http://www.jenchen.org.sg/vol5no4a.htm
Volume
5 no 4
Feature
Five Clean Sources of Meat
Many people firmly recognise that the Buddha's teachings are full,
subtle, comprehensive and profound. They recognise and revere the
truth of the Buddha-dharma as soon as they encounter it. However,
they face a common dilemma: they hesitate to take refuge in the
Three Treasures because they do not wish to be vegetarians. For
this reason, some ponder at the gate of Buddhism for a long time
and are afraid to take that step forward. Others arrive at the
crossroad of religion, some took the wrong turn and ended up with
some cults or unorthodox ways. They do not realise that it is not
easy to be born a human, and it is even harder to have the
opportunity to encounter the Buddha-dharma. Having been born a
human, it is indeed a waste of opportunity not to embrace Buddhism
as it knocks at our door.
The Buddha-dharma is infinite and there are in reality more than
84,000 Dharma doors, or methods by which we can embark to learn and
practise Buddhism. Vegetarianism is just one of the many methods.
To refrain from killing is merely a means of assisting us to
progress in our cultivation. As a medicine, meat is permitted in
the Buddhist precepts if it is required to cure a particular
sickness. Buddhism cherishes compassion. However, killing and
causing harm to life have their retributions. The world has no
peace as victims and villains engage in a vicious cycle of
vengeance and revenge, culminating in calamities and disasters, and
inflicting suffering and misery across the world.
Buddha
understands the ignorance and habits of sentient beings that have
accumulated from aeons of their many past lives. In order to
provide sentient beings with an expedient means of embracing
Buddhism, those who are
not able to convert to a vegetarian diet on a long term basis are
permitted to consume meat provided:
(1)
That he did not slaughter the animal personally
(2) That he did not instruct others to slaughter
(3) That the slaughter was not committed for his sake
(4) That he did not witness the slaughter
(5) That he did not hear the cries associated with the
slaughter
To
refrain from killing is fundamental to Buddhism. Regardless of life
forms, we must not kill, we must not instruct others to kill, and
it must not be killed for our sake, for example, to celebrate our
birthday or because we were coming to dinner. These are three
sources of clean meat.
In
Confucianism, benevolence also means to refrain from killing. It is
said that heaven has the virtue of loving life. It cannot bear to
witness the loss of life, let alone eat the flesh of those whose
cries in death we have heard. Buddhism advocates compassion and
loving-kindness to all sentient beings, regardless of their
relation to you. It is only appropriate that we do not kill for our
livelihood or for the purpose of celebrating occasions, such as
births, birthdays, funerals or weddings. Meats are no different
from the other foodstuffs purchased from the market if people do
not witness the killing or hear the cries of the animal that is
being slaughtered. If a differentiation between the two kinds of
purchases and the taste of the meat do not exist in the mind, then
the guilt is lighter. Together with the three mentioned earlier,
these constitute the five sources of clean meat.
Meat
eating however is a pre-condition to killing. If people refrain
from eating meat, there will be no killing of animals for meat.
Sadly, the human race has committed killings for aeons and is
engaged in an endless cycle of vengeance and revenge over their
past lives. For one who is slaughtered for meat in this life, it is
probably because he had done the same to others in the past. The
score is even, no more and no less.
People
who eat meat from the five clean sources are advised to learn to
chant the Buddha's name and the Buddhist mantras, so as to transfer
the merits to those whose meat they are eating. They should also
wish them an early rebirth in the human realm, to eliminate any
thoughts of vengeance, to nurture their virtuous roots to benefit
all sentient beings and together build a peaceful, caring and
blissful pure land in this world. Only when this is promoted across
the entire world, will we be able to eliminate hatred and
vengeance, and enhance a mind of compassion and loving kindness. In
this way we will be able to transform this Saha world into a pure
land.
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2002.Jen Chen Buddhism Centre
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