..續本文上一頁 of the Mahayana school of Buddhism are strict vegetarians. While appreciating their observance in the name of religion, we should like to point out that they should not condemn those who are not vegetarians. They must remember that there is no precept in the original Teachings of the Buddha that requires all Buddhists to be vegetarians. We must realize that Buddhism is known as the Middle Path. It is a liberal religion and the Buddha”s advice was that it is not necessary to go to extremes to practise His Teachings.
在某些大乘佛教的國家裏，佛教徒是嚴格的素食者。當我們以宗教的名譽贊揚他們的同時，我們希望他們不要誹難那些不素食者。要知道，在原始的佛教戒律裏，並沒有要求信徒要素食。我們必須了解，佛教是自由的宗教，佛陀告誡信徒，修持佛法時，不要走極端。
Vegetarianism alone does not help a man to cultivate his humane qualities. There are kind, humble, polite and religious people amongst non-vegetarians. Therefore, one should not condone the statement that a pure, religious man must practise vegetarianism.
單靠素食，並不能培養善良的品格，在素食者當中，照樣有殘酷、不道德的人，在肉食者當中，也一樣有仁慈、謙虛和禮貌的人。因此，我們不能說，要達到純淨的宗教修持，就必須素食。
On the other hand, if anybody thinks that people cannot have a healthy life without taking fish and meat, it does not necessarily follow that they are correct since there are millions of pure vegetarians all over the world who are stronger and healthier than the meat-eaters.
話說回來，如果有人認爲，不吃魚、不吃肉，就會失去健康，這也是一種錯誤的觀點，這世上有成千上萬的素食者，他們的健康情況比肉食者還要來得好。
People who criticize Buddhists who eat meat do not understand the Buddhist attitude towards food. A living being needs nourishment. We eat to live. As such a human being should supply his body with the food it needs to keep him healthy and to give him energy to work. However, as a result of increasing wealth, more and more people, especially in developed countries, eat simply to satisfy their palates. If one craves after any kind of food, or kills to satisfy his greed for meat, this is wrong. But if one eats without greed and without directly being involved in the act of killing but merely to sustain the physical body, he is practising self restraint.
有些人指責佛教徒吃肉，是因爲不了解佛教對食物的概念。一個人爲了生存就必須吃。食物爲了身體的健康和獲得工作的能力。但是，在發達的國家裏，越來越多的人，殺害各種生物，只是爲了滿足自己口舌之欲，這種觀點是錯誤的。如果不是爲了滿足食欲，也不殺生，只是爲了身體的需要而吃，就不存在這些問題了。
《素食 Vegetarianism》全文閱讀結束。