People who study Buddhism must be cautious and careful in everything they do. As the saying goes, "The slightest deviation can lead to a thousand miles of error." Some people study Buddhism over and over again, but end up falling into hell after studying Buddhism. Why? It is because they fail to follow the teachings and truly refrain from lying, stealing, sexual misconduct, drinking, and killing. You can't even observe the five precepts, but you always want to become a Buddha. There is no truth in this!
You must first stop killing. About abstaining from killing, it does not mean that if I become a vegetarian, that would be considered abstaining from killing.
"Ahimsa" doesn't mean that I have never killed a life with my own hands, this does not count as not committing the precept of killing. You must not have any hatred towards people in your heart. But this is not easy. Didn't I say it today? Ah! You see, I also have a very serious murderous intention. I say: I want to stop killing and release animals. I don't kill. If I kill, every hair on my head can be turned into a flying arrow, a sharp knife, a spear or a gun to stab──stab people to death, and my vellus hair will be that powerful. This murderous nature is that strong, but I won't kill. Why not kill? Just because I know that killing all sentient beings is the same as killing Bodhisattvas, killing Arhats, destroying the harmony of the Sangha, and causing the Buddha's body to bleed, so I don't kill them.
Don't steal. Taking things without asking is considered theft. People don't know that I took this thing away, it's considered stealing. Theft has its cause, conditions, methods, and karma, which are all clearly explained in the Brahmajāla Sūtra. Killing also has causes, conditions, methods, and karma, all of which are clearly explained.
The same goes for abstaining from sexual misconduct. Only when there are no thoughts of lust in your heart or in your Svabhava can you be considered abstaining from sexual misconduct. The precept of not lying, do not lie under any circumstances. The precept prohibiting the consuming of intoxicants, do not drink alcohol either. When you drink this wine, it has a stimulating effect, causing you to lose a sense of normalcy and wisdom. If you lose your intelligence, you will do stupid things.
So, this is not killing, not stealing, not committing sexual misconduct, not lying, and not drinking alcohol. Buddhists must pay special attention to these five precepts. They must abide by them and not violate them at all. Only in this way can they be qualified as Buddhists. You casually have the intention to kill, you casually have the desire to steal, you casually have the desire to lust, you casually have the desire to lie and deceive others, you casually have the desire to drink alcohol. No matter what it is, you have a greed for it, and gluttony is just like drinking. Don't say that you don't drink. You just eat too much and eat fat, which is also related to drinking. Therefore, on this point, all of us who want to learn Buddhism must be very cautious in everything. We must not make any mistakes, and we must not be careless even for a moment. We must be very careful!
However, we don't need to be rigid. We also need to be active and make all the precepts come alive.
It doesn't mean: "Then I can be more convenient, and I can still kill, steal, engage in sexual misconduct, lie, or drink alcohol?"
Not that kind of alive. But it's not like I tied myself tightly with the Five Precepts, and there was no place to turn around. Receiving and observing the Five Precepts is not bound by the Five Precepts. We must study this deeply. For example, there is a person in Canada who uses my name to deceive his disciples, saying that I have confirmed him. This is all a big lie, and people like this will fall into tongue-pulling hell in the future.
