吃肉是災劫的罪魁

　　Eating Meat Is the Biggest Cause of Disasters

　　世上所有一切刀兵、水、火、瘟疫、流行的災難，都是由吃肉所造成的。

　　All of the wars, floods, fires, epidemic plagues, and catastrophes are consequences of eating meat.

　　佛教有正法、像法、末法，這都是衆生的業報所感而現的。正法時代，古人的福報廣大、深厚，智慧也高，地裏的水好像牛奶那麼有營養，每一處的水都是如此。等到像法時代，所喝的水就沒有那麼營養美味了。現在是末法時代，所喝的水，不單沒有營養，還含藏著很多種的毒質。你說：「我們把水消毒過了。」雖然如此，但毒質還是存在，無法消去。

　　The existence of Buddhism in the world is pided into the Proper Dharma Age, the Dharma Image Age, and the Dharma-ending Age. These ages manifest in response to the karmic retributions of living beings. During the Proper Dharma Age, people had many blessings and their wisdom was great. Everywhere the water in the ground was as nutritious as milk. When the Dharma Image Age began, the water was not as nutritious and delicious as before. In the present Dharma-ending Age, not only does the water lack nutrients, it contains all sorts of toxins. Although we sterilize and treat our drinking water, the toxins cannot be completely eliminated.

　　在這個世界上，毒是一天比一天多，把空氣也染汙了，所以在空氣中也彌漫著毒質。因爲世間人用毒用得太多，把毒素吸進身體裏邊，經過一番化學作用，然後再反射出來，所以毒質就布滿空氣中。我們知道原子彈、氫氣彈等，是最危險厲害的武器，但由每一個人口裏所放出的毒，更是比什麼毒都厲害，所以現在虛空裏充滿了種種毒氣。這世界一天比一天壞，就因爲受了毒氣的熏染，人們每天醉生夢死，吃、喝、嫖、賭、蠱，橫、崩、拐、騙、偷，無一不精，這種情形實在是太危險了！

　　This world is becoming increasingly toxic, and the air is very polluted. We use too many toxic things, and when the toxins enter our bodies, they undergo chemical changes and then pass out of the body to saturate the air. The atmosphere is permeated with various poisons. We know about the atomic bomb, hydrogen bomb, and so forth, which are the most deadly weapons. However, the poison that comes from people”s mouths is most deadly of all. That is why the atmosphere is so polluted. Permeated by these poisonous vapors, the world degenerates day by day. People pass through their lives as if in a dream, specializing in eating, drinking, visiting prostitutes, gambling, black magic, oppression, destruction, kidnapping, fraud, and theft. This situation is just too dangerous!

　　所以若想把世界消毒，要怎麼辦呢？就要大家一起吃齋不吃肉；能吃齋，毒就會日日減少。若想這世界真正消毒，就要大家吃素不吃肉，因爲衆生肉都有毒，這種毒質是很微細微細的，當你吃的時候不會覺察，但慢慢地就中了這種毒質。而且這種毒質特別厲害，沒有什麼藥品可以解，因爲其中的冤業太深。所以古人說：

　　How can we purge the world of poisons

　　 Everyone should become a vegetarian. If people stop eating meat, the poisons will decrease day by day. If we really want to neutralize the poisons in the world, every person must become a vegetarian, because the flesh of all creatures is poisoned. Although you cannot detect the poison when you ingest it, you gradually become poisoned. Moreover, the poison is extremely lethal. There is no antidote, because the karma of enmity involved is too deep. Thus, the ancients said,

　　千百年來碗裏羹，

　　冤深似海恨難平；

　　欲知世上刀兵劫，

　　試聽屠門夜半聲。

　　For hundreds of thousands of years,

　　 the stew in the pot

　　Has boiled up a resentment very hard

　　to dispel.

　　If you want to know why there

　　arecalamities and wars in the world,

　　Just listen to the sounds from a

　　slaughterhouse at midnight.

　　「千百年來碗裏羹」，從千百年以來，我們所吃的一碗羹，一碗肉湯，看上去只是一碗湯，可是「冤深似海恨難平」，其中的冤仇猶如海一般深。「欲知世上刀兵劫」，要知道世上人與人戰，家與家戰，國與國戰，星球與星球戰，互相爭戰，都是由吃肉所造成的。所有一切刀兵、水、火、瘟疫流行的災難，都是由吃肉所造成的。你若想了解其中的道理，「試聽屠門夜半聲」，半夜的時候到屠宰場去聽一聽，殺豬有豬哭、殺牛有牛哭、殺羊有羊哭，總之，殺什麼就什麼在哭。它們的哭就是在放毒呢！放一股毒氣，一邊哭一邊說：「好！你現在殺了我，我將來也要殺你，我們兩個絕沒有完。你殺我，我就要殺你；你吃我，我就要吃你！」所以形成種種冤毒充塞在虛空中。因爲虛空彌漫著一片冤毒氣，才造成種種災難禍患。若人人都能吃齋，這些冤孽就會平息，就可以化幹戈爲玉帛，化暴戾爲祥和，如此才能挽回末劫之將臨！

　　The bowls of meat stew we have consumed during hundreds of thousands of years appear to be bowls of stew and nothing more, but the hatred involved in them is as deep as the sea. We should realize that meat-eating is the cause of personal fights, family feuds, wars between countries, and even intergalactic battles. All wars, floods, fires, epidemic plagues, and catastrophes are consequences of eating meat.

　　If you want to understand the reason behind these events, go stand outside a slaughterhouse at midnight and listen. When pigs are slaughtered, you hear them wailing. When cows are killed, they also cry out. When sheep are butchered, they bleat as well. And when any animal cries out before it is slaughtered, it is in fact emanating poison! It is thinking, “Fine, kill me now, but I”ll be back in the future to kill you! I”ll never let you forget this. You kill me, and I”ll kill you. You eat me, and I”ll eat you!” As a result, the air is filled with poisonous hatred, and this hateful energy causes all the various disasters and sicknesses.

　　If everyone became a vegetarian, these calamities would certainly be averted. Swords and shields would be exchanged for jade and silk, and violence would be transformed into peace and harmony. Thus doomsday would be avoided!

　　一九八二年九月十九日開示

　　于萬佛聖城

　　A talk given on September 19, 1982

　　at the City of the Ten Thousand Buddhas

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