There are many people who are long-lived and healthy by eating vegetarian food. For example, Xuyun old monk, Guang-qin old monk, and Old Mentor Snow Old Man (李炳南居士) are all centenarians. They are also extremely active, which few people in the world can match. There are countless people who have become sick and have a short life due to eating meat. And the reason for being a vegetarian is not to seek longevity, but to not bring the terror of death and excruciating pain to other beings just for the brief enjoyment of one's own tongue. Every cow waiting to be slaughtered sheds tears and trembles. Every captured bird has a mother in the nest anxiously awaiting its return; we have never seen a chicken that cheers, "Great! "I'm going to be a braised chicken!" and then stretches its neck to be beheaded and plucked.
Just as every one of my patients is struggling on the brink of life and death, and every animal is trembling in the face of death, if I were to take human life lightly and ignore the suffering of my patients, they would never forgive me; similarly, if we ignore the suffering of other living beings, they will not forgive us either. After you eat it, both parties will become enemies and creditors with an endless cycle of hatred and pain!
I heard a Buddhist master tell a true story. One day, several adults brought a swaddled infant to visit the old monk Guang-Qin. The infant had delicate features and a very cute face. Everyone was happy to tease her, but the old monk frowned and said to his disciples, " She's coming to collect debts! (refers to the infant)." No one understood, so the old monk told the visitors, "You are in the frozen chicken business, right? Look at this infant!" The infant's parents admitted it with tears in their eyes, and opened the child's clothes and quilts, and they were shocked! Beneath the cute face is a deformed body like a chicken!
The old monk urged the visitors to change their business, but they said, "We have already spent 30 million on setting up the freezer, it is difficult to change..." I thought that the money earned from this business might not be enough to pay for the child's medical expenses in the future, let alone make up for the lost tears (because many of my patients have this condition). However, most people would rather lose money and suffer in the future, and sacrifice their lifelong happiness, than give up the immediate small profits and the desire for food and drink. The old monk is a man of insight, he sees through the cause and effect at a glance, and gives sincere advice, but how many people can believe and follow it? Isn't it strange that many people in the world pray for Buddha's blessing but do not believe in and follow his words?
