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千百年來碗裡羹 怨深似海恨難平
For Hundreds of Thousands of Years, the Stew in the Pot
Has Boiled up a Resentment Very Hard to Level

宣公上人一九八九年七月二十一日開示於夏威夷大學 A lecture by Venerable Master Hua at the University of Hawaii on July 21, 1989

現在這個世界上,殺生的人也太多,救生的人是太少了,那麼 人人都只知道殺生,人人就都忽略了放生。因為殺生,你殺他,他也要殺你,互相報仇,互相製造五濁惡世這個輪迴,所謂冤冤相報何時了?

現在這個世界上,殺生的人也太多,救生的人是太少了,那麼人人都只知道殺 生,人人就都忽略了放生。因為殺生,你殺他,他也要殺你,互相報仇,互相製造五濁惡世這個輪迴,所謂冤冤相報何時了?古人有這麼幾句話說:「千百年來碗裡 羹,怨深似海恨難平,欲知世上刀兵劫,試聽屠門夜半聲。」我們人應該依照孔老夫子的話來做人,說:「見其生不忍見其死,聞其聲不忍食其肉,是以君子遠庖廚 也。」這「千百年來碗裡羹」,從千百年到現在,這麼一碗的羹湯,你也喝這碗羹湯,我也喝這碗羹湯,這碗羹湯就是用肉來做的羹湯。「怨深似海恨難平」,這股 怨氣啊,在這一碗羹湯裡頭,那個仇恨比海都深,所以恨難平,這個怨恨心不容易把它平息了。「欲知世上刀兵劫」,想要知道世界上為什麼有刀兵、水、火、瘟疫 流行,這個戰爭的痛苦,殺人流血,互相這麼尋仇報怨,為什麼呢?就因為殺生殺太多了。所以你若不明白,「試聽屠門夜半聲」,你到那個屠宰場聽一聽,那屠宰 場半夜的時候是個什麼聲音––豬也叫,羊也哭,牛也在那兒嚎,都是在那兒要求,說:「饒命吧,老大爺呀!饒命吧,老祖宗啊!饒命吧,老佛爺啊!」都在那兒 叫,但是我們人也視而不見,聽而不聞,也不管三七二十一,就照殺可也。這一殺呀,那個牛羊豬那一念的瞋恨心,將來也就要報仇雪恨,所以演成世界戰爭這種的 災難,種種的意外死亡,這都是由殺生造成的。

可是這個還報不完,現在最厲害的就是人這個cancer(癌)病,又是種種 的的怪病,為什麼生的呢?就是吃肉吃得太多了。吃肉吃得太多,那個肉裡頭,尤其現在這空氣也染污了,地球也染污了,那麼水的性質也都染污了,水質都染污 了。在這個染污的空氣,染污的地球,染污的水裡邊,生出一切的東西來,都帶著一種毒的性質,那麼等到動物吃到這種的飲食了,它有一種毒氣在裡頭藏著,沒有 發作出來,我們人要是把這個動物的肉給吃了,這種毒傳染到人的身上,所以就生種種怪病,種種不治之病。

那其中不是偶然它生這種難治之病,都是因為有冤魂在那兒想要討命債。所以我 現在到處看見很多小鬼,到處都想要要人的命,都想叫人生種種的怪病。這些個小鬼就是還沒有做完全一個人,就被人墮胎給殺了,所以這些小鬼都是更厲害。它在 那地方不是把人的心臟給弄破了,再不就肝臟給弄壞了,腎臟、膽臟,把你五臟先給你破壞了,所以你想不死,也是辦不到了。為什麼他這樣子毒辣呢?就因為它先 先被你殺了,所以它現在要來報仇。報仇這一類的病,你怎麼樣用什麼醫生,中醫、西醫也治不好的,就是混吃等死,等到最後那一口氣斷了,然後再去報仇去。我 現在給你們大家說的,這是真經真典哪!

那麼再要知道啊,我對人再說恐怕有人不願意聽了,可是我犯這個毛病,我不管 人願意聽、不願意聽,我就願意說,我就願意說人家不願意聽的話,所以到這兒來的人應該先有心理的的準備,說:「我不願意聽的,也忍耐一點,聽一聽,看他倒 是說什麼?」這個是什麼話呢?我用中文來解釋這個「肉」字,這個肉字裡邊就是一個四方的口,四方的口,底下那一橫不加上,就張著口呢!張著口幹什麼呢?吃 人呢!所以「肉字裡邊兩個人」,說裡邊有個人字,外邊又有個人字,足見這個肉是離不開人的,可是人不要離不開肉。這是一個吃肉的人,一個被吃的人,所以一 個就出頭,出去這口了;一個人就在那個口裡邊,可是這口也沒有閉上,這個人字還會流出去,流出去還可能再做人;再做人,所以就吃這個吃肉的人,這互相吃。 所以說肉字裡邊兩個人,「裡邊罩著外邊人」,裡邊的這個人和外邊這個人是有連帶關係的,「眾生還吃眾生肉,仔細思量是人吃人」,那麼既然是人吃人了,這個 人會不會是我的朋友呢?不知道;那會不會是親戚呢?不知道;會不會是我的父母祖先呢?不知道。那麼在這個不知道裡邊,這個問題就很多的,所以我們大家最好 不吃肉。

除了不吃肉,還有一個最要緊的、不生病的要訣。不生病的要訣是什麼呢?就是 要沒有脾氣。誰若能沒有脾氣,誰的病,就是那冤冤相報它也不容易找你來了。因為你那兒一發脾氣,啊!這露出來一個窟窿,那鬼就鑽進來了;鬼鑽進,你病就愈 生愈厲害了。這是要訣,你們誰若想不生病,活得健康長壽,就是不吃肉,不要發脾氣,再不抽菸,不喝酒,這都是養生之道。不要把身體弄壞了,百病纏身,那時 候找醫生,還要用錢,也不一定治得好,你說麻煩不麻煩?


In the world today, there are too many who take life and too few people who save lives. Everyone knows only how to kill. Everyone has neglected to liberate life. When you kill someone, he will want to kill you back. This mutual revenge leads to the cycle of rebirth in the world of the five turbidities. When will this cycle of mutual vengeance ever come to an end?

In the world today, there are too many who take life and too few people who save lives. Everyone knows only how to kill. Everyone has neglected to liberate life. When you kill someone, he will want to kill you back. This mutual revenge leads to the cycle of rebirth in the world of the five turbidities. When will this cycle of mutual vengeance ever come to an end? The ancients have said,

For hundreds of thousands of years, the stew in the pot
Has boiled up a resentment very hard to level.
If you want to know why there are calamities and wars in the world,
Just listen to the sounds from a slaughterhouse at midnight.

We should base our lives on the words of Confucius: “When I see those who are alive, I do not wish to see them die. When I hear their sounds, I cannot bear to eat their flesh. Therefore a gentleman does not go near the kitchen.” For hundreds of thousands of years until now, there’s been a pot of stew. You’ve eaten from the pot of stew and so have I. This stew is a meat broth. It contains a resentment which is deeper than the sea, which is very hard to level. It’s not easy to subdue these feelings of enmity. Do you want to know why there are wars, floods, fires, and epidemics in the world? What is the reason for the suffering, killing, and bloodshed brought on by wars? Why do people seek each other out to take revenge? Because there has been too much killing. If you don’t understand, just go near the slaughterhouse and listen to the sounds that come from there at midnight—the pigs calling out, the lambs crying, the cows wailing...They are all there pleading, “Please spare our lives, Mister! Please spare our lives, Elder! Please spare our lives, Buddha!” But we pretend we don’t see or hear them crying out, and we go ahead and kill them without a second thought. As soon as we kill them, the one thought of hatred that those cows, sheep, and pigs give rise to will lead them to seek revenge in the future. This leads to disasters such as world wars and all kinds of accidental deaths. These all result from the taking of life.

However, even such retribution is not enough. Now the most devastating things are cancer and all kinds of strange diseases. Why have these appeared? Because people have eaten too much meat. Nowadays, the air is polluted, the earth is polluted, and the water is also polluted. This polluted air, polluted earth, and polluted water have produced a toxic substance, and when animals eat food which contains this kind of toxin, the poisonous energy passes into their system. Although it may just stay in their bodies and not take effect, if we eat the meat of these animals, the poison will pass into our bodies and cause us to develop all sorts of strange and incurable diseases.

These diseases which are hard to cure do not happen by chance. Behind them, there is a ghost with a grievance who wants the person’s life in payment. So now I see a lot of little ghosts everywhere, trying to make people pay with their lives or causing them to suffer various strange diseases. These little ghosts were fetuses who were aborted before they had a chance to develop into complete human beings, so they are very ruthless. They may rupture people’s hearts, or injure their livers, kidneys, or gall bladders. They destroy your five organs so that you have to die whether you want to or not. Why are they so malicious? Because you killed them first, and now they want to take revenge. Diseases caused by vengeful ghosts cannot be cured no matter what kind of doctor, Chinese or Western, you see. All you can do is take your meals and wait for death. After you take your last breath, it’s your turn to seek revenge. What I’m telling you is the most genuine Sutra!

If I say more, people may not want to listen. However, I have a fault which is that I’m willing to say something regardless of whether or not people want to hear it. I’m especially willing to say the things that people don’t want to hear. So those of you who have come here should prepare yourselves psychologically. You should tell yourself, “I don’t want to listen, but I’ll be patient for a little while and see what he has to say.” What do I want to say? I want to explain the character 肉 for ‘meat’ in Chinese. This character 肉 has the element 口 ‘mouth,’ but the bottom line is left out, meaning that the mouth is open! Why is the mouth open? To eat people! So, “In the character for ‘meat,’ there are two people.” There is a character 人 ‘person’ inside and another 人 ‘person’ outside. This shows that meat is inseparable from people. However, people should not be inseparably attached to meat. This represents a person who is eating the meat and a person who is being eaten. One person’s head is sticking out of the mouth, and the other person is inside the mouth. But since the mouth is not closed, that person may fall out. When he falls out, he may become a person again. When he becomes a person again, he will go and eat the person who was eating meat. They mutually devour each other. So, there are two people in the character for ‘meat’, and “The one inside is covering the one outside.” The person inside and the person outside are bound up in this relationship. “Living beings eat the flesh of living beings. If you reflect on it carefully, it’s just people eating people.” Since it’s people eating people, might that person be my friend? I don’t know. Could it be my relative? Don’t know. Could it be my father, mother, or ancestor? Don’t know. This “not knowing” presents a lot of problems, so it would be best it everyone didn’t eat meat.

Aside from not eating meat, there’s another essential secret to preventing sickness. What is it? Not losing one’s temper. If you don’t have a temper, then your karmic creditors who want to take revenge by making you sick will have a hard time finding you. But as soon as you get mad, there’s a hole for the ghost to get in. Once the ghost finds its way in, your illness becomes more and more severe. If you want to be healthy, long-lived, and free from illness, the secret is not to eat meat, not to lose your temper, and not to smoke or drink. These are all ways to stay healthy. You shouldn’t ruin your body and bring all sorts of illness on yourself. If you do, then you’ll have to find a doctor and pay him money, and still he might not be able to cure you. Isn’t that a lot of trouble?

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