Liao-Fan: What is meant by "loving and cherishing all living things"? We should know that a heart of compassion is what makes a man. Mencius once said:
Mencius: A man is not human if he does not feel compassion.
Liao-Fan: A person in search of the virtue of mercy and kindness looks out for his heart of compassion. A person who wants to accumulate merits also cultivates a compassionate heart. A person with compassion is a kind, virtuous, and merciful person, while one without compassion for others is unkind and without morals. It stated in The Ethical Code of the Chu Dynasty .
Narrator: In January, when most animals are bearing young, female species are not to be used for sacrificial purposes.
Liao-Fan: Mencius once said:
Narrator: A gentleman will not live near the kitchen.
Liao-Fan: This is to protect a compassionate heart, since a lot of slaughtering is done in the kitchen. Therefore, our forefathers did not eat meat under four circumstances: First is if they heard the killing, second is if they saw the killing, third is if the animal was raised by them, and fourth is if the animal was killed for their sake. If you are not vegetarian but wish to cultivate compassion, then you can learn from our ancestors by eating less meat.
Narrator: According to the Buddha's teachings, living beings are bom as animals as a result of having accumulated bad karma in their previous lives. After they pay their dues in retribution, they can be bom as humans again. If they are willing to cultivate as a man, they can even become Buddhas. The meat I eat today may be the flesh of a future Buddha. The animal we see today may have been a man in previous lives. It is then possible that this animal was my parent, wife, son, relatives or friends. Presently, I am human and they are animals. To kill and eat them would be making enemies of those I used to love.
If I eat them today, perhaps in the future they will become human again while I become an animal due to my sins of killing. In their revenge, I will have to undergo the same suffering of being killed and eaten. When we think thus, how dare we kill? How can we swallow a morsel of that flesh? Besides, even if the meat does taste good, the taste only lasts from the mouth to the throat. After we swallow, there is nothing left to taste. There is no difference between eating meat and vegetables, why would you want to kill when there's no good behind it?
Liao-Fan: Even if you cannot quit eating meat'altogether, you should still try to gradually reduce your meat intake until vegetarianism is accomplished. In this way, you can reach a higher state of compassion within your heart. We should refrain from killing any living creature, even insects. Man makes silk from the cocoons of silkworms. The cocoons have to be boiled in water first, with the silkworms inside. Think about it, how many silkworms lose their lives in the process?
When we cultivate the land for farming, how many insects have to be killed? Are you aware of the cost of lives involved in our everyday food and clothing? We kill to support ourselves. Therefore, we should be conservative and cherish the food and clothing we have. To waste them would create the same sin as killing. How often have we unknowingly harmed or stepped on a living creature? With a little awareness, we can prevent this from happening. Tung-pwo Su, a great poet from the Sung Dynasty once wrote.
Narrator: 'In love of the mice, we often leave him some rice; In pitying the moth, we won't light the lamp.'
Liao-Fan: What a kind and compassionate statement!
Liao-Fan: There are infinite types of goodness, I cannot mention them all. As long as you can expand on the ten previous categories, you can make them into a multitude of good deeds and virtues.
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