Page 43 - 加拿大佛教会湛山精舍杂志季刊第74期

Every special date and every celebration provides the
opportunity for more killing and when there is going
to be a party more killing becomes necessary. Do
we need to mention weddings, national holidays and
religious festivals? People take every opportunity to
consume the flesh of dead beings killed for that pur-
pose and whose wish to go on living was not taken
into account. When the mind adjusts to unrestricted
killing, there is no end to the heavy karma resulting
from it lifetime after lifetime.

People almost never make the connection between
their own wish for a long, happy and healthy life for
themselves and the daily mass-killing in which they They are stealing; adultery; lying; double talk; coarse
take part. In order for us to enjoy our birthday an- language; foul language; covetousness; anger; and
other being must die. When a man and a woman are perverted views. Each of these ten has its specific
joined in a wedding ceremony, the event is celebrated antidote, non-killing being antidote number one.
by killing other beings of both genders. For what rea- This teaching is at the heart of self-discipline as un-
son do people act this way? In the world of animals, derstood by Buddhists. Voluntary abstention from
killing for survival is common, but human beings taking life of any living being holds the first place in
consume dead flesh for enjoyment, and in amounts each of the six sets of precepts that constitute the dis-
that by far exceed necessity. cipline of Buddhadharma. The sets of five, seven and
eight precepts for laity, as well as the ten precepts for
The millions of beings killed throughout the world novices, the Pratimokha for monks and nuns, and the
would make a mountain. Just consider for a moment bodhisattva precepts all reflect the essential tenet of
all the cutting, skinning, scaling, eviscerating, scald- non-hurting which characterizes the Buddha’s teach-
ing, boiling or even eating these beings alive. It rep- ing. Abstention from killing is thus the first require-
resents endless cruelty on the part of those who are ment for generating wholesome or skillful thought.
connected with it. They shiver at the mere thought of To bring about world peace, all that is necessary is to
being sick or having to endure the slightest pain, not adhere to the Dharma of Ten Precepts. In the absence
mentioning losing their own life. The tragedy of it of intent to kill war is not possible. In the absence of
is truly unspeakable. Unfortunately, when pain is at intent to steal there would be no transgressions re-
its most intense, there is no opportunity to complain garding property and in the absence of disregard for
of the unbearable suffering. The unwholesome kar- marriage and relationships, people’s self-respect, re-
ma produced by the mouth is unimaginable. Some of liability and trust would increase considerably . The
the most vicious crimes have been committed by the degradation and the confusion due to lies, double talk,
mouth, generating ill will for hundreds of thousands coarse and foul language would cease. In time greed,
of years. hatred and ignorance would be uprooted and sentient
beings would have no further obstacles preventing
We are not unaware of the amount of evil in the world them from attaining complete happiness and deliver-
as the result of the ten unskillful karmas responsible ance through enlightenment.
for producing it. To take the life of a living being is
the first of them. What are the remaining nine? Stay tuned for part IV in the next issue

41