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On
the other hand, to give up eating meat is the source of many excellent
qualities. But, Mahamati, ordinary people know nothing of this,
and therefore I have taught that Bodhisattvas should not eat meat,
that they might understand."
“If people were to refrain from eating meat, Mahamati, animals
would not be slain. For the majority of innocent beasts are slaughtered
for the sake of money; few are killed for other reasons. Craving
for the taste of meat can be unbearably strong and can lead even
to the eating of human flesh, to say nothing of the flesh of beast
and bird, wild or tame. Mahamati, people lusting for the taste of
meat lay traps and nets to catch their prey. With such devices,
hunters, butchers, fishermen, and their like take the lives of innocent
creatures dwelling on the earth or in the air and water. Cruel folk
such as these, devoid of pity like demonic rakshasas, who kill animals
and devour them?such people will never generate compassion."
“Mahamati, every kind of meat, whether that which I have allowed
the Shravakas, who are close to me, to consume, or that which I
have not allowed, and all meat that is said to be unexamined, is
pernicious. In times to come, however, foolish people, ordained
in my tradition, upholding the victory banner of the saffron robes,
and claiming to be the children of Shakyamuni, will have their minds
perverted by wrong thoughts. Their ego clinging will be strong,
and they will have a powerful craving for the taste of meat. They
will concoct all sorts of excuses for eating meat, and thus they
will blacken my reputation. They will examine the histories of events
in the past and say, ‘Since the Lord permitted meat to be eaten
then, this shows that it is fitting nourishment.’ They will
say that the Lord taught that meat was healthy food, and they will
go so far as to say that he himself enjoyed its taste. But, Mahamati,
in none of my discourses did I ever give such general leave, and
never did I teach that it was right to consider meat as wholesome
fare."
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