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Pligrimage, Vegan Diet, and a Mind at Ease2016-08-15
By Dharma Master Heng Cai at Taiwan in Spring 2016
Amitabha Buddha! I would like to share my story of becoming a vegetarian. When I was young, I did not learn Buddhism. At that time, I had many illness and I was not in good health. Someone then told me that I should get some nutrition, so she cooked chicken soup for me. After drinking the soup for several times, I started to feel bad. I thought, “How come another animal's life has to be sacrificed to keep my body healthy? “I was sad since it felt as if I were eating someone in the same species as mine. Later, I started to feel sympathy for animals, and decided not to eat any meat. No matter whether my body is healthy or not, I should not take another' being's life for the sake of my own well being. Therefore I decided not to eat meat.
I remember once my uncle caught a fish with many eggs for me to eat. I put the fish in a bucket, and it kept jumping around. At that time, I thought: “If I cook the fish, will I also be killing its children in her belly?” therefore, I decided not to eat the fish, but to liberate it into a river instead. When I was doing that, I was afraid that others will see me and laugh at me thinking that I am so silly that I release such a fat fish instead of eating it. Therefore I waited until nobody was around, I silently put the fish in a river near Zhongxing Bridge.
Another time, my uncle in the south caught a river eel for me. He taught me to put the eel in a jar and then pour wine in so that it won't run away. It was really stupid to eat beings' flesh for the sake of one's own health. Later the eel slipped into a ditch and I could not find it. I was worried that it would die. Later I thought to myself, that the eel was telling me not to eat meat any more, so it did not let me to eat it. Since then, I made a vow that I would never eat meat any more!
Later, I heard some layperson that they were planning for a pilgrimage. At that time, my nose was like a weather station,it could not stop sneezing when I got up in the morning. Then someone told me: "If you wish to improve your health condition, you should become a vegetarian, and pay pilgrimage to temples," So I invited a few colleagues, and went up around two in the morning, and
went to Cheng Tian Temple by taxi. Starting from the foot of the mountain, we would go directly to meet the elder monk Guangqing. The elder monk Guangqing would say: "Are you hiking or paying pilgrimage?” Doing pilgrimage is much slower than hiking. We smiled, because we did not know whether we were hiking or doing pilgrimage, anyway, we just kept doing persistently.
Every time we met the Venerable Monk Guang Qing, he would touch our head, saying that it was to open our wisdom. At that time, we did not study Buddha-dharma yet, so we didn't know what it meant to open wisdom. Later, one of his attendants told us, “Don't miss the opportunity to stay by the Venerable Monk and listen to him, because every single of his words is genuine and precious.” Therefore every time when we went on a pilgrimage, we would go to listen to his instructions.
Once we asked the Venerable monk, “Which sutra is the best for us to recite?” He replied, “A mind at ease is the best. No matter if you are reciting the name of Guanyin Bodhisattva or Amitabha Buddha, as long as your mind is comfortably at ease, you will be at ease no matter where you are! ” We followed his instructions and learned to put our mind at ease. Every time we went on a pilgrimage, we greatly enjoyed his talk. We prepared offerings every time we went there, and he would tell us: “You come to bow to the Buddha, do not have to bring offerings.” He was very compassionate and told us, “Do not bring offerings in the future, save money for your transportation.”
The evening before our pilgrimage, we always thought what questions we should ask the Venerable Monk. We had many false thoughts in the evening, however the next morning when we saw the Venerable monk with his awe-inspiring deportment, we were speechless. What was wondrous was that questions brought up by others was exactly the confusion in our mind. It was like when we were afflicted, or when we have obstructions, we would hear the Venerable Master saying: “You do not work hard on your cultivation, and you do not come out to do morning and evening recitations, why not go afflicted for death.” Virtuous high monks are like that.
Regarding being a vegetarian, after I became a vegetarian and started my pilgrimage, my physical health was getting better and better. When it was hot in summer, some Dharma Masters and I went to the south for a pilgrimage with barefoot. It felt uncomfortable all over the body, but my physical condition was also slowly changing. So, you have to believe that a vegetarian diet with pilgrimage really will change the body for the better. All of you who are not vegetarians should quickly become a vegetarian. Because the more you eat meat, you tie resentment knots with more sentient beings. Moreover, if you don't add MSG or seasonings, it will taste too awful to swallow any meat, right? So, if we eat vegan with original flavor, our health will be better.
No matter you are a monastic or a layperson, you all have many afflictions, right? Recently I heard the Venerable Master's talk from a tape that he asked us to give all our afflictions to him. However we are all reluctant to do that. Where do our afflictions come from? The Venerable Mater said, if in our past lives we had done things such as shedding the Buddha's blood, or killing father, killing mother, killing an Arhat, or destroying wayplaces by discussing a monastic person's right or wrongs or breaking Sangha group, It would cause you to have poor health in this life, and you would always get sick. Gossiping about the fourfold assembly's faults is also regarded as shedding the Buddha's blood. Therefore, think about it, if you want to be free of afflictions, you should focus on your work when you come to the wayplace. When you hear people gossiping or talking about other's right or wrongs, you should not approach them, but quickly go away instead. If you join them in gossiping, you will create shared karma. Therefore if you hear someone talking about other layperson or monastics, do not listen to them, but go away and recite the Buddha's name.
We come to Wayplace to listen to Sutra lectures and Dharmas, not to listen to gossips. If you listen more and talk more, you will create more karma, right? If you someone ask you about events in the temple, tell him to get information in the office, do not make private announcements. It will do you no good. Therefore if you have afflictions, you should carefully examine yourself, and accept the karma. If you have health issue, you also should examine yourself and accept the karma. Since it is because we planted causes in our past lives that we get retributions in this life. We should accept the karma with delight and willingly take retributions. Remember, from now on, we should not create any karma with our mouth. “ You may eat more, but should not talk more.” This principle applies no matter you are a beginner or have studied the Buddha-dharma for many years.
The Venerable Master said that we should understand the principles in the sutra when we listen to Sutra lectures or recite mantras，and then put these principles into practice. For example, the Earth Store Sutra is a sutra of filiality. The fourth chapter talks about cause and effect, we should practice according to principles in the sutra. Today is the Water Repentance Dharma Assembly, if you wish to eradicate karma, you should respect the Triple Jewel. The Triple Jewel is a field of blessing for us to accumulate blessings. By respecting the Triple Jewel, your karmic obstacles will naturally be eradicated. After karmic obstacles are wiped out, your wisdom will naturally grow. Although we are not enlightened yet, at least we can eradicate our karmic obstacles as much as possible by studying the Buddhadharma. Don't think that you don’t have any response after many years of study. It is not the case. Responses do exist. By becoming a vegetarian and performing pilgrimage, many of my illnesses are completely gone. Some people ask me that how come that I am so healthy because I like being at ease.
You came to temple to work for yourself, not for others. There is a wayplace available for you to work, it is to give you a chance to plant blessings. Whatever others do not like to do, you take it. Do not calculate and compare with others. Do not just think about how to show off. Silently work hard and that is the most important.
Amitabha!
