces they have incurred. How could one claim that their souls differ merely because their bodies differ from those of human beings?

Some say, “Human beings can understand principles, whereas birds and beasts cannot. Therefore, their souls differ from those of human beings.” Yet Giác Đoan() could speak, Nguyên Quy manifested auspicious signs, divine dragons protected the true Dharma, and flocks of cranes listened to sutras. They were all animals, yet possessed intelligence and spiritual powers surpassing those of human beings. On what basis, then, can it be asserted that “their souls are inferior to those of human beings and perish immediately after death”?

The reason they cannot be entirely like human beings is that they are obstructed by evil karma. Moreover, the Buddha prohibited killing not because he was chiefly concerned with debating whether their souls perish, but because he considered the agonizing suffering they endure and therefore could not bear to have them killed.

Even when plants and grasses are growing green and luxuriant, a noble person cannot bear to cut or break them. How much less could one do so to beings who share the same red blood! Therefore, the statements above are merely sophistries and false doctrines of non-Buddhist paths intended to permit people freely to satisfy their appetites.

Question: In this region, the land yields abundant vegetables, so people can avoid killing living beings. But if one is born in a coastal or frontier region where oxen, goats, fish, shrimp, and the like are eaten every day, how can killing be prohibited?

Answer: Those now born in lowly frontier regions are undergoing karmic retribution because, in previous lives, they committed evil deeds, did not believe in the Three Jewels, and created much karma of killing. They will certainly enter the three evil realms. Only if they can recognize their errors, reform themselves and cultivate the path, recite the Buddha’s name, and repent may they hope to escape future calamity.

If circumstances are exceedingly difficult to change, they need only bow to the Buddha and recite the Buddha’s name early each morning, or recite sutras and mantras and dedicate the merit. Through the Buddha’s power, the lives killed by such a person may then swiftly attain a higher rebirth.

If that person is utterly sincere and earnest and strives to practice tirelessly, their karmic retribution may be dissolved, and in the next life they may be born in a wholesome realm.

Question: A sutra says, “To eat the flesh of sentient beings is precisely to eat the flesh of one’s own relatives.” Most people are frightened by this, yet they do not believe it and say, “There are so many sentient beings. Could all the animals we eat truly be our relatives?”

Answer: Since beginningless antiquity, sentient beings have revolved ceaselessly through the six realms, casting off one body and assuming another until their discarded bodies could fill the entire earth. What sentient being, then, has not been our relative? Since they have all been our relatives, the animals whose flesh we now eat are all members of our own family. What room remains for doubt!

Question: Human beings are noble, while animals are lowly. Why, then, did the Buddha declare the killing of even one animal to be a great evil?

Answer: What sentient beings treasure most is life, and the most tragic thing in the world is killing. Therefore, killing is the greatest evil.

Moreover, the instant a person gives rise to a thought of killing, it is deposited in the field of consciousness and remains there as a seed throughout many lifetimes of samsara. When a sentient being is killed, the instant it gives rise to a thought of anger, that thought is likewise deposited in the field of consciousness and remains there as a seed of resentment throughout many lifetimes. Life after life, whenever causes and conditions bring them together, they will certainly take vengeance and retaliate against one another.

The Shurangama Sutra says: “Those who kill sentient beings or eat their flesh will, for kalpas as numerous as dust motes, alternately eat and kill one another. It is like a wheel turning, those above and below continually exchanging places without ever coming to rest.”

Alas! One should earnestly admonish oneself and abstain!

Question: Did Heaven create birds and beasts to nourish human beings?

Answer: An ancient said, “Would Heaven create flesh for tigers and wolves, and human beings for bees and mosquitoes?”

Human beings and animals, in accordance with the relative strength of their karmic forces, devour and kill one another. This is simply a matter of reaping what one has personally sown; Heaven did not make it so.

Question: Is it not permissible to kill animals in order to free them from the suffering of the animal realm and enable them to attain rebirth as human beings?

Answer: Those are the words of demons. If animals are killed before their painful karmic retribution has been exhausted, they will again become animals and must once more endure the suffering of being killed. If their karmic retribution has been exhausted, they will die naturally without waiting to be killed, as when pigs or goats fall ill and die on their own.

Long ago, a man killed many living beings for a wedding. When he fell ill and died, he entered the netherworld, where he saw pigs and goats crying out their grievance: “We committed evil deeds and fell into the animal realm. Before our karmic retribution had been exhausted, we were unjustly killed, and now we must become animals once again. It is you who have caused us to endure the agony of the sharp blade one more time.” The man was utterly terrified and vowed to print and distribute five thousand copies of the Golden Light Sutra to help them attain a higher rebirth. In a moment, all the pigs, goats, and other animals rose into the air.

An official of the netherworld raised his hand and said, “Through the power of the sutra, all the wronged creatures have now attained a higher rebirth.”

The man returned to life and, in fulfillment of his vow, printed and distributed the sutra among the people.

(From an account of a miraculous response associated with the Golden Light Sutra).

Question: The species of sentient beings are exceedingly numerous. Now one can release only a few fish and eels and a few hundred clams and snails. How can this be called compassion?

Answer: All creatures that crawl, fly, move, or stir possess Buddha-nature. Viewed with ordinary eyes, they are merely very small animals; viewed with the Buddha-eye, they are all equally children of the Buddha.

If one saves the life of even one animal, one thereby saves a child of the Buddha, and all Buddhas throughout the ten directions rejoice accordingly. Moreover, a sentient being that is about to die but is rescued and restored to life will certainly be filled with joy. This joy is then deposited in the field of consciousness, forever becoming a joyful condition throughout countless lifetimes. When we give rise to a compassionate thought and undertake to rescue and protect it, that thought is likewise planted in the field of consciousness, forever becoming a seed of compassion throughout countless kalpas.

Thus, even saving the life of a single animal fully produces these two kinds of immensely great merit, how much more so saving many lives!

Question: If no one killed living beings, animals would fill the entire world. Wolves, leopards, and tigers are extremely fierce and savage; if humans did not kill them, they would devour people. Why, then, teach everyone not to kill?

Answer: The Buddha said: “If a person possesses the full merit of loving-kindness, no weapons, flood, or fire can harm them, and no vicious beast or venomous creature can injure them.” This is because only the most profound loving-kindness in the world can transform the most extreme violence in the world.

Long ago, during the reign of Emperor Guangwu of the Han dynasty, there were many tigers in Hongnong. The governor ordered the people to dig pits and set traps and to use bows and crossbows against them, yet the calamities caused by fierce tigers only increased. When Liu Kun became governor, he said: “This calamity of tigers has been brought about by tyrannical government.” He ordered the pits filled in and the bows and crossbows broken, and devoted himself solely to carrying out benevolent policies for the people. The tigers then departed together and crossed the river.

Although Liu Kun was not yet one who understood the Way, a single thought of benevolence enabled him to transform fierce tigers. How much more so one who studies the Buddha’s path of compassion!

Humans are the leaders of living creatures. If cruel and violent people all become compassionate, then even poisonous and ferocious creatures will be transformed into qilins and phoenixes. This is the natural principle of sympathetic response.

Be concerned only that people lack compassion; do not be concerned that creatures will fail to become qilins and phoenixes.

Question: It is said that one gains merit by offering blood and flesh in sacrifice to spirits. If one does not kill living beings, what can one offer in sacrifice?

Answer: The Buddha said: “By creating wholesome causes, one gains merit; by creating causes of killing, one incurs guilt.” Fools do not concern themselves with doing good; they concern themselves only with killing beings as sacrifices, hoping to obtain blessings from spirits. In this way, not only do they fail to gain merit, but they incur guilt instead. Furthermore, those making offerings can prepare vegetarian food, recite sutras, and dedicate the merit, so that both the spirits and themselves receive blessings. Why must living beings be killed before it can be called an offering?

Question: Intentionally releasing living beings means being attached to appearances. Neither killing nor releasing living beings, but remaining without intention toward everything, is what accords with the Way, is it not?

Answer: These are the words of a false teacher. In Buddhism, this is called indeterminate emptiness.

The Buddha taught everyone to arouse the great power of vows to rescue sentient beings from suffering. Without the great power of vows, no undertaking that benefits sentient beings can be accomplished.

Long ago, for seven generations the ancestors of Bao Wen Wang Minzhong refrained from killing and delighted in releasing living beings. In Minzhong’s generation, however, a person holding wrong views taught him:

– Neither killing nor releasing living beings, but letting everything follow its course without intention, is the most sublime way. There is no need to be attached to appearances.

Minzhong became doubtful and questioned Chan Master Fahua. The Master immediately rebuked him:

– You are gravely mistaken! How could you fall into such attachment to emptiness? The pieces of wood before you are all without intention. Could taking hold of those pieces of wood rescue sentient beings from suffering? Quickly repent of the offense of holding such wrong views.

Alarmed, Minzhong renewed his resolve to release a million animal lives. During a year of famine, he exchanged grain for several dozen dou of snails and clams, recited sutras and mantras over them, and then released them into the middle of the river. That night, he dreamed that Bodhisattva Manjusri appeared in a golden form and consoled him, saying: “I remember that in a former life I, too, was once born among snails and clams. You need only remain steadfast in rescuing sentient beings from suffering.”

Minzhong’s faith grew even stronger. Finding this wondrous, he composed an essay exhorting the world.

Question: One should first be benevolent toward the people and only afterward show loving concern for animals. Why, then, instead of first caring lovingly for human beings, do we first care lovingly for animals?

Answer: It is easy to be benevolent toward people, but difficult to show loving concern for animals.

There are those who can love human beings but do not love animals, yet there has never been anyone who loves animals but does not love human beings.

Therefore, a bodhisattva in the Avatamsaka Sutra said: “I cannot bear to cause suffering even to a single ant, much less to a human being!”

King Cheng Tang opened his nets to save birds and beasts. His compassion extended widely to all the people, and thus his benevolent virtue encompassed the entire realm.

Long ago, the King of Zhongshan caught a deer while hunting. His charioteer, named Baxi, felt compassion for the deer and released it. The King of Zhongshan became angry and dismissed Baxi. Later, however, he came to understand: “Baxi could not even bear to harm a deer; how could he possibly have the heart to harm my child?”

Thereafter, he promoted Baxi to the position of Grand Tutor. When he ascended the throne, he appointed Baxi as his minister and vigorously implemented benevolent policies, bringing peace and prosperity to the whole country.

Thus, who can say that one who loves animals cannot love human beings!

Question: Is not the merit of giving alms to the poor and repairing bridges and roads greater than that of releasing a few hundred birds, fish, eels, and turtles?

Answer: Causes and effects correspond according to their kind. Thus, giving produces the karmic result of wealth, while refraining from killing produces the karmic result of longevity. Suppose one performs ten thousand meritorious deeds but does not abandon killing. Although one may be wealthy and honored in the next life, one will surely be short-lived, die prematurely, and suffer from many illnesses; one will possess blessings but be unable to enjoy them.

Question: The Buddha said: “Those who delight in killing will certainly suffer the karmic result of a short life.” Why, then, do some people in the present life delight in killing yet live long lives?

Answer: The Buddha taught that the recompense of good and evil is of two kinds:

1. Fruitional recompense: One creates wholesome or unwholesome karma in this life and experiences its painful or joyful fruit in the next life.

2. Flowering recompense: One creates wholesome or unwholesome karma in this life and immediately experiences its painful or joyful recompense in this very life.

At present, some people delight in killing yet live long lives because the abundant merit from their previous lives has not yet been exhausted. Thus, they merely avoid the flowering recompense temporarily.

But how could they escape the karmic result awaiting them in the three evil destinies!

Question: Can one attain Buddhahood by diligently practicing the release of living beings?

Answer: The Chapter on Samantabhadra’s Practices and Vows says: “If one brings joy to sentient beings, one thereby brings joy to all Tathagatas. Why is this so? Because all Tathagatas take the mind of great compassion as their essence. For the sake of sentient beings, they arouse great compassion; because of great compassion, they awaken the resolve for bodhi; and through the resolve for bodhi, they accomplish the path of perfect enlightenment.”

What sentient beings cherish most is their own life; what all Buddhas cherish most is sentient beings. By saving the lives of sentient beings, one can fulfill the mind of all Buddhas.

When the Tathagata was cultivating the causal path as the Elder Jalavahana, he saved ten thousand fish. He also taught them the Dharma and instructed them in mindfulness of the Buddha, and all the fish were reborn in the heavenly realm. The Elder ultimately attained the fruit of Buddhahood. One should therefore understand that the causes and conditions created by releasing living beings will certainly lead to Buddhahood. Other minor wholesome deeds cannot compare with it.

Question: People in the world cultivate merit by observing a vegetarian fast, yet as soon as it is over, they kill living beings and break the fast. Does this diminish their merit?

Answer: In general, the merit of observing a vegetarian fast lies in the mind of loving-kindness and compassion. If one deliberately kills living beings to break the fast, one destroys the merit of loving-kindness and compassion and incurs grave karmic retribution.

Hanshan Zi composed this verse:

“Yesterday a vegetarian feast was held;

Today animals are slaughtered.

Once, one creates a heaven;

A hundred times, one creates hell.”

This means that the wholesome mind with which one observes the vegetarian fast has not yet reached even one part, while the evil karma of killing has already reached a hundred parts. This is what the Buddhist scriptures mean when they say: “Those with abundant emotion and little contemplation enter the animal realm.” Such people will in turn suffer the retribution of being killed.

Question: The Buddha said: “Those who kill living beings and eat flesh will certainly fall into the animal realm.” How can this be known?

Answer: The Avatamsaka Sutra says: “Everything is created by the mind alone.” Therefore, one should know that every thought of compassion, wisdom, practice, and vows creates the body of a bodhisattva; every thought of observing the precepts and cultivating goodness creates a body among gods or humans; and every thought of killing living beings and eating flesh creates a body in the realms of hell-beings, hungry ghosts, or animals.

Yueling said: “The golden oriole descends into the water and transforms into an oyster because it always delights in eating oysters. Thus, its bodily form changes according to its mind, and upon suddenly falling into the water, it transforms into an oyster.” This matter is also recorded in Confucian books.

The Hanlin scholar Hong Mai said: “He personally saw a pig butcher, as death approached, lying on the ground and squealing like a pig.”

The ancients said: “Those overwhelmed by lust become women; those of extreme ferocity become tigers.”

Master Cheng said: “I personally saw a villager transform into a tiger and lead other tigers into his house to devour the pigs.”

There have been very many such occurrences from ancient times to the present. Therefore, one should believe the Buddha’s words, for it is known that there is clear evidence.

Humans, birds, and beasts originally share the same Buddha-nature. What distinguishes humans from birds and beasts lies only in physical form and mental disposition. If a person has no mind of loving-kindness and compassion, but only delights in killing living beings and eating flesh, then he truly bears a human form while possessing the heart of a wolf or savage beast. Why wait until a future life to see it?

Question: If we eat meat sold in the market, we have not personally killed the animal. What wrongdoing is there in that?

Answer: Although we have not personally killed the living being, eating its flesh is equivalent to participating in the killing. An eminent virtuous master of old said: “People throughout the world all create the karma of killing, but if I observe a vegetarian fast for one day, then for that day I have no share in that karma.” If no one bought meat, butchers would not kill living beings. The butcher is the cause of killing, while the buyer is the condition that brings the killing about. Only when causes and conditions are complete is the karma of killing formed.

The Lankavatara Sutra says: “For profit, living beings are killed; because of money, traps are set for animals. Both parties create evil karma, and after death they fall into hell, crying out in anguish.”

The Vinaya does not even permit bhikkhus to wear animal skins, brocade, or silk, much less to eat flesh.

Yet causes and conditions vary in gravity, and therefore the resulting retribution also varies in gravity. It is like killing and robbery in the world: although distinctions are made between the ringleader and the accomplices, all are nevertheless taken to prison.

The Surangama Sutra says: “When both body and mind are pure, I say that such a person proceeds directly toward liberation.”

Question: The scriptures say: “If one observes a vegetarian fast for a single day, one will have an abundance of provisions for six hundred thousand years and will also receive five kinds of blessings: 1. Few illnesses; 2. Physical peace and security; 3. Little sexual desire; 4. Little sleep; and 5. Rebirth in the heavenly realm, with clear knowledge of past lives.” Why does observing a vegetarian fast for just one day produce so much merit?

Answer: The Buddha said: “The merit of a mind of loving-kindness and compassion is exceedingly great. When one observes a vegetarian fast for one day, one abides in loving-kindness and compassion throughout that entire day. Therefore, one receives abundant blessed rewards—how much more so if one maintains lifelong vegetarianism!”

The Avatamsaka Sutra says: “Observe how the seeds planted by all living beings are exceedingly small, yet the fruits they harvest are exceedingly great. It is like sowing a single seed in spring and harvesting ten thousand seeds in autumn.”

Cause and effect, goodness and evil, are likewise. One should know that giving rise to a single thought of loving-kindness and compassion is the root of the merit and virtue leading to true and everlasting peace and happiness throughout ten thousand kalpas—how much more so when each thought continues after the next!

Question: Releasing living beings and redeeming their lives can be done only by those who possess money. What can those without money do?

Answer: The wealthy and honored have influence over the people and their customs. As soon as they act, everyone is pleased to listen and follow. If they practice releasing living beings and widely disseminate the spirit of loving-kindness and compassion, they can truly transform social customs.

Those without money find it difficult to redeem lives, so they should constantly make vows and encourage others to practice this widely.

Or there may be cases in which no money is needed to redeem living beings; one should simply seek a way to preserve their lives. Or, upon seeing others release living beings, one may praise them and rejoice in their deed. The benefit of this is also exceedingly great!

4. Killing Brings Evil Retribution; Releasing Living Beings Brings Good Retribution

– During the Song dynasty, Yang Jizhi, the Prefect of Wuxing, often delighted in killing living beings whenever he entertained guests. Earlier, while serving as a Court Gentleman in western Jin Province, he kept two geese. One night, he dreamed that one of the geese held a scripture in its beak. He took it and read it, and saw that it spoke entirely of offenses, blessings, and karmic retribution. The next morning, that very scripture was indeed on his table. From then on, he completely ceased killing living beings.

– During the Tang dynasty, He Zejia, a native of Rongzhou, once held authority over Sihui in Guangzhou. He ordered his servants to raise thousands of chickens and ducks so that some could be slaughtered for meat each day. He Ze had only one child, whom he dearly loved. One day, while the servants were cooking two chickens and waiting for the water to boil, they suddenly saw ghosts seize He Ze’s child and drag him into the cauldron of boiling water. The child struggled to escape, but in the end he was boiled together with the two chickens.

– During the Tang dynasty, three brothers of the Wang Xun family became gravely ill at the same time. In front of their house was a magpie’s nest, and the birds flew about and clamored noisily from morning until evening. The three brothers greatly detested them. After recovering from their illnesses, they spread a net to catch the birds, cut out their tongues, and then released them. Later, all three developed diseases of the mouth that no medicine could cure. Gradually they fell into poverty, until they were forced to beg for food.

– Huiji delighted in killing living beings and was also skilled in archery. His father served as Prefect governing the Bazhou region. Huiji spread nets around the government offices and went up into a tower to keep watch. Suddenly, he saw a flock of crows strike the nets. Delighted, Huiji ran downstairs, but a thorn pierced and injured him. At that moment, he suddenly heard a voice in the air say: “You were originally destined for a long life, but because you have killed living beings, your lifespan has now been shortened.” Sure enough, a little over a month later, Huiji died.

– In the state of Pei, there was a scholar who had three sons. Though they were nearly twenty years old, all were mute. One day, a passerby came before his gate and said: “Try examining yourself to discover why this is so.” The master of the house remained silent for a long while, then said: “Formerly, while away from home, I saw a bird’s nest containing a mother bird and her two chicks. I took sharp blades of grass and stabbed them to death. Thinking back on it today, I deeply regret it.” Upon hearing this, the passerby said: “That is indeed the cause!”

– During the Later Han dynasty, when Yang Bao was seven years old, he went to Mount Hua to play. Suddenly, he saw a sparrow suffering terribly as a swarm of ants surrounded and bit it. Taking pity on it, Yang Bao placed it in a small chest and gathered daylily blossoms for it to eat. After ten days, the bird gradually recovered, and Yang Bao released it. Then one day, Yang Bao dreamed that a man dressed in yellow presented him with two jade rings and said, “I shall help you attain the rank of one of the Three Excellencies and live to the age of ninety-three.” Later, everything indeed came to pass exactly as foretold.

– During the Liang dynasty, there was an elderly woman who earned her living by weaving cloth and lived alone. One day, a tiger suddenly entered her house and stretched out a paw toward her. The old woman was utterly terrified and did not know what to do. She then saw that the tiger appeared to be pleading for help because its paw had been wounded by a thorn. She took hold of its paw and used an awl to remove the thorn. When she had finished, the tiger departed. More than a month later, it returned carrying a pouch in its mouth, within which were several silver ingots offered in gratitude.

– During the Taihe era, a man named Guanglu Chu intended to slaughter an ox. When the butcher approached with a knife, the ox immediately knelt and bowed, refusing to rise. Nevertheless, the butcher ultimately killed it. Shortly afterward, the butcher suddenly went mad and fled. From then on, he ate nothing but grass each day and bellowed like an ox. He often lay in muddy pools and butted everything with his head. After some time, he died.

– During the Tang dynasty, in the Xianqing era, the daughter-in-law of a household that kept an eating establishment gave birth to a child. On the day marking the child’s first full month, relatives came to offer congratulations. The daughter-in-law wished to kill a goat and prepare a feast for the guests. The goat repeatedly knelt and bowed before her, but she paid no heed and had it slaughtered. She then placed its flesh in a pot and held her child while watching over it. Suddenly, the pot burst; boiling water splashed everywhere, and burning ashes flew onto mother and child. In the end, both died.

– In the first year of the Chunxi era, at Jingshan in Taizhou, there was a butcher named Zhao Er who slaughtered pigs for a living. One day, he suddenly dreamed that a thousand pigs spoke with human voices. They said, “We suffered unbearable agony when we were killed. Now your evil karma has reached its fullness. Quickly repay us with your life!” The following morning, as Zhao Er was about to slaughter a pig, he abruptly went mad, screamed, and died.

– During the Shu dynasty, Min Gui Shao was fond of eating dog meat and had always killed many dogs. One day, he acquired a black dog. Because he had become drunk, he did not return home until evening. The dog barked loudly, and Shao angrily struck at it with an axe. At that moment, a child ran out of the house and was struck on the head by the axe, dying instantly.

– During the Tang dynasty, the palace attendant Xu Kefan enjoyed eating donkey meat. He would first tie a donkey to a post and kindle fires around it. When it had become exhausted and thirsty, he would give it water blended with the five flavors to drink, and only then would he slaughter it. Later, he was fortunate enough to be granted the governorship of Sichuan by Emperor Xizong. At that very time, he fell ill. Whenever he slept, he saw donkeys devouring his flesh. He also delighted in lighting fires beneath his bed and pouring hot oil and vinegar over his own body. Before long, he died.

– Qi Juzhao was the keeper of a temple in Jianjiang. When he fell ill, someone told him that drinking deer blood would cure him. Zhao therefore bought three or four deer, tied them to a tree, and pierced their flesh with an iron tube to extract their blood. Each day, the deer endured immeasurable pain. Later, sores and boils erupted all over his body, and hot water had to be poured into them through bamboo tubes. After two months, he died.

– In Dongyu in the Linchuan region, a man entered the mountains, captured a young ape, and brought it home. The mother ape followed it to the house. The man tied the young ape to a tree so that its mother could see it. Cupping both cheeks in her hands, the mother ape faced the man and wept sorrowfully, pleading with him. Yet in the end, not only did the man refuse to release the young ape, but he also killed it. The mother ape wailed piteously and died. When the man cut open her abdomen, he found that her intestines had broken into many sections. Before long, everyone in his household died of an epidemic.

– While traveling through the state of Qi, the Marquis of Sui saw a snake trapped in a rocky crevice, its head bleeding. He used a stick to draw it out and then released it into the water. Later, when he passed through the snake’s dwelling place, the snake approached him with a jewel in its mouth. The Marquis of Sui did not dare accept it. That night, he dreamed that he stepped upon a snake. Startled awake, he then found two jewels.

– During the Liang dynasty, Liu Zhixiang served as an official in Nanjun. He often dreamed that two men surnamed Li came to beg him to save their lives, but Zhixiang did not understand what they meant. The following morning, he saw that two carp remained and had not yet been killed. Thinking this was the response foretold in his dream, Zhixiang immediately released them. That night, he dreamed that the two men came to thank him and said, “We shall help extend your lifespan by another twelve years!”

– During the Xiantong era of the Tang dynasty, a man in the countryside of Yuezhou saw that the ponds and lakes had dried up. He caught large numbers of fish, turtles, and other creatures, slaughtered them, and transported them to Jiangling for sale, earning a great deal of money. He then bought fabrics, gold, and silver and returned home. Afterward, boils suddenly erupted all over his body, causing unbearable pain. He had to leap into the water, and his form gradually came to resemble that of a turtle. After a year, his flesh and skin putrefied, and he died.

– In the eighth year of the Tianbao era (749) of the Tang dynasty, a man in Dangtu made his living by catching eels and fish. In the autumn of that year, he caught three eels. His son cut off their heads and skinned them, intending to make soup. When he looked back, all the eels had turned into snakes and crawled away. The son suddenly fell ill and died the following day. All seven members of the household then died one after another.

– The people of Xiuzhou were fond of eating dried loaches. In that region, a man named Chen Wu sold particularly delicious dried loaches, and everyone competed to buy them. Later, he fell ill and could only toss and turn upon his bed. He suffered for ten days, and his entire body became covered with ulcerating sores. His wife said, “The way you ordinarily prepared dried loaches was extremely cruel. Your present illness resembles the way those loaches died.”

– During the Tang dynasty, a man named Ji Zhan constantly sought delicious foods each day. Whenever he wished to eat soft-shelled turtle, he would bind its legs and leave it beneath the midday sun. When the turtle became thirsty, he would give it wine to drink and then cook it. One day, just as he pulled upon a turtle’s head, he suddenly lost his strength and collapsed to the ground, crying, “The soft-shelled turtles demand that I quickly repay them with my life!” He then died. Moments later, the cook in his household also died.

– The mother of the physician Sha Zhujiao was extremely fond of eating crabs and therefore took countless lives. In the seventeenth year of the Shaoxing era (1147) during the Northern Song dynasty, she died. A ten-year-old grandchild suddenly saw an elderly woman whose entire body was bleeding break through the gate and enter. She said, “Because I ate too many crabs in the past, I have received the retribution of being beaten and driven into the Mountain of Crabs. You should print and distribute the volume Shengshen Zhang on my behalf and then burn it.” As soon as she finished speaking, she vanished.

– During the Jianye era of the Song dynasty, there was a woman beggar who developed a lump of flesh on her back, as large as a bowl, within which was something resembling a silkworm nest. Whenever she walked, the lump made a sound, causing her extreme pain. One day, while begging for food in the marketplace, she said of her own accord: “Throughout my life, what I loved most was raising silkworms, so I raised them together with my sisters-in-law, dividing the work among us. But I secretly took a sack of cocoons and burned them. Shortly afterward, a sore appeared on my back and gradually became the lump of flesh it is today.” Several years later, the lump burst open, and she died.

– During the Tang dynasty, Lu Xiaozheng of Yongzhou served as an assistant official in Shizhou. He was hot-tempered and frequently killed living beings. Previously, there was a beehive in the government compound, and the bees flew about and gathered in a tree to the south. Xiaozheng ordered someone to move them elsewhere, but the swarm still refused to leave. Xiaozheng then had boiling water poured over them, killing them. The following year, a bee suddenly stung Xiaozheng on the tongue and injected its venom. His tongue became red and swollen, completely obstructing his mouth, and he died.

– Vinaya Master Xiuzhun of Daci Monastery in Shu Commandery was extremely hot-tempered. Bamboo grew before the monastery courtyard, and many ants often crawled along the railings. In anger, the Master burned all the bamboo and cast the ants into the blazing fire. Later, tumors and sores suddenly erupted on his face and throughout his body. He sought medical treatment, but the physician said: “These tumors and sores cannot be cured.” In the end, the Master died.

– Dharma Master Xiurong resided at Jinhua Monastery in Shu Commandery. The monastery had a large supply of pine and cypress firewood, in which innumerable caterpillars often bred. The Master became angry and ordered someone to sweep them up and stack the firewood beneath the sun. After more than a month, all the caterpillars had died. One day, myriads of caterpillars suddenly came, bit the Master, and then departed.

– Emperor Wenzong of the Tang dynasty enjoyed eating clams. One day, there was a clam that could not be pried open. When the emperor himself opened it to eat, he saw within it an image of Avalokitesvara. Stricken with awe, the emperor asked Chan Master Weizheng about the matter. The Chan Master replied: “This was precisely to awaken Your Majesty’s faith!” A sutra states: “For those who should be liberated by the body of a Buddha or bodhisattva, a bodhisattva will immediately manifest such a body and expound the Dharma for them.” The emperor said: “I have now seen the body of a bodhisattva, but I have not yet heard the Dharma expounded.” Chan Master Weizheng asked: “Does Your Majesty believe?” The emperor replied: “How could I dare not believe?” The Master said: “Then the Dharma has already been expounded for Your Majesty!” The emperor was filled with joy and thereafter ceased eating clams. He subsequently issued an imperial edict commanding that images of Avalokitesvara be carved and venerated throughout the realm.