..续本文上一页 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.
在某些大乘佛教的国家里，佛教徒是严格的素食者。当我们以宗教的名誉赞扬他们的同时，我们希望他们不要诽难那些不素食者。要知道，在原始的佛教戒律里，并没有要求信徒要素食。我们必须了解，佛教是自由的宗教，佛陀告诫信徒，修持佛法时，不要走极端。
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.
单靠素食，并不能培养善良的品格，在素食者当中，照样有残酷、不道德的人，在肉食者当中，也一样有仁慈、谦虚和礼貌的人。因此，我们不能说，要达到纯净的宗教修持，就必须素食。
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.
话说回来，如果有人认为，不吃鱼、不吃肉，就会失去健康，这也是一种错误的观点，这世上有成千上万的素食者，他们的健康情况比肉食者还要来得好。
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.
有些人指责佛教徒吃肉，是因为不了解佛教对食物的概念。一个人为了生存就必须吃。食物为了身体的健康和获得工作的能力。但是，在发达的国家里，越来越多的人，杀害各种生物，只是为了满足自己口舌之欲，这种观点是错误的。如果不是为了满足食欲，也不杀生，只是为了身体的需要而吃，就不存在这些问题了。
《素食 Vegetarianism》全文阅读结束。