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“O
Mahamati, you may believe that I have permitted the eating of meat;
you may believe that Shravakas can eat it. But I say to you that
I forbid it for the yogis dwelling in the charnel grounds who meditate
on love. I forbid it for my noble sons and daughters who have embarked
upon the true path of the Mahayana and who consider all beings as
their own dear children. Mahamati, I do indeed forbid the eating
of meat to all who consider living beings as their only children?the
sons and daughters of my lineage who have faith in Dharma and are
engaged in an of the paths of practice, yogis living in charnel
grounds and practitioners meditating in solitude. The precepts of
my Doctrine were formulated gradually, and they are successive steps
upon a single path. Accordingly, the eating of meat is proscribed
in the precepts of the Mahayana. Even though the flesh of beasts
that have perished from ten natural causes is not forbidden to the
Shravakas, nevertheless, in the Mahayana, all meat is utterly prohibited
under all circumstances. And therefore, Mahamati, I have not given
permission to anyone to consume meat.5 I do not grant permission
and I never shall. To all who wear the robe, O Mahamati, I declare
that meat is an unfitting source of norishment. Foolish people,
benighted by their karma, who blacken my reputation by saying that
even the Tathagata has eaten meat, will suffer long and meaninglessly,
devoid of every joy. Moreover, Mahamati, my noble Shravakas in fact
do not eat even ordinary food; how much less could they feed on
the baneful fare of flesh and blood?"
" O Mahamati, the Shravakas, Pratyekabuddhas, and Bodhisattvas
eat the food of Dharma, which is by no means something material.
Is there any need to speak of the food of Tathagatas? Mahamati,
the Tathagatas are the dharmakaya; they are sustained by the food
of Dharma. Their bodies are not formed of gross and solid matter;
they are not sustained by material food. They have discarded all
propensities related to samsara, the thirst for existence and the
things of this life. They are utterly emancipated from all unwholesome
and defiled tendencies; their minds are wholly freed in wisdom.
They know everything; they see everything. They are replete with
great compassion, loving all beings as though they were their only
children. Therefore, O Mahamati, since I consider all beings as
my children, how could I permit the Shravakas to eat my children’s
flesh? And how could I partake of it? It is wrong to say that I
allowed the Shravakas to eat meat and that I myself have eaten it.
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