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宣化上人開示錄(七)
Venerable Master Hua's Talks on Dharma Volume Seven　

上宣下化老和尚開示 Lectures by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua

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如何戒除吃肉的習慣？

How Can We Break the Habit of Eating Meat?
當你想吃肉的時候，就做這樣的觀想：「那是死屍的肉，臭不可聞！」
When you have the urge to eat meat, just think: “That's the stinking flesh of a corpse!”

今天講肉字的意思，有一首偈頌這樣說：

  

Today I will explain the Chinese character for “meat.” There's a verse which goes:

肉字裏邊兩個人，
裏邊罩著外邊人；
眾生還吃眾生肉，
仔細思量人吃人。

　

In the character for “meat” there are
two people.
The one inside is covering the one outside.
Living beings eat the flesh of living beings:
If you really think about it, doesn't it
 amount to people eating people?

在「肉」字的裏邊，有兩個人，一個是吃肉的人，一個是被吃的人；吃肉的人，頭在肉的外邊，被吃的人，頭在肉的裏邊。今生你吃我的肉，來生我吃你的肉，禮尚往來，公平交易，所以世界永無和平之日，冤債相酬，於是戰爭爆發，眾生相互殘殺，這種因果報應，絲毫不爽。

 　

There are two characters for “person”（人）in the Chinese character for “meat”（肉）. One of them is eating the meat, and the other is being eaten. The person who is eating the meat has his head outside the character, and the one being eaten has his head inside. In this life, if you eat my flesh, in the next life I'll eat yours. I'll return the favor, and it'll be a fair deal. Because everyone is paying back these debts of enmity, there is never a day of peace in the world. Wars break out, and living beings slaughter one another. The law of cause and effect is never off, and each person receives exactly the retribution he or she deserves.

「肉」字外邊的人，吃「肉」字裏邊的人；這個人也許前生是你的朋友，今生變了形相。你若吃他的肉，便結下冤仇，將來他要復仇，一定要還來吃你的肉，才能解心頭之恨，所謂「冤冤相報」，永無了期。如果你不吃肉，則一切冤債，便能一筆勾消，化敵為友。「肉」字裏邊的人，也許前生是你的親人，甚至可能是至親骨肉，只是他們變了形相，你怎麼忍心吃他們的肉呢？

 　

The person outside the character for “meat” is eating the one inside. Maybe the one being eaten was your friend in a previous life, who has now assumed a different form. If you eat his flesh, you are setting up conditions of enmity and he'll seek revenge in the future. He'll definitely eat your flesh in return, for that's the only way he can get rid of the hatred in his heart. There's no end to the cycle of vengeance. If you don't eat meat, your debts of enmity are cancelled and your enemies turn into friends. The person inside the character for “meat” may have been your close relative in a past life. Even though he has taken on a different appearance now, how can you bear to eat his flesh?

所以佛教提倡「平等、慈悲」，不吃眾生的肉。那麼怎樣才能戒掉吃肉的習慣？這方法非常簡單，當你想吃肉的時候，就做這樣的觀想：「那是死屍的肉，臭不可聞！」能如是觀想，就漸漸不再有心情來吃肉了。愛吃肉人，不妨試一試這個辦法。

 　

Buddhism advocates equality and compassion, and teaches us not to eat the flesh of living beings. Well, how can you break the habit of eating meat? It's very easy. When you have the urge to eat meat, just think: “That's the stinking flesh of a corpse!” If you contemplate in this way, gradually you'll lose the taste for meat. Meat-lovers ought to try this method!

一九八三年十月廿三日開示

 　

A talk given on October 23, 1983
　

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