Chapter 4: Proper Handling of the Dying
The Importance of Handling the Dying
When one is dying, the four great bodies of the body are dispersed, and the functions of the body are completely lost, just like a tortoise shedding its shell, or a crab falling into the soup, which is a great suffering. The mind, on the other hand, is unable to pass away peacefully due to greed for the Saha, fear of death, or other reasons. Even though the body dies, the mind and consciousness follow karmic ties and are reincarnated. The state of mind and thoughts at the time of death affects the afterlife dramatically, so whether or not the deathbed is handled properly is really related to the ascension and descent of the deceased's consciousness. Whether they are reincarnated in the Six Paths or in the Lotus State depends on this action. Witnessing a sick person struggling with life and death, all family members will try to do their best to alleviate his or her suffering, but because they do not have the right concepts and experiences, the suffering of the deceased is further aggravated. Therefore, those who aspire to purification should instill in their families the correct way of handling the dying, so that they will not be at a loss as to what to do when the time comes. Master Yinguang has also said, "The most important thing is to deal with the dying.... All practitioners of Pure Karma should adopt a holistic and correct mindset and show their family members the advantages and disadvantages in advance, so that each of them knows that the important thing is God. So that everyone knows that the importance lies in the realization of God's consciousness and not in looking good in the world, so that we can be free from fear! Since death is an inevitable part of life, dealing with the dying is an essential part of life.
Consoling the patient, letting go of attachment
Family members should pay attention to the needs of the patient's mind, so that he or she can let go of his or her attachment and be guided towards tranquility and peace. When the patient is still conscious, it is important for those who are with him to comfort him with words. According to the phenomena of life, when a person is dying, he or she is busy in the world, and will inevitably have worries or attachments to children, grandchildren, money, or even angrily (e.g., not getting along with his or her daughter-in-law, or having bad children or grandchildren), or has unfulfilled wishes, even if Maitreya wants to come to take him, but he or she is so attached to these things that the prospect of being born to the ultimate bliss will be like a cake. Therefore, to comfort the dying, we should take advantage of the fact that they are still able to speak, and ask what their last wishes are, or what they have not yet accomplished, and then try our best to fulfill their wishes and make sure that they have no worries and no regrets.
There was a young man who suffered from liver cancer and was about to die, and when he was dying, he had a lot of things to worry about, so he was guided by a good friend, and his electrocardiogram turned into a calm and chaotic scene. I'm not sure how much I'm going to be able to do this, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it in a few weeks," he said.
Generally, we may know the importance of helping the dying, but we don't realize that at this juncture, the most important thing is to comfort the dying, to help them fulfill their unfulfilled wishes, and to help them deal with their unresolved problems. When the patient has finished explaining the aftermath, there is no need to repeat the questions so as not to disturb his or her meditation. At this point, we should advise the patient to let go of all karma and sincerely recite the Buddha's name, so that he or she can be born in bliss and be free from the cycle of reincarnation forever. If there is a Buddhist who believes in the truth, he should explain the meaning of impermanence to him, so that he can realize and understand the truth, give up this filthy body, have a pure heart, return to the Triple Gem, and be inspired to believe in the Pure Land. He was so kind-hearted that he said, "If you do good deeds in your life, you will surely be reborn in the World of Ultimate Bliss. He explains to him the great merits of Amitabha Buddha and Elysium. If the patient has been evil, it is said: "At this time only Amitabha Buddha can save you, degree you, because of its forty-eight wishes, can save the evil beings, you but sincere repentance, a thought back to the light, dedicated to Buddha, will be able to be guided by the Buddha.
When you are on your deathbed, you should let go of the whole thing, not because of money, children and grandchildren ... I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do that. The author had the following example: a sick person who was reciting the Buddha's name to the world of bliss and Amitabha Buddha came to guide him, but then he remembered that he hired a laborer to cut the rice, and he had to be paid 300 yuan per day, and he could not let go of his money and could not go to the next life, and he delayed for many months, and there was no one to help him in the recitation of the Buddha's name at the time of his death.
Or ask: "The four major dispersions of the dying, the body and mind to endure intense pain, how can I hear the comfort of others? The ear can still function at this time. The words of the attendants are clearly audible. There are ungrateful children and grandchildren who fight over family property before their elders die. According to the newspaper: the old father's body is still in the hall, the brothers already for the distribution of property and knife hacking. In order to avoid being unable to make decisions after death, you should make a will before you die, setting out clearly the distribution of the family's assets and gifts of property. For those who have reached the age of seventy, they should be mentally prepared to receive a visit from the Grim Reaper at any time, and should write down their end-of-life precautions in advance and deliver them to their children and grandchildren. For example, "Do not change my clothes or move my body within 24 hours of my death. All people should take shifts to help in the memorial service, and should not worship the feet or the tail of the rice. All belongings left behind should be offered to the Three Jewels, or be used for meritorious deeds (e.g., worshiping Emperor Liang, doing water and land works), and given to orphanages and nursing homes. All funeral matters should be kept simple. Within seventy-seven days, you should abstain from meat and vegetarianism, and recite Buddha's name for me more often." Those who cannot read or write can record their last words so that their children and grandchildren will have something to follow in dealing with the aftermath.
Suicide is not a consolation
Suicide is not only forbidden in the Buddhist precepts, but is also a very serious offense. Although this body is a bag of stinking skin, the Dharma Body, the Retribution Body, and the Incarnation Body are all present in it. In short, the person who has seen the nature of the mind is the Buddha, although the color body is a stinky bag, its mind is still the Buddha. Suicide is not only against the Buddha's precepts, it is also a seriously wrong way to end one's life. From the standpoint of consciousness, suicide is often motivated by fear, helplessness, and revenge. Since the positive and negative karmic retributions follow one's thoughts, the suicidal person's state of mind often leads him or her to the hell of suffering. If you commit suicide in your present life, you will have the seeds of suicide in your eight consciousness fields, and you will have the possibility of committing suicide again in your life.
A Japanese man jumped from the twelfth floor, and after his death, his place was repeatedly haunted, and when the priests, who were good at psychic readings, took pictures of him with their cameras, the light was scattered and thin. When the deceased committed suicide, his consciousness was extremely panicked, and nearly collapsed and caused this.
Suicides are ugly, and if they fall into the demonic path, they will be obsessed with the pain and ugliness of their deaths. The author once went to a university to teach, a student dormitory off campus is haunted. It was rumored that the female ghost was lying on the railroad to die in love, so when she appeared, her face was covered with blood, which was unbearable to see. The appearance of ghosts is exactly the same as their appearance at the time of death, and they are always in the evil path in their lives, which is difficult to be transcended. I advise all of you not to cut yourself in order to get rid of them, no matter how bad your situation is. In fact, the phenomenon of the world is the shadow of the heart, if you can not care, do not compare, resignation, no criticism, always look at the impermanence, adhere to the Buddha's recitation, until the death of the non-return, not to go to the earth in vain.
Do not give first aid
When you know that there is no way for the person to recover, and that there is no way to prolong his or her life by giving him or her first aid, you should make a decision immediately to avoid unnecessary suffering. It is better to help a dying person die peacefully than to let him or her suffer with tubes and wires.
While a dying person may be in a coma, he or she is still conscious, and may be able to prolong his or her life by using a life support system or resuscitator, but because of the pain in the body, he or she will become angered and obsessed, and will not be able to go to the next life in peace, which is not worth the cost when weighed against the two.
We should do our best to make the dying person's mind peaceful. If you are able to die in a familiar place, you will be able to help the deceased die peacefully. In the case of ordinary people, a home is more comfortable for the patient, and it would be ideal if the death could take place at home. Even if this is not possible, the hospital should be asked to remove the monitors and discard all tests so that there is no medical interference.
A believer's father was critically ill, and his brother insisted on resuscitating him by delivering oxygen and compressing his heart, causing him to vomit blood from his mouth. Afterward, the believer often dreamed that his father was covered with blood and came to complain. He was afraid that he had fallen into the ghostly realm and was in great pain.
On one occasion, I was assisting a physician's mother with a memorial service, and when I arrived, I was surprised to learn that the patient was already dead. The doctor arrived and insisted on first aid, but after a lot of fussing, the dead man's eyes were furious, his whole body stank, and his mouth was still open.
From the above example, it can be seen that first aid is not necessary if the patient cannot be revived by a group of doctors.
Preventing insects and ants from crawling on the body
If the patient is bleeding heavily, in order to prevent insects and ants from crawling on the body, a water dish can be placed at the four feet of the bed. This is a common sense of human nature can be known, waving flies and ants, often with the intention of putting them to death, in order to avoid the sick people do not win the insects disturbed, waving the beat of the time to produce evil thoughts, it is desirable to consider in advance, do not make the insects close to, and will not make the body difficult to dispose of.
Don't let the obsessive person come near
When dying, the body and mind are subjected to severe suffering, if the obsessive person comes near, often due to anger and rage at the sight of the wrongdoer, or the sight of the most loved one and attachment, the thought of obsession, so that it can not be free to go to the next life, the death of the thought of the death of the go, can not be careful?
From a medical point of view, death occurs when the heart stops beating, the breathing stops, or when the brain dies. In the case of Buddhism, it is argued that when life is over, the consciousness is not yet detached from the body, but is still conscious, and that it is necessary to wait until the whole body is cooled down and the consciousness is completely detached before it is called death. Therefore, after the end of life, before the consciousness is detached, it is the most painful time for the mind, and all the things that happened in the past life are repeated in a flash, and this time of sorrow and suffering, if you see the person who is obsessed with his life, it will definitely make him suffer from a great shock and affect his consciousness.
Don't send the body to the freezer or apply antiseptic
When the body is dead, the consciousness is not yet completely detached from the body, and it can still feel the pain; if the body is put into the freezer immediately, it will be plunged into the cold hell. The cold, however, makes it impossible to speak, so the suffering is self-evident. According to the Buddhist way of dealing with corpses, the body should be placed in the living room or in a place where it is not difficult to enter or exit the room, and then the body should be assisted in the memorial service immediately. It is not advisable to send the body to a freezer in a hurry, as this is very inappropriate and unfilial, and it will increase the suffering of the deceased and lead to anger and hatred. As mentioned before, what kind of thoughts are the strongest at the end of life, that is, to follow these thoughts to the next life. Since the deceased's thoughts of anger will be followed by the thoughts of anger, it will be very difficult for him or her to be reincarnated.
The application of embalming agent right after the death of the body may cause the bones of the body not to melt, making the deceased into a ghost of the corpse, so do not do this unwise action.
Don't change clothes in a hurry
Folk custom is to change the clothes of the dead in a hurry after death or death, which is very unwise. Because moving the body will cause pain to the deceased, it is necessary to change clothes before the death of the body, so that the deceased can have enough time to make his mind calm and peaceful, and those who are with him can concentrate on helping him in his prayers.
The traditional Chinese concept is that if you don't change your clothes at the time of death, and then change them after you die, you may not be able to get them. This is nonsense and is not credible. If you do not change your clothes until you have been out of breath for 16 hours and your whole body is cold, it is tantamount to abusing the dead and causing them to fall into the evil path. It is best if the patient can bathe and change clothes by himself; if he cannot, he should not do so in advance, lest it will destroy his righteousness and prevent him from being reborn. In this regard, Master Yinguang also said, "When a sick person is dying, moving the place where he is lying and changing his clothes will increase his suffering and hasten his death, so why would a filial son or a benevolent person not be able to bear to do this? If it is said that the death of the bed, the descendants lying in bad luck, it is the enemy of the enemy of his relatives! If it is said that the clothing is not neat, for the ghost will be ragged naked journey, as said, then why not stuff their bellies with food, to save them from being hungry ghosts. The skin is useless, not to mention the clothes!
On one occasion, a believer came to say that his grandmother, who usually rises at dawn, had not yet gotten up at nine o'clock yesterday. The family went to the room to visit her and realized that she had passed away. It is not known how long she has been dead, but she is stiff and can't move, let alone change her clothes. What should be done at this point? The correct way to handle the situation is to put the deceased in a proper position, do not move him/her, and do all you can to help him/her in his/her prayers. According to the above, after twenty-four hours, the deceased's body gradually softened and his appearance changed to a smiling face, which showed the incredible power of chanting Buddha's name. On the following day, the author suggests that the family members apply hot compresses to the joints of the deceased to revitalize the tendons and bones, and then change the clothes for the deceased. If there is a person who has not rested his eyes in peace, he should also wait until his whole body is cold, then apply a hot towel to his eyes and close them after a few minutes. Know that there are two kinds of death, one is too sick for a long time, too much medicine or life is a vegetable; two for the end of the karmic obstacles present, the pain is unbearable and now the appearance of the vicious and evil.
Do not cry
There are two things to avoid when you are dying and not yet in a coma. A taboo family members and the sick make soft love language, to the world of entanglement, in vain to increase the sadness of love. The second taboo clinical tears, before the death of the first cry, noisy noise, disturbing the right idea, so that the patient's heart sadness, obsession, or tears will drop the body of the deceased, touching its feelings, so that it can not bear to leave. In such cases, even if Maitreya were to guide them, it would be of no help.
Or they may say, "My parents were so hard-working and so kind to me that I couldn't even see them off with tears in my eyes at the time of parting, so I'm not being unfilial. I have thought y with my wisdom that since weeping cannot bring back the dead, it is better to endure the grief and do what is good for the dead. If we cannot bear it, we should avoid going to other places to express our grief, so that the sick will not hear it. It is said that the sorrowful tears of the attendant are like thunder and hail to the dying person. The most important thing is to encourage the sick person to chant, and to help them to chant, so that the sick person's mind is focused on the Buddha's name.
One in the home land, who had been chanting the Buddha's name with great diligence, had felt the Buddha's presence, and had foreseen the time of death a few months before his death. As soon as the time came, they bathed and dressed themselves, and called on their friends to help them, and they looked very solemn, and the priests also said that the Buddha had appeared. To my surprise, karmic obstacles suddenly appeared. When his wife was helping him with the chanting, his concubine burst in, crying and shaking his body. At this time, the monk's consciousness had not yet left with the Buddha, and he was still clinging to the Saha, unable to part with it, so he woke up and said to the Buddha, "I can't let go of the concubine! However, his illness was so severe that he collapsed, his face darkened, and the Lotus Brothers stepped up their chanting, but it was still ineffective. We should remember: "The way to the next life is a matter of letting go of things in the day-to-day life. Whether or not you will be able to go to the next life depends on whether or not you are attentive in your daily life.
In ancient times, there was a husband and wife who believed in Buddhism and practiced fasting. One day, when his husband died, his wife cried out in grief, and when he heard this sound, his heart was filled with love, and his consciousness was put into his wife's body as a worm in her nostrils. When his wife was weeping, a worm fell from her nostrils, and when she wanted to trample it with her feet, a monk spoke up to stop it. A monk spoke out to stop it. The wife was horrified and asked why. The monk replied, "Your husband, who practiced fasting, should have been born in heaven, but because he heard you weeping, he was reborn as a worm in your nostril. Therefore, we should calmly consider whether we have put down all our destinies. Are you giving hope and convenience to others? You should be grateful for the Buddha's arrangement and not face the world with a mindset of resistance. One should never be hostile to all beings and never quarrel with fate. The reason why there are so many people who pray to Buddha but so few who go to their deaths in peace is because of the lack of effort on the nature of the mind and the wrong way of handling the situation at the time of death.
Do not move
When a person's life is about to end, the body is not in control, and a movement is like the pain of being bent. At this time, either sitting or lying down, lying on the side or back, are to feel comfortable as appropriate. If he is already unconscious but not dead, even if there is urine and drenching on his body, he should not be wiped or bathed, so as not to increase his pain. If moving causes pain, one will be angered, or even fall into the hands of poisonous insects. After the patient has died, do not move him or her, and do not let him or her lie prone or on his or her side. If there is a nasal tube or urinary catheter inserted due to serious illness, it can be removed when the patient is critically ill, but it should be carefully and slowly withdrawn in order to assist in the chanting of prayers. It is extremely painful and uncomfortable to insert the tube, but it is not painful to remove it, so it can be removed without worry. Do not follow the world's view that the deceased's hands and feet are not straight and that he or she will become a cripple in the next life. The Buddha entered Nirvana, that is, to adopt the right side of the side lying down, the practice of those who have gained, more auspicious lying down and died, or sitting in the body of the dead. If you lie on your side, your hands and feet will be bent, so whether your body is upright or not has no bearing on what path you will take.
According to folklore, before a person dies, he or she must first move to the right side of the main hall, and a woman to the left side, so as not to let him or her die in the bedchamber. This is a great way to prevent people from getting sick, so it's a good idea to be careful! However, in order to avoid the narrow space in the bedroom, inconvenient to help the prayer, can be moved to the hall or convenient place to help the prayer before the breath is not broken.
Before the body is not completely cold, you should pay attention to the face of the deceased, body, do not make flies bite, stay. Because although the gas is gone, the body temperature is not yet cold, the consciousness is not yet completely out of the body, at this time, the slightest thing touches the body, the deceased still feel pain. For example, in the Buddhist scriptures, the king of Ajindra, who was a man of great virtue and deserved to be born in the heavenly realm, died when his attendant touched his face with a fan and was angered by the anguish in his eyes, so he was reborn as a python.
When a person dies, the hot air coming from the bottom up is the phase of ascension. The hot air that comes from the top is the phase of falling. Therefore, there is a "top of the holy eye to heaven, the human heart hungry ghosts belly, the evening life knee away, hell foot plate out. However, it is important not to make repeated attempts, because if the divine consciousness is not yet detached, the slightest stimulation will cause pain and worry in the heart, which is harmful and not beneficial to the deceased. Therefore, I am not afraid to emphasize again and again that the body should not be moved, and should only be moved when the body is cold, no body heat, and is indeed dead. But if you have a great practitioner present, you can gently test the back of your middle finger.
On one occasion, I assisted a believer's aunt in her memorial service. The deceased was lying down when she died. The family wanted to turn the body into a supine position, but the author explained to the public that the body should remain in its original position and continue to assist in the memorial service. After four or five hours, the deceased's face was flushed with color and her appearance was more solemn than before. Due to business, the author left first, and later the son of the deceased rushed back on hearing the news, bawled at the door, and blamed the monks present for the hasty handling of the deceased, while moving the body. In a few moments, the dead man's face turned black. I know that this is the most painful time for the deceased, and what is needed is the Buddha's name, not any other inappropriate action.
If there are special circumstances such as the following, you should not be so rigid as to move the body first and then assist in the meditation. For example, if you fall down in the bathroom and can't get up, you should carry the person out immediately. If the hospital is not convenient to help the dying person, the dying person should also be carried out. This is the last resort, and special measures should only be taken.
Dying in a warm and peaceful environment
Death is the end of a patient's life, and should be taken seriously and treated with humane respect. However, in medical institutions that emphasize efficiency and a system of division of labor, the worker who handles the body often asks the family for the patient's uniform and moves the body to the morgue as soon as the physician determines that the patient has died, even if the family doesn't want to move the body.
Compared with the cold impression of hospitals and the lack of humanity and a friendly, warm atmosphere, most patients want to spend their last days at home, except for some diseases (such as terminal cancer patients), which are accompanied by severe pain and require morphine injections to relieve the pain, but this is a controlled narcotic drug that the family can not bring back to administer on their own, and in this case, they may want to consider living in a hospice. The company's website is available in the following languages: English
The main purpose of such an institution is to minimize the patient's pain and to provide a warm environment in which he or she can live out the rest of his or her life. The reason for its establishment is to provide palliative and supportive care services to the dying patient and his/her family, targeting the patient's family as a unit and extending the service process to the funeral. Emphasis is placed on symptom control and preparation and support before and after death, and the service is provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by a team of various staff members who provide holistic health services. The focus of the service is on the spiritual well-being of the patient and his/her family, providing a variety of religious services, and assisting the family in the aftermath of the death. Since it is not for profit, it charges fees according to the financial ability of the patient and his/her family or is free of charge.
From the prohibition of religious intervention to the establishment of Buddhist halls and meditation rooms in major hospitals (e.g., Veterans General Hospital, Chang Gung Hospital, etc.), the medical profession has recognized that medical treatment is not only about scientific and technological operations, but also about spiritual care. The medical profession has its limits, and through the comfort of religion, patients can cross the gap of fear of death in peace and tranquility.
Don't let the world's feelings of compassion cause you to miss out on the important issues of life and death
On one occasion, when I was assisting in a memorial service for a person who had passed the age of one, his daughter came with her son and pushed her baby son in front of the deceased, saying, "Mom, look, it's Ox! I thought to myself, "If the deceased could still recognize the ox and call out as kindly as she used to, why would she need to bother all the Lotus friends to help her in the memorial service here? The daughter of the deceased came home to see the deceased for the last time in accordance with traditional Chinese custom. This is not only not helpful to the deceased, but also a distraction. Instead of seeing the deceased for the last time, it would be more practical to fulfill the filial piety during the deceased's lifetime. This worldly human nature, I am afraid that it may delay your life's major events. Therefore, at the time of death, you should keep your mind calm, and do not do anything to disturb your mind.
Should help to read to the whole body cold after the patient's gas is dead, the consciousness is still there, still conscious, need to wait until the whole body cold, the consciousness out of the life, warmth, knowledge are out of the body, before death. This time is as slow as one or two days, as fast as a split second, in general, more than ten to twelve hours. Therefore, it is most appropriate to help the reader until sixteen hours, or even twenty-four hours, after the death of the body.
When the patient is conscious, he can ask a good teacher to enlighten him and inspire him to believe in the Pure Land, and encourage him with the words, "Being born in the West is like getting out of a cesspool and prison to the home of purity and freedom. This will encourage him to be happy and to get rid of his fear.
If you are terminally ill and cannot be cured, you may be discharged from the hospital as soon as possible, and you may pray to the Buddha with all your heart in your own home or in another quiet place. Friends and relatives should accompany the patient to help him in the chanting, praying for Buddha's blessing, and telling him that he should not pay attention to any realm except for the light released by Amitabha Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, and Dasheshigi Bodhisattva. If the patient's karmic obstacles are present, and he or she does not hear the Buddha's name or struggles in pain, the family should pray for him or her in front of the Buddha, hold the Mantra for the Future Life 108 times, or recite the K?itigarbha Sutra, etc., and then help him or her with the prayers.
If a Buddhist monk's deathbed is afflicted by illness, resentment, or doubt, he should be told, "Venerable Xuanzang's deathbed was also afflicted by illness, and he suspected that the classics he translated were incorrect. The Bodhisattvas are comforted by the fact that the sins of the past are so great that they are eliminated by this small suffering. Don't doubt it." It is important to make sure that you have faith in the Pure Land, so that you can transcend the cycle of birth and death.
Be vegetarian and don't kill
The diet of the sick should be mainly vegetarian. When you are dying, you need to have someone to help you with your prayers, and the person who helps you with your prayers should try not to eat alcohol or meat, because if you eat meat or alcohol, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will not come near you.
Before the beginning of time, there was a filial daughter, Koumei, whose mother liked to eat fish and turtles and their eggs, and who died in hell, after Koumei held the name of the Buddha, and did all the merits and virtues, and then got out of the suffering of hell. It is clear that the sin of killing a living being has infinite consequences. Master Hong Yi once said:
"The person who kills a living creature will have a short life, be sickly, have many difficulties, have no children, and will not be allowed to be born in the West. After the end of his life, he will first fall into hell, hungry ghosts, and animals, and after countless kalpas, he will be subjected to many sufferings.
The suffering of the hells and hungry ghosts is well known. But when you are born in the animal kingdom, you will often have to pay back your grudges. In the past, people who killed cows, goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, fish and shrimps, etc., were changed into cows, goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, fish and shrimps. The cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks, fish and shrimps that were killed in the past, or become human beings, and return to kill them. This is the reason of karma and retribution, and there is no doubt about it, and there is no way to avoid it.
"This is also the living beings, and I am the same body; should rise up the heart of compassion, pity their blindness. We should advise the world to let go of living beings and to abstain from killing them; not to eat their flesh is to be regarded as loving things."
Old Master Xuyun said,
"The Buddha has ordained that if a disciple wishes to practice benevolence, he should first observe the precept of killing. If the precepts of killing are upheld, the cycle of rebirth will cease."
"The beginning of killing is to take advantage of the weak, or to covet the mouth and the stomach, or to harm the life because of the wealth, therefore, some people kill people, animals kill animals, etc., all belong to the angrily killing, slow to kill. If a person kills for the sake of food and mouth, he is an obsessive killer. However, the meat of others to supplement their own body, is not the gentleman's tolerance for it?"
Master Yin Guang also said:
"If you wish for good fortune in your home, if you kill every day, your home will become a killing ground. The killing ground is the place where the ghosts gather, and its inauspiciousness is great!
"All animals know pain and are afraid of death. If you kill them and eat them, you will create a karma of killing, and you will be killed by them in the next life and the life after.
"All dangerous and serious illnesses are caused by the karma of killing in one's past life."
Even Master Taixu cautioned:
"If you can refrain from eating meat, the thought of killing will be removed; if you can remove the thought of killing, you will become compassionate; if you can become compassionate, peace can be achieved; if you can achieve peace, there will be no disasters. Thus, life and benevolence can be expected from the wise and the holy, and the world can be purified, and peace and happiness can be preserved for all eternity.
"The flesh of sentient beings is born of lust, and the flesh and blood of the whole body are the seeds of lust; if a man eats it, he will grow in lust, and because of lust he will crave more and more flesh, and because of flesh he will crave more and more lust, and so he will turn his body into the body of an animal! The more one lusts, the more one kills; the more one kills, the more one lusts; the more one kills, the more one dies; the more one lusts and lusts, the more one dies, the more one dies, the more one dies, the more one dies, the more one dies. People eat meat, all from the kill, kill habits along the transmission, kill the opportunity to move, so that the idea of killing does not go to the human heart, from the micro and the, from the object and people. Cannon fire in the sky, the light of the knife covered the ground, people and people, kill to kill, the body of thousands of miles, blood flow hundreds of rivers! By people kill people, for animals to eat, kill and eat meat, cause and effect as such. Because there are flesh-eaters, there are fishers, hunters, and slaughterers, so that there are people who kill and kill for profit and wealth, all flesh-eaters.
All beings love life and hate death, and if this is the case for humans, it is also the case for all other beings. If you love your own life, why would you want to hurt others? The first of the five precepts is "not to kill", and the words of the foregoing ancestors are so clear that we should follow them to the letter.
The Tang Hanshan masters saw a man marrying, in fact, the bride is his grandmother reincarnation, the guests on the table is the reincarnation of the cattle and horses, the pot of pigs, cows, chickens and ducks are his six relatives reincarnated, so sadly sang the verse cloud: "six paths of reincarnation of the bitter, the grandson married his grandmother, the cattle and sheep on the table, the pot of the six relatives cooked.
The Lankavatara Sutra says, "Killing all living beings for the sake of profit, and netting all kinds of meat because of wealth are both evil karma, and they will die in the prison of calling."
"Killing and eating meat is bad karma, and you will be punished for it," says contemporary lawyer Elder Monk Guanghua. However, depending on the intensity of the killing mind and the cruelty of the killing method, there are different levels of speed, and it is not possible to make a generalization. Secondly, after killing and eating meat, repentance and practice of good deeds can also be turned into a present reward, will be a heavy reward for a light reward. In order for you to understand the present karma of killing and eating meat, I would like to tell you a little bit about my experience of eating meat and being rewarded for it.
When I was eighteen years old, in order to fight against the Japanese and save the country, I went out of school and joined the war. I was fortunate to have been blessed by my ancestors, and after only half a year of serving as a staff sergeant, I was promoted to a higher rank, and since then I have been rolling in the money and food. Until I retired and became a monk, most of what I did in the political and military sectors was money and food business. As the proverb says: "Rely on the mountain to eat the mountain, rely on the water to eat the water." Although I do not take a penny, but close to the water tower, in fact, the use of money to facilitate more. I have money to drink wine and eat meat, created a lot of killing karma, night and day to look into the heart, quite uneasy, so money on the occurrence of boredom. I am not willing to count the money, not willing to save money, because of this.
My ability to drink and eat meat, though not big, is not small. On the amount of alcohol, one or two bottles of sorghum wine to drink down, the face is not red God does not mess. Eat fish and meat, it is amazing, set to sit down, chewing slowly eat on two hours, eat one or two pounds of fat meat, do not call sound tired. My favorite chicken and duck, eat every meal, how to eat and eat not tired. A year to eat down, we actually ate how many chicken and duck beings, no statistics. On one occasion, however, we were stationed at Xikou in Dinghai, Zhejiang Province. When we first arrived, we could see flocks of chickens and ducks all around the village. Every day I asked the landlady to buy chickens and ducks for us, and gave them to the orderlies to kill and eat, as many as three or five, or as few as one or two. After three months, we had eaten all the chickens and ducks within five miles of the village. One afternoon, with a strong north wind, I asked the landlady to buy chickens for us, and she said, "You still want to eat! All the chickens and ducks within five miles of here have been eaten up for you, and you still want to eat!" I guessed it was because she was afraid to go out because of the cold weather and refused to go and buy them, so she used that to put me off. So I took an orderly by myself and went around the quarters for four or five miles, and beat about the bush, and sure enough I did not see a single chicken or duck. I realized that I had eaten so many chickens and ducks, and couldn't help but be shocked: the killing karma I had created was too great. In the 42nd year of the Republic of China, I became a believer in Buddhism, and after reading the Buddhist scriptures and understanding cause and effect, I was eager to diligently pursue a vegetarian diet in order to atone for my past offenses. As far as I know, I was the first person in the military who openly believed in Buddhism and vegetarianism. However, in my heart, I had a feeling of "too late to regret". I decided to become a monk in order to repent and spread the Dharma to benefit life and to atone for my sins. Perhaps because of the goodness of this thought, the killing karma that I have created in this life, fortunately, I was able to turn the heavy reward into a light reward, and turn the latter into the present reward.
Two days before the Dragon Boat Festival in 1963, I began to worship Pure Land Confession at 8:00 a.m. in the Immeasurable Life Passage at the Lotus Light Orchid in Nantou (I had been in seclusion for nearly two years and had been worshiping Pure Land Confession for more than nine months by this time). After the first bow, I felt light and walked toward the west. After a few steps, I heard many chickens and ducks crowing behind me, and when I looked back, I saw thousands of chickens and ducks in three rows following me, and I looked backward along their rows for about two miles before I saw their meeting place, which was in the big square of Nantou Station. There was also a large group of cows, dogs, and pigs lined up waiting to go on their way! Looking back at myself, I was holding a duck on my chest and calling those beings, one by one. When I saw this situation, I thought that they had come to settle accounts with me, and I could not help but be startled, as if awakening from a dream. After I finished the Pure Land Confession, I was afraid that I would get very sick, so I rang the bell and called the guardian, Mr. Liu Wenbin, and told him what had just happened, and asked him to take good care of me, and not to stay away from me during the recent period. How do you know, that night in the meditation room, a fall on the ground, broke his left leg. Although I was treated by famous Chinese and Western doctors, spent huge amounts of money on medicine, and suffered unspeakable pains, all treatments were ineffective, and I became a "crippled Dharma Master". This is my karma for killing and eating meat. I have told you all about it today. Although it is too late for me to repent, I hope that you will take this incident as a lesson for all of us to be vigilant. I hope that you will take this as a lesson to all of us, so that we can all be on our guard.
Lastly, in addition to advising you to quit killing and eat vegetarian, I also advise you to study the Pure Land Dharma, chanting Buddha's name and seeking to be born in the West, so that you can really get rid of the suffering and obtain happiness. The two are the same: the "fasting" and the "recitation of the Buddha's name," and if they are combined, there are two beauties; if they are divided, there are two losses. What does this mean? If one holds a fast without reciting the Buddha's name, one is bound to be rich and powerful in the next life because one has held a fast for a long time. The ancients said: "one day fasting, the world kills no I share", not to mention the life long fast, its blessings can not be measured? With the blessing, of course, is good, but the rich and wealthy people, nine out of ten are not willing to cultivate, the so-called "rich and noble to learn the Tao is difficult." The rich man, who does not know how to learn the Way, must tend to enjoy food, sex and pleasure in his life. Food is a seat of a thousand lives, color is leaning on Cui Nuohong, play is singing, dancing and playing. Anyone who leads this kind of life, it is not difficult to imagine that in the future he will surely fall into the three evil paths, and in this third life he will suffer. If a person who recites the Buddha's name does not observe fasts, he will be obstructed by karma and will not be allowed to go to the next life, but will flow into the eight spirits and gods. This is the case of fasting and reciting the Buddha's name, and if you do not do so, you will suffer two losses. If you can fast and recite the Buddha's name, you will be able to obtain the present physical and mental well-being, and then be born in the West, see the Buddha and hear the Dharma to certify the three non-retrogression, and finally complete the supreme Bodhi. The merits and benefits are as vast as the Dharma realm, as infinite as emptiness, and as inconceivable."
The above is a discussion of the disadvantages of eating meat in terms of karma, but scientifically speaking, it is better to be a vegetarian than a non-vegetarian. Master Yinguang once said: "Meat is a filthy thing, eat it is blood and God fainted, hair fast and early decline, the most likely cause of disease. Vegetables are clean products, eat the gas is clear and Zhilang, long healthy and difficult to old, to rich nourishing power.
Cancer cells thrive when the blood is acidic. Consumption of meat, eggs, alcohol, etc., although highly caloric, will cause the blood to become acidic. In order to neutralize the acidity, calcium, which maintains the osmotic pressure of the cells, decreases. If the amount of calcium decreases drastically, the osmotic pressure will change, and magnesium will be released from the cells, causing the cells to age. At this time, pathogens attached to the wrinkled walls of the aging cells will immediately invade, causing the cells to mutate and cause cancer. If you can consume alkaline food such as fruits and vegetables, the environment is not suitable for the growth of cancer cells, so that the body will not become a breeding ground for cancer cells.
In terms of human structure, the digestive system, teeth, and jaws of humans are similar to those of herbivores, but very different from those of carnivores. As a physician, Mr. Sun Yat-sen, the father of the nation, said: "Vegetarianism is a wonderful way to prolong life, has been scientists, hygienists, physiologists, medical scientists **** recognized today! Another cloud: "The tofu, real plants in the meat also. This thing has the function of meat, but not the poison of meat."
Dr. Miller had two rats to do experiments, were fed meat and vegetarian food, the results of vegetarian rats longer life, resistance to disease and resilience are stronger. Why is this so? Because when animals are killed, they will be afraid, resulting in changes in the body's biochemistry and the production of a large number of toxins. In addition, the unscrupulous owner of the animal for the rapid growth of the injection of a variety of chemicals, so those who eat their meat, but also the chemical substances into the body, in addition, the animal body or parasites, or infected with disease, after eating, the opposite of the harm, so we know that the benefits of vegetarianism must be greater than non-vegetarian food.
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