Sakyamuni Buddha taught us that there are five main bad deeds that we must avoid committing, and they are killing, stealing sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxication (alcohol, drugs, etc.). If we refrain from doing them, we observe the Five Precepts, that is, no killing, no stealing , no sexual misconduct , no lying and no intoxication. Sakyamuni Buddha elaborated these on different occasions and his talks were recorded in various Buddhist sutras. In this programme, we’ll look at what he said about killing recorded in The Infinite Life Sutra 無量壽經. The few paragraphs below is my translation of a part taken from Chapter 35 of the Infinite Life Sutra.   

Listen to my teacher’s original lecture in Chinese: The Root Cause of War.

Listen to the podcast in English: The Root Cause of War.

‘Beings in this world desire to do all sorts of bad things. The strong conquer the weak, and they kill one another. In cycles they harm, kill and eat one another without being aware of doing what is good. Subsequently, they experience self-inflicted misfortunes and punishments. That is why there are those who are poor, those who are beggars, those who are orphans, those who are looked after by no one in old age, those who are deaf, those who are blind, those who are mute, those who are foolish, those who are cruel, those who are physically and/or mentally weak, and those who suffer from mental disorder. All of these are the consequences of not believing in morality and being unwilling to do what is good in previous lives.’ 

‘There are also those who have high social status, those who are wealthy, those who are virtuous and intelligent, those who are over forty years old, and virtuous and wealthy, those who are wise and courageous, and those who are talented and successful in life. All of these are the results of loving and respecting their parents and teachers, bringing happiness to others, removing other people’s pain, performing what is good and accumulating efforts in previous lives.’

‘All of these are happening now in this world. For those who do what is bad, after they die in this life, they will be reincarnated in the three evil realms, that is, animal realm, ghost realm and hells. So the realms in which they reborn change, and the bodies in which their souls reside also change. Hence, there are things such as hells, animals and insects. And these things are like prisons in which beings in this world have to suffer extreme torture and punishments. As for to which realms their souls or alaya go, it is directed by their thoughts, speech and actions performed in their previous lives and this life. And the length of their life will be either short or long.’

‘The debtor and the debtee are reborn into the same realm at the same time. And the cycle of paying debt and being paid go on and on. They cannot escape from the cycle unless they have finished experiencing all the misfortunes and punishments inflicted by themselves.’

‘So, they suffer for an incredibly long time and can hardly escape from it. And the pain they suffer is unspeakable. Between heaven and earth, all of these happen without any external controlling force. They are the consequences of one’s own doing. Beings in this world might not immediately experience the consequences of their thoughts, speech and actions, but when the right conditions are in place, the consequences, be they good or bad, will arise.’

Now, the text above is the translation of a part of Chapter 35 of The Infinite Life Sutra and it is Sakyamuni Buddha elaborating on the karmic law of cause and effect.

All beings in this world are most scared of death, be they human beings, animals, insects and so on. The greatest harm done to others is killing them. Now, what do you cherish most? Your life or something else? Of course, many of us can be selfless when we see someone in danger. But general speaking, what a person cherishes most is their life. So if someone wants to take a person’ life, most likely, the person would give up everything else they have in order to keep their life. That is why killing is the most severe evil deed. It is not just Buddhas teach people not to kill. The founders of other faiths or religions also teach their followers to refrain from killing other human beings. In fact, it is not just human beings who are scared of death. If we extend it to a much wider scope, all animals and insects are scared of death. Sakyamuni Buddha thoroughly saw the truth behind killing. He taught us that we must not kill, not only human beings, but also animals and insects. And all Buddhist practitioners cherish the lives of fellow human beings and other beings.    

So, amongst the five evil deeds, the very first one that we must not do is killing. But in this world, human beings kill one another. Animals kill one another. Birds kill worms and human beings kill birds. Those that kill are strong and those that are killed are weak. But it certainly does not mean that it’s right for the strong to kill the weak. What goes around comes around. In cycles they kill one another. This is because those who kill will eventually bear the consequences of their actions. None of us can escape from the karmic law of cause and effect.   

In the world of today, we often see and hear about all kinds of killings. Buddhist sutras found in this world are records of what Sakyamuni Buddha and Buddhist masters taught, and the sutras talk much about killing and even provide explanation why there are wars in this world. Wars are killings amongst human beings and they are the most severe evil deeds. The Buddha made it very clear that ‘We cannot prevent wars in this world, unless we stop eating meat 欲免世間刀兵劫，除非眾生不食肉’. The word ‘meat’ here refers to the flesh of animals, birds, fish, and so on. In other words, if there are still people eating meat, then we cannot prevent wars in this world. This means that meat-eating is the very root cause of wars. You see, in just a few words, the Buddha told us the ultimate truth about wars.  

I believe that all of us have heard of wars. And perhaps some of us even have first-hand experience of what war is like, and the experience must be incredibly painful. Wars are human beings killing human beings. We sometimes hear news about soldiers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. In an interview one of them was disgusted with some of the things he have done and said, ‘You take someone’s life away, no matter if he’s going to kill you, you don’t ever get over it.’ Indeed, both the killer and the killed suffer from pain.

Now, what about human beings killing animals? What do we see in slaughter house, restaurants and supermarkets? Do we see delicious food or dead bodies of animals? Animals cannot speak and tell us how painful it is and how frightened they are when being killed. But they scream, struggle and even shed tears. Have we ever felt for them? Shouldn’t human beings be more empathetic towards animals as well? And the same to insects.

Before learning the Buddha’s teachings, we did not know the truth, we could not tell right from wrong. We thought animals’ flesh is delicious and we could not feel that our food is in fact animals’ dead bodies. But after learning the Buddha’s teachings, that tiny conscience of ours returns. What can we see now? We see things differently. We can see that meat is actually from animals’ corpses. With that in mind, could we still bear eating animals’ flesh? People who don’t know the truth may well say that we are superstitious. They might think that we don’t know how to enjoy life. They think eating meat is enjoying life. But is eating meat really a way of enjoying life?

 The Śūraṅgama Sūtra 楞嚴經 records the truth that the Buddha revealed to us. He said, ‘If a person eats 250 grams of an animal’s flesh, they will have to return the animal 400 grams of their own flesh in future 吃牠半斤還牠八兩’. This is the debt that the person has to pay when they’re reincarnated into the form of an animal and the animal that the person ate in the previous life is reincarnated into the form of a human being, for example. Those of us who are meat eaters consider meat to be something delicious and enjoyable. But then how many of us realise that we have to pay the debt of eating the flesh? Moreover, is it really the flesh that’s delicious? Or is it actually the seasoning, such as salt, herbs and spices, added to the flesh that’s delicious? Say, if you were given a big piece of boiled meat without any salt, spices or other seasoning, would you enjoy it? Would you enjoy eating it every day for a month? Are we actually deceived by seasoning? Are we slaves of our taste buds?

Now, what about animals eat animals? Do animals also have to pay the debt of killing and eating other animals? The answer is a definitive ‘Yes’. So, what exactly is the cycle of this meat-eating and debt-paying? It’s the karmic law of cause and effect. Those who kill other beings, which is the cause, will have to pay the debt of taking away others’ lives, which is the effect. It’s just how it is. No single being can escape from the karmic law of cause and effect. Even after an infinitely long time, when the cause meets the right conditions, the consequences will arise.  

(To be continued…)

DEDICATION

The effort and gains of explaining, transmitting and listening to Buddhas’ teachings are dedicated to

the entire Universe and all beings of all dimensions and all existences. May they all listen to Buddhas’ teachings, awaken to the truth of the Universe, be mindful of the name ‘Amituofo’ (Amitabha Buddha),

aspire to go to the Pure Land, and become Buddhas. (Read this line three times.)

I pray to Buddhas and bodhisattvas for unconditionally solving all man-made and natural disasters around the globe.

For all of those who died in man-made wars and natural disasters across the world,

and for all of those who are related to me in all kinds of ways in this life and previous lives, may they listen to Buddhas’ teachings. May they awaken to the truth of the Universe, aspire to unearth their innate and most sincere, pure, equal and awakened mind, be single-mindedly mindful of Amituofo, aspire to go to the Pure Land so as to see Amituofo and listen to his teachings, removing all their delusions and unveiling their innate wisdom, gaining the real peace and happiness, instantly escaping from the cycle of birth and death, speedily becoming Buddhas, and helping all beings (in the entire Universe) like all other Buddhas.

The effort and gains are dedicated to the leaders of all countries on the Earth. May all countries be prosperous. May all disasters be solved. May the world enjoy eternal peace. I use the effort and gains to return the help from the enlightenment of Buddhas, by the correctness of Buddhas’ teachings, from the purity of sangha, from all beings, from my parents (in this life and previous lives), and from my country(ies). I also use the effort and gains to help alleviate the suffering of those who are already in and will be reborn into the animal realm, the ghost realm and hells as the result of their bad thoughts, speech and deeds. For anyone who sees and hears me chanting or being mindful of Amituofo and doing other good deeds, may they aspire to unearth their most sincere, pure, equal and awakened mind so as to go to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, together with me, at the end of our present lives.