克城消息

上人甘露法語:大哉敎育 善益敎育─莫負生命債

這波病毒無息無蹤，非人力能抵擋；唯有大家改往修來，將心靈虔誠的信仰，表現在日常生活中。不同宗敎信仰者，彼此發揮仁愛、博愛、大愛的精神，庇護無辜的生命，讓人與動物在地球上平安和諧的生活。
   師父有個埋在心裡，超過半世紀的心願；至今仍無法見人就說：「你們都要吃素。」因為說了無用，不如不說，免得讓人產生掛礙。而今這一波疫病給予人類「大哉敎育」，是人人應該覺醒的時候了。
   有聽我說話的人，應該都熟悉這張卡片和數字(註1)。一秒鐘二千多條生命被這個大嘴巴呑食；一天二億多的生靈，因為人類的口欲，在惶恐、哀怨中被殺；一年累積七百七十多億生命消失，約是地球人口數的十倍。可怕啊！等於一個人平均要負十倍的「生命債」。還沒算上，今天吃人四兩，來日要還一斤的「禮尙往來」。
   這七百七十多億的生命，因為人類的一張「大嘴巴」天天驚慌、惶恐，唯恐下一輪門開，就輪到自己被送上刀架。動物無辜的哀嚎、怨恨，隨著牠們的靈魂四處徘徊，幽靈反撲，殺業累積成眾生共業。我不斷重複地說，期待各位能眞心體會生命的痛，愛自己還要愛眾生，唯有人的力量能保護大地生命。
   假如人類不接受這一波警訊，再來的一波可能會更嚴厲。現代人學問都很高，很有數字觀念，一換算就可以知道，若人人茹素，可以減少多少動物養殖；養殖愈少，環境愈淨化。
   人類生活已經污染大地，還要養殖高於人口十倍多的牲畜，造成空氣污染、水源污染、大地污染。專家表示，素食是保護生態最有效的方法；何況佛陀敎育我們，尊重生命、珍惜生命，不只保護自己的生命健康，更要愛護所有動物的生命。佛法看重因緣果報，《地藏經》說，過去生多造殺業，則此生總在病痛(註2)。師父也天天懺悔，不知道前世呑食、傷害了多少生命；幸好今生，從年輕就發願茹素。
   請大家有信心推動茹素，保護地球，也保護自己身心健康。過去沒有因緣，很難帶動勸素；現在借力使力，要積極地廣說。「大哉敎育、善益敎育。」有善，有利益眾生；期待人人深信因緣果報，以慈濟人的大愛，不只是愛自己、愛人人，還能尊重生命、護惜眾生。

(恭敬整理自2020年5月3日全球慈誠委員精進硏習，5月30日、31日大陸慈濟人溫馨分享，6月5日馬來西亞雪隆慈濟人溫馨分享之上人開示)

Over the past several months, the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to spread, silently, without a trace, despite all efforts to control it.
So what can we learn from this disease? That we need to right our past wrongs and manifest our sincere faith in our daily living. People of different religions need to work together to protect innocent lives in the name of love, whether it is the love of Islam, Christianity, Buddhism or any other religion. Then, all humans and animals can live in peace and harmony on Earth.
There is a wish that I have kept buried in my heart for more than half a century. Even today, I still cannot tell everyone I encounter, “You have to become vegetarian.” It would be useless to say this, so I would rather not say it for fear of making people feel uneasy.
However, this pandemic is giving humanity a great lesson, and now is the time for everyone to awaken.
Anyone who listens to my teachings should be familiar with this card and these statistics. Every second, more than two thousand lives are consumed by humankind. Every day, more than 200 million panicked, miserable creatures are killed because of human beings’craving for the taste of meat. Every year, more than 77 billion lives are lost; this is nearly ten times the human population of Earth!
Isn’t this shocking? This means that on average, each human being is responsible for the loss of ten lives. What people are not taking into account is that we will have to pay this debt with interest when it comes due in the future.
Every day, these 77 billion living beings are living in terror, sensing it will soon be their turn to be slaughtered. The cries of misery and hatred from these innocent animals will be carried along by their spirits, wherever they go. Like vengeful ghosts, the karma of all this killing accumulates to bring about our collective retributions. I keep saying this again and again, hoping everyone can truly comprehend the pain that comes with the loss of each life. Just as we love ourselves, we should also love all living beings. Only humans have the power to protect life on Earth.
If humankind does not accept the warning from this pandemic, the next wave will likely be even more severe. Many people nowadays are highly educated and have a strong sense of figures and numbers.
If all of us could adopt a vegetarian diet, how many fewer animals would need to be bred? Furthermore, as livestock populations are reduced, the environment will become cleaner as well.
Human activity has already polluted the earth, and on top of that, we raise an amount of livestock that is ten times greater than the human population. All of this results in the pollution of the air, the water, and the land. Experts have said that vegetarianism is the most effective way to protect the environment. Moreover, the Buddha taught us to respect and cherish all life. This means not only protecting our own health and our own lives, but also cherishing the lives of animals as well.
The Buddha’s teachings place a great emphasis on the law of karma.
The Earth Treasury Sutra teaches that it is due to our past karma of killing that we suffer from illnesses in life. I am repentant every day, because I do not know how many living beings I consumed or harmed in my previous lifetimes. Fortunately, in this lifetime, I made a vow to become vegetarian when I was still young.
I encourage everyone to have the confidence to promote vegetarianism, to protect the earth, and to protect your own physical and spiritual health. In the past, without the right causes and conditions, it was difficult to encourage people to promote a vegetarian diet. Now we must make use of this situation to speak up.
This pandemic has brought us a great lesson, but it is a lesson that can bring great benefit. This lesson, if we can learn it, is beneficial to all sentient beings. I hope for everyone to have deep faith in the law of karma. For Tzu Chi volunteers, having great love not only means cherishing ourselves and all people, but respecting, protecting, and cherishing the lives of all living beings.

Compiled from Master Cheng Yen’s Dharma teaching at the Global Tzu Chi Faith Corps and Commissioners Camp on May 3, 2020, a conversation with volunteers from China on May 30-31, and a conversation with volunteers from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on June 5.

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