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For Buddhist clergy or lay practitioners who have already taken refuge, or ethical men and women who haven’t, if you can study this article attentively, it will definitely be greatly beneficial to you in terms of your career development, spiritual cultivation and in many other aspects. While you are studying this article, you should read it repeatedly, study it carefully and ponder on its contents over and over again. Otherwise, you will not be able to grasp at a glance the profound Vajra Words cited from various sutras and sastras. Having understood the demerit of killing and the merit of life-release, you should do your best to conduct yourself accordingly in your daily life – stop killing and save lives. If you can go a step further and promulgate the gist of this article widely or print more copies, you can accumulate boundless merit. In this way, a good many sentient beings will be able to escape suffering and attain happiness, and you will also create the causes to reach enlightenment in the very near future. This is the only purpose of the author.

Homage to Buddha Shakyamuni – our fundamental teacher!
Homage to Avalokitesvara – the Bodhisattva of great compassion!
Homage to all lineage masters, to whom we are much obliged!
From sutras and sastras – the vast expanse of wisdom and reason,
The rain of ambrosia falls and blesses us,
May those drowning in the fiery ocean of fighting and killing,
Foster refreshing awareness therefrom.

Buddhism taught by Buddha Shakyamuni can be summarized into three principal aspects: Avoid degrading actions that harm sentient beings; perform wholesome deeds of the body, speech, and mind; constantly subdue one’s mental afflictions – this is the true Dharma. As it is said in the Nirvana Sutra, “Abstain from all unwholesome deeds, / Perform wholesome ones, / Purify your own minds, / This is the teaching of the Buddhas.” Therefore, those who have taken refuge should not overly attach importance to whether or not they have a false appearance like a certificate of refuge. They should rather give priority to the benevolent thought of benefiting sentient beings. They should try their best to benefit helpless sentient beings at any moment. This is the extraordinary conduct of Mahayana Bodhisattvas, and the inevitable path to take for those who have generated Bodhicitta. This is because Bodhicitta is the essence of the entire 84,000 teachings of the Buddha, and Bodhicitta in itself is to directly or indirectly benefit sentient beings. Therefore, the merit accrued in the motivation to benefit sentient beings alone surpasses the merit of any other compounded phenomena of worldly nature, just as Bodhisattva Shantideva said, “The mere thought of benefiting sentient beings, / Generates more merit than making offering to all Buddhas.”

What all sentient beings value the most is their own life. Saving them from the verge of death is for them the greatest act of kindness, while ending their lives cruelly inflicts the biggest harm. Therefore, stopping the killing and saving lives is the duty of Mahayana Bodhisattvas. It is also the most convenient way to complete the accumulation of merit to become fully enlightened. This article will try to demonstrate this point comprehensively through scriptural proofs from Buddhist sutras and sastras as well as theoretical proofs.

THE KARMIC RETRIBUTION OF KILLING

Among the ten destructive actions, killing and holding wrong views bring about the greatest negative consequences. In the Essay on Stopping Killing and Releasing Lives it is said, “Life is held as the most precious thing in the world, / While killing and hurting as the cruelest.” Based on sutras, Patrul Rinpoche pointed out that, “If one takes away one single life, he must make up for it throughout five hundred transmigrations.” Therefore, whether the living being in question is large or small in size, if a person causes its life to terminate, he must repay it with his own precious life for five hundred times. So, for those who have accumulated heavy karma for killing, please consider the fact that you need to pay up this debt with your own life over and over again. Do you still want to kill? In the Sutra of Stability in Contemplation of the True Law (Maha-smrty-upasthana-sutra), it is said, “If one kills a sentient being, / He will stay in hell for an intermediate aeon.” So please think about how many tens of thousands of years there are in an intermediate aeon? When can this person finally be freed? Master Lian’chi said, “A person who commits such a monstrous karma, / Has created deep hatred that lasts through tens of thousands of rebirths. / When impermanence [death] befalls, / He will fall into hell, where / Boiling cauldrons and charcoal furnaces, / Razor trees and hills of swords await, / Having exhausted the power of his negative karma, / He will be reborn as an animal. / Hatred begets hatred, / Lives avenged with lives, / And when he finally takes the human form, / He is burdened with sickness and is short-lived, / Dies either at the fangs of serpents or tigers, / Or is killed by weapons and wars, / Or is punished to death by authorities, / Or dies by the intake of poison. / All of these are the result of killing.”

Killing any sentient being results in our rebirth after death as the same kind of sentient being that we killed, and experience the same kind of suffering. As Suragama Sutra states, “If a man kills a sheep to eat its meat, the sheep will be reborn as a human being and the man, after his death, will be reborn as sheep (to repay his former debt). Thus living beings of the ten states of birth, devour each other and so form evil karma which will have no end…due to such causes, living beings are subject to birth and death for hundreds and thousands of aeons.” Recorded in the Sutra of Miscellaneous Jewels is the following story: Once, there was a wealthy man who wanted to eat mutton, but was afraid of his son’s objection. So he told a lie and said that the Feng-shui of his house was auspicious due to the protection of a tree deity inhabiting the tree by the farmland, and so they must slaughter a sheep as sacrificial offering to this tree deity. His son believed his father’s words. He built a small tabernacle by the tree and slaughtered a sheep as offering to the tree deity. Soon after this, the wealthy man died and, as retribution of his dishonesty and killing, he fell into a lower realm and was reborn as a sheep. The following year, when the son was about to slaughter another sheep for sacrifice, he chose exactly the sheep that was in fact his father’s rebirth. This sheep baa-ed and furiously refused to be taken. As the sheep was lying on the ground, an Arhat happened to be passing by their front door, and explained the karmic cause of its previous life. The Arhat conferred power to the owner so that he could see how his father was reborn as a sheep. At that moment, the son felt strong remorse, and destroyed the tabernacle of the deity. From then on, he refrained from all unwholesome actions and practiced wholesome deeds. He never took the life of another sentient being, and constantly released living beings, paid homage to the Three Jewels, and had strong conviction in the law of Karma.

Recorded in a sutra is another story: When Maudgalyayana and Bhiksu Palkye were at the oceanside, they saw a man, entirely covered in blazing flames and wailing at the top of his lungs. He was surrounded by countless hungry ghosts who were shooting burning arrows at him. With his extra-sensory abilities, Maudgalyayana observed his karmic cause – it turned out that this person used to be a hunter in a previous life, and took many lives. Therefore, when he was alive at that time, he suffered many years of agony, and after his death, he fell into hell and it was difficult for him to be liberated.

Recorded in a different sutra is another story: Once, in Saravati, King Virudhaka led an army to the Sakya Clan and slew eighty thousand Sakyas. At that time, Buddha Shakyamuni observed its karmic cause, and saw that this is the karmic retribution of the Sakyas when they were fishermen and killed many fish [in previous lives]. King Virudhaka and his minister were the rebirths of two big fish at that time. Therefore, although we cannot see what happened in our previous and next lives with our bare eyes, the negative karma of killing follows us constantly. Once it ripens, its consequence will manifest itself. If we have clairvoyance, then we will certainly be careful in guiding our actions in accordance with the law of karma. As the Sutra of Hundred Actions puts it, “Even if hundreds and thousands of aeons have passed, / The karma that one produces will not be exhausted. / When suitable conditions gather, / One must face its consequences.” It is documented in various sutras and the Vinaya that “The karma of one’s actions will not be exhausted in a hundred aeons.” In his work, the Treasury of Precious Qualities, Master Jigme Lingpa (also known as Khyentsé Özer, the Light of Wisdom and Compassion) wrote that, “Although the shadow of a Garuda soaring in the sky, / May be temporarily invisible, / It never was separate from its body and, / Will appear when appropriate conditions gather.” This means that, just as when a Garuda bird is soaring in the air, although we cannot see its shadow, it does not mean that there isn’t one. If we follow it, once the bird descends, we will see its dark shadow clearly. Analogously, although the negative potential of killing or the constructive potential of life-release does not manifest itself right now, the power of its karma will not be exhausted. Under suitable circumstances, the karmic consequences will manifest themselves.

All animals in the world love to go on living and are afraid of death, just like human beings. As A Commentary on the Treasury of Precious Qualities states, “When Buddha Shakyamuni was a king, his retinues prayed for rain because of the drought, and killed animals as sacrificial offering to deities. At that time, a sentiment of compassion arose in the king, so he tried to stop them, and said, ‘Jambudvipa is suffering from a terrible drought, and no other sacrifice would be effective, except for sacrificing a thousand members of the King’s retinue as offering in praying for rain.’ At that time, all of his subjects prayed in fear and made offering without killing. Then the king said, ‘You and animals are alike in the way that you all love your own lives.’” When some foolish people see horrified cows or other domestic animals resist and dread their imminent deaths, not only do they not show any pity or compassion, they break out in fits of rage and must slaughter the animals themselves. Such people are bound to fall into hell upon death.

Each small creature equally possesses a life, and with it a faculty to feel pain and happiness. Animals too are mortally afraid of death as much as humans are. Therefore, we should not hurt them readily, or otherwise, we are bound to face the consequence. To illustrate this point with an example, there was a farmer named Si Liu from the outer city of Yangzhou of Jiangsu province. He liked planting flowers and trimming trees in his garden patch. One day, when he was scooping out dirt, he found a formicary with countless ants inside. Because of his brutal disposition and habitual killing, he took a kettle of boiling water from home and poured it directly into the formicary. As a result, all the countless ants were burned to death. One day in August that year, he dreamt that, all of a sudden, a myriad of ants were crawling all over his body. After he woke up, he found himself covered with red spots all over the muscles of his body. The next day, the spots turned into red blisters, and in each blister, there was an ant biting fiercely into his flesh. The agony was excruciating. After several days of horror and wailing, he passed away. This is merely a case of karmic retribution that happened in the human realm, while outside of the human existence, the suffering of the three lower realms is immeasurable. Therefore, please think over the incredible karmic retribution incurred by destruction of lives.

Every sentient being of this world loves its own life. Except for the creatures of hell, no one wants to die. If, for example, someone were to ransom a man from gunpoint with money or other skillful means, then this person would be without a doubt a life-saver in the true sense. The saved man would be so grateful: he would be overwhelmed with all kinds of feelings, warm tears would fill his eyes, and he would remember this to the end of his life. Likewise, if you save an animal that is about to be slaughtered, it is a deed of the same virtue, even if it is only a small fish that you’re saving.

According to Abhidharma-kosa, if a person delegates another to kill, or rejoices at someone’s act of killing, then such a deed is called “karma accumulated from non-action”. The negative karma produced by such action is tantamount to that of the person who kills personally. If one occasionally takes a life in dreams, or unintentionally steps on a bug, causing its death, because of the lack of the intention of killing, the retribution isn’t grave. In his Commentary on the Prayer of Sukhavati, Lala Sönam Chödrup Rinpoche said, “If one commits killing for the sake of the Three Treasures, the retribution is a hundred thousand times graver than that of other transgressions.” If one makes offerings to the Sangha, or donates money to build monasteries or Buddha statues with the wealth accumulated from killing, not only is there no merit, but one produces extremely severe negative karma. According to sutras and Abhidharma-kosa, both those who sell and those who buy knives, guns, fishing nets or other instruments of killing, will be reborn in hell, and until these instruments are destroyed, their negative karma will increase day by day.

According to another scriptural proof, if there is a person in a family that exercises killing professionally, such as hunting or butchering, then every member of this family must fall into hell once. If, in a valley, there is a person who exercises in killing, then the whole valley is inauspicious. Moreover, we should avoid engaging or talking with such people even for a split moment: If they visit other people’s homes, they will bring various sinister conditions with them. If we carry their belongings on us, this will reduce the force of the Three Treasures’ blessing of the consecrated objects that we’re carrying. Even merely touching his shadow will cause much disturbance and inauspiciousness.

Therefore, it is necessary to keep the precept of non-killing. Even if you cannot refrain from killing forever, you should still vow to abstain from killing for either one year, one month, or even one day. Not killing brings a great deal of benefit. Once, there was a butcher who lived in the city where Katyayana resided, and kept the precept of not killing at night. And when later he fell into the Hell of Loneliness, as the retribution of killing when he was alive, he suffered in a burning hot iron room during daytime, and at night, because of the merit of keeping the precept, he lived in a celestial palace surrounded by four goddesses and enjoyed peace and comfort.

Now that we are aware of the fault of killing, we should make firm vows in front of our lama and the Three Treasures never to harm a living creature ever again, even at the cost of our own life.

EVEN THE SAGE MUST FACE THE RETRIBUTION OF KILLING

At the time of Buddha Shakyamuni, there was an Arhat named Udayi, who lectured dharma to a Brahmin woman. In turn, this Brahmin woman murdered Arhat Udayi with the help of a robber: they severed his head and buried it in a pit of dirt. When the king found out about this, he caught and burned the robber and the woman alive, and additionally cut off the hands and feet of the five hundred retinues of the robber as punishment. When a disciple of the Buddha asked about the causes of this incident, the Buddha told him that, once, in the Deer Park, there was a King Brahmadatta, who had a dream: he dreamed that his intestines bundled up the city. The king asked his Brahmin minister whether this dream was auspicious or ominous. Although the Brahmin minister knew very well that this dream was auspicious, but for the benefit of his five hundred family dependants, he answered the king that a large number of cows must be killed and offered to the public. At that time, there was a cow and an ox that the king initially did not intend to kill. However, at the insistence of the son of the Brahmin, they suffered this sudden tragedy for no good reason. Before they died, the cow and the ox made evil vows that they would cut off the hands and feet of the five hundred Brahmin family dependents as revenge. The King Brahmadatta is the present king, the minister is now Arhat Udayi, and the five hundred relatives are now the five hundred robbers. The cow and the ox are the Brahmin woman and the robber.

There’s also the story of Arya Nagarjuna offering his own head: One time, in order to succeed to the throne sooner, the crown prince of the Indian King Surabhibhadra asked Bodhisattva Nagarjuna to offer him his head. At first, the prince tried to decapitate the Bodhisattva with a sword, but, as if it was cutting air, the sword could not cause any harm. Bodhisattva Nagarjuna told him that he had eradicated all karmic hindrances of weapons, but once when he was cropping kusa grass, he killed a bug. This was the only unwholesome deed that had not yet ripened, so only kusa grass could sever his head. His words proved to be true.

In one of his previous lives, when the Dzogchen lineage holder Vairotsana was a bhiksu, he killed the louses on his body. As a consequence, when he moved to Tsawa-Rang in the Gyalmo area, he was locked up in a prison full of louses.

Although enlightened beings have internally actualized the state of emptiness, and external phenomena are neither beneficial nor harmful to them, they still appear to suffer the apparent consequence of killing. This is another evidence of the truthfulness of the law of cause and effect.

KILLING VIOLATES PRECEPTS, AND THEREFORE OBSTRUCTS ENLIGHTENMENT

Disciples who have taken refuge in the Three Jewels and who have taken the Bodhisattva and the Vajrayana Precepts should absolutely refrain from killing, otherwise they will transgress all precepts. It is said in a sutra: “Those who have taken refuge in the Buddha, / Are true Buddhists, and / Should not take refuge in the Devas; / Those who have taken refuge in the Dharma, / Should steer away from harmful thoughts; / Those who have taken refuge in the Sangha, / Should not follow heterodox practices.” In the Words of My Perfect Teacher, it is said, “The three things to be abandoned are: Having taken refuge in the Buddha, do not pay homage to deities within sarisala. Having taken refuge in the Dharma, do not harm others, even in your dreams. Having taken refuge in the Sangha, do not get involved with trithikas.” Therefore, if we kill a living creature, as a consequence, we break the precepts of refuge. Without the precepts of refuge, how can we keep the precepts for lay people, novices, bhiksus and bhiksunis? The Seventy Stanzas on Refuge says, “All merits are based on precepts. Without refuge, there is no precept.” If we take a being’s life, we transgress the Bodhisattva precepts as well. Because, according to the sutras and sastras, the foundation for all Bodhisattva precepts is aspiring bodhicitta. If one purposely harms or slaughters sentient beings, then how can a person still have aspiring bodhicitta? If one lacks the seed of bodhicitta, then how can the merit of other wholesome deeds increase? The Avatamsaka Sutra says: “Good man, Bodhicitta is like a seed; from it can sprout all Buddha Dharma.” Taking the life of a sentient being also violates the third and fourth of the fourteen Vajrayana Precepts – hatred towards fellow practitioners and giving up Bodhicitta on sentient beings.

Whether one practices Sutrayana or Vajrayana Buddhism, taking the life of sentient beings displeases all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. If they are displeased, then we can never receive their blessing nor attain Buddhahood. Shantideva said, “Because of their happiness the Conquerors are delighted, / But if they are harmed they are displeased. / Hence by pleasing them I shall delight the Conquerors / And by hurting them I shall hurt the Conquerors. / Just as desirable sense-objects would give my mind no pleasure / If my body was ablaze with fire, / Likewise when living creatures are in pain / There is no way for the Compassionate Ones to be pleased.”

Therefore, the reason why many disciples fail to reach attainment or see Yidams is possibly due to the fact that they might have harmed sentient beings in this life or in a previous life. Therefore, we should purify our karma of killing, and resolve to never do anything to displease Buddhas in the future. As Bodhisattva Shantideva said, “Therefore as I have caused harm to living beings, / Today I openly declare all my unwholesome acts / That have brought displeasure to the Compassionate Ones. / Please bear with me, O Lords, for this displeasure I have caused you. / From now on, in order to delight the Tathagatas / I shall serve the universe and definitely cease (to cause harm). / Although many beings may kick and stamp upon my head, / Even at the risk of dying may I delight the Protectors of the World (by not retaliating).”

This year, our gracious, non-sectarian root teacher, the protector of sentient beings, Vajra Acharya H.H. Jigme Phunktsok Jungne Pal Zangbo taught the Jakata Tales to nearly 5000 secular and non-secular disciples. When he lectured on the part about the misery of sentient beings, he couldn’t help but shed tears, and once again vowed to never harm a living being even if he would have to sacrifice his own life. At that time, from the bottom of their hearts, many of his disciples including myself pledged to never harm sentient beings.

PURIFYING THE KARMA OF KILLING

From now on, we should try our best to refrain from harming any sentient being. As for the karma of the killing committed in both this life and previous lives, we should practice purification with diligence. Sincere purification can dissolve all evil karma, just as the Indian king Angulimala – “Garland of Fingers” did once upon a time. The ferocious king killed 999 people and took a finger from each one of his victims to adorn his garland. When he was one short of a thousand, the king tried to kill Buddha Shakyamuni. It was then that he finally became aware of his own wrongful behavior. So he repented in his heart and later attained the fruit of Arhat.

One might wonder, the previous sutra held that killing may lead one to hell for an intermediate aeon, but here, you talk about liberation in this lifetime. Isn’t that inconsistent? The answer is no. The former is for those who haven’t purified their negative actions, while the latter is for those who reach enlightenment in one lifetime after having eradicated the obstruction due to the karma of killing by the power of purification practice. To illustrate with an example, it is as if the life of a prisoner in death row is ransomed by someone’s effort or financial help. Not only will he not suffer the execution, he is also given the chance to correct his errors and make a fresh start. Likewise, with the power of Vajrasattva’s vows and the power of one’s own purification, it is possible to eradicate negative karma. Another method of purification is through the generation of bodhicitta mind. Therefore, single-minded purification practice is of the utmost importance for those who have engaged in serious killing.

As for the method of purification practice, you can recite The Bodhisattva’s Confession of Ethical Downfalls (Prostrations to the 35 Buddhas) or extraordinary dharanis such as the Hundred-syllable Mantra or the Vajrasattva Mantra, etc. Subāhu-kumāra Sutra says, “Just as the ferocious blaze of the spring forest, / May effortlessly sweep through all vert, / The wind of precepts may kindle the fire of recitation, / And the flame of great diligence burn up all foulness. / Like a snow-capped mountain, not able to stand the heat, / Melts from the rays of the sun, / The sun of precepts and the heat of recitation, / Can melt evil snow with its radiance. / Just as the light can illuminate darkness, / And can disperse darkness through and through, / The foulness accumulated through thousands of transgressions, / Can be rapidly dissolved by the light of recitation.” The Vajrasattva’s Threefold Wrathful Transformation Tantra states that, “Reciting the Vajrasattva Mantra a hundred thousand times can even purify the transgression of root samayas.” In the Words of My Perfect Teacher, it is said that, “Twenty one times recitation of the Hundred-syllable Mantra daily can prevent negative karma from accumulating.” The Immaculate Repentance Tantra states, “108 times recitation of the Hundred-syllable Mantra can dissolve all negativities and obscurations, and can liberate one from the three lower realms.” In the Vajrasattva Purification Practice – the Wish-fulfilling Gem, it is written, “If one can recite Vajrasattva Mantra 400,000 times by applying the four opponent forces, then even the transgression of root samayas can be purified. Furthermore, within this life, one’s wishes will be fulfilled, and for the next rebirth, one can be reborn in the realm of their wish, like the Land of Ultimate Bliss.”

Those who practice thusly will obtain signs of negative karma being purified. These could be the signs stated in the Sutra of Cundīdevī-dhārani: “dreams of vomiting foul food, drinking cream, or vomiting cream, the rising of the sun or the moon, walking on air, blazing fire, water buffaloes, subduing man in black, or of monks or nuns, or of giving milk, trees, elephants, the king of the bulls, mountains, lion throne, or of wonderful palaces, or listening to dharma lectures.”

COMPASSION IS ESSENTIAL

In the Treatise of the Great Perfection of Wisdom, it is said that, “Compassion is the fundamental of the Buddhist way.” It is also written in Lamrim, the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment that, “Whether or not one has entered the Mahayana Vehicle depends on whether one has generated this motivation (of compassion), and whether or not one has left the Mahayana Vehicle also depends on whether one has given up on this motivation.” In H.H. Jigme Phuntsok’s work, the Song of Victory, the Wonderful Sound of Celestial Drum, it is said, “In order for the beings bound in terrifying samsara, / To attain the Buddhahood of Eternal Bliss, / One should undertake the heavy responsibility of altruism, / Giving up self-love like poisonous food, / By this, one can shut the door of lower realms, / It can also grant one the bliss of higher realms, / Guiding one to reach the ultimate enlightenment, / So do not practice this instruction with scattered mind.”

Therefore, not only should we regard life-release as a kind act from mere appearance, we should also have compassion as our motivation when releasing animals, otherwise it is not the proper conduct. Take the wife of the great writer Su Dongpo of the Song Dynasty for instance. She was a devout Buddhist who was zealous in the practice of life-release. One day, on her way home from releasing animals in the forest, she saw a swarm of ants struggling over some sugar that had fallen on the ground. She stepped on them and killed all the ants. Having observed her behavior, Su Dongpo couldn’t help but remark, “Releasing animals out of compassionate motivation was supposed to be a good deed, but why do you favor fowls and birds, but not ants? This is not true compassion!” In the Letter of Persuasion to Generate Bodhicitta, it is said, “The most important instruction for those who have entered the Way is generating motivation; the most urgent matter in cultivating the mind is making aspiration. Having made aspiration, then sentient beings can be benefited; having generated motivation, then the Way of the Buddha can be completed. Therefore, those who do not generate a vast motivation or make a firm aspiration are still in the cycle of samsara after countless eons. All their endeavors in cultivation will be futile.”

Similarly, we should not slight creatures that are small in size. In Damamūka Nidāna Sūtra (The Sutra of the Wise and Foolish) it is said, “Do not slight a minor offense, / And consider it harmless, / For even a tiny spark of fire, / Can burn down a mountain of hay.” In Bodhicaryavatara (A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life), it is said that “One dwells in the Avichi Hell for an eon as a consequence of a vice committed in a single moment. What then can be said of a favorable state of existence, since sin has accumulated since beginningless time?” An eminent Chinese Buddhist master also said, “Any sentient being feels pain when it is hurt or is dying, / Even a bug or an ant clings to its life”. So, if we lack in compassion towards sentient beings, we are monks or lay practitioners by mere appearance, and not a Buddhist in its true sense.

Furthermore, if we want to have any achievement in the practices of the Buddha-figure, we also need to have the great compassionate of benefiting sentient beings. Take Asanga for example. The twelve years when Asanga was meditating in extreme hardship on Mount Jizu (Chicken Foot Mountain) resulted in total futility – he was not able to meet Bodhisattva Maitreya in person. Discouraged, he decided to leave the mountain. However, on his way down, he saw a dog, crippled in two legs, its belly covered with worms, suffering terribly. Having seen this, Asanga generated an unbearably intense compassion. If he removed the worms with his hand, he was afraid that he might kill them. So, despite the dog’s rotten flesh and strong, purulent stink, he closed his eyes and approached the dog to lick the worms off its body. However, what his tongue touched was the ground. He opened his eyes only to see that the dog had disappeared, and in front of him was nobody else but his Buddha-figure, the radiant and magnificent Bodhisattva Maitreya. Overwhelmed with sentiments of joy and bitterness, he asked the Bodhisattva why he hadn’t shown compassion and made an appearance during the past twelve years. Bodhisattva Maitreya answered, “It’s not that I haven’t made an appearance, in fact, I have never left you. But due to your strong karmic hindrances, you were not able to see me. Your twelve years of practice in hardship alleviated your karmic hindrances slightly, but today, you generated the heart of great compassion when you saw the dog which was in fact a manifestation of myself, and your negative karma was eradicated completely. Hence, you were able to see me.”

Today, in China or abroad, people have committed quite heavy negative karma of killing; the restaurants present more and more diversified dishes on their menus, and the range of animals that people consider edible is becoming more and more extensive, its cooking technique more and more barbarous; we see hundreds and thousands of cadavers on the dining table, looking like a presentation of a hell on earth, a world of misery. As to those who kill and prepare the dish, when can they finally repay such heavy debts?

Tibet, the land of snow, is the Bodhimanda of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara who embodies the great compassion of all Buddhas, and it is for this reason that 98% of Tibet’s inhabitants practice Buddhism and adopt wholesome behaviors since their youth, rarely taking the lives of sentient beings. If a family kills a yak, all members of the household will resolve to recite mantras for it, and ask the monks of a monastery to chant prayers for them and perform the ritual of transference of consciousness for it. When people see a dead rabbit, a dead cat or a dead crow, etc, they will also ask the monks to recite prayers and transfer its consciousness, then bury it. Before eating meat, people have the habit of reciting the Mantra of Compassion seven or a hundred times. If someone is willing to buy a yak or a sheep that is about to be slaughtered, the seller would usually reduce the price as a way of rejoicing at the act of life-release.

Therefore, all of us who have taken refuge should make a thorough self-observation. If we lack in the compassionate mind, then we end up becoming a Buddhist by mere name and appearance. Hence, we should take every possible measure in order to arouse our compassionate mind, and do our best to release animals so as to benefit those who are suffering. Even if you save only one sentient being per month, such an action has great significance and generates profound merit. In order to relieve the pain of sentient beings, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas as well as the Buddhist masters and patriarchs of the past have sacrificed their own bodies, and even their lives. Recorded in the eleventh volume of the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom is the following story: Once upon a time in the snow-capped mountains, there was a celestial pigeon leading a free and unrestrained life. One day, the pigeon saw a person who lost his way in the snow. He was poor and in distress, suffering from hunger and the cold, and close to death. Seeing this person, the pigeon generated great compassion, and flew away to find fire and gathered firewood in order for this person to warm himself by the fire. Then, the pigeon threw himself into the fire so that the person could relieve his hunger. With the merit of these deeds, the pigeon was reborn and reached enlightenment. The pigeon was Buddha Shakyamuni. In comparison with these great Bodhisattvas, if we are reluctant to spend a small amount of money in life-release, then are we indeed people who have generated the bodhicitta of Mahayana Buddhism?

VEGETARIANISM AND NON-VEGETARIANISM

In Mahayana canons such as the Suragama Sutra, Buddha Shakyamuni emphasized the positive potential of abstaining from killing and eating meat, and vegetarianism. In Lankavatara Sutra, it is said, “To be born in a family of Bramins, and in places where cultivation is possible, and to be born in a family of wisdom and affluence, all these are results of refraining from eating meat.” In The Sutra of Taking Ten Virtuous Precepts it is said, “Meat eaters are often disease-addled…therefore one should practice great compassion and undertake the precept of non-killing.” Therefore, historically, Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty opposed eating meat in accordance with the teachings of sutras such as the Nirvana Sutra, and wrote four articles On Abstention from Alcohol and Meat, instructing all Buddhist clergy to adopt vegetarianism. He called the congregation of masters of the three bodies of precepts to hold a conference at his royal palace, and issued a decree that all monks and nuns were to become vegetarians. Therefore, vegetarianism became a very good regulation among the Han Buddhists. Even today, the Dharma teachers and lay practitioners of most monasteries in the Chinese region are persistent vegetarians, thereby obtaining boundless merit from vegetarianism.

But in the issue of meat-eating, Tibet and some regions of Southeast Asia indeed have different traditions from the Chinese, and each of these traditions is based on scriptural evidences. To explain this situation and deduce the profound meanings of the sutras, we need to rely on the teachings of a virtuous teacher, an immaculate lineage transmission and extensive wisdom. Only through these means can we grasp the different positions various sutras and sastras establish and refute.

Some may think that the non-vegetarian tradition of the Tibetan region is due to the popularity of Tantric Buddhism. In fact, this is against the facts. It is indeed based on the highest stage of discernment of reality in Tantric Buddhism – eating meat, practicing with a consort and vanquishing (demons and heterodox opponents) are included in the most advanced conducts of Tantric Buddhism, which, however, refers only to the yogis who have attained extremely high level of awareness, and not something approachable by ordinary beings. For instance, the great Buddhist master Tilopa often ate raw fish, but Naropa never held wrong views against such conduct by Tilopa. After whole-hearted commitment, he (Naropa) attained true awareness. Another instance would be the Chinese monk Ji Gong. Although he ate meat and drank wine throughout his life, people still regarded him as the skillful manifestation of a sublime being without daring to slander him or copy his behaviors. Due to the fact that the geographic environment of a high plateau does not allow the growth of crops, the non-vegetarian custom of the Tibetan region took shape in light of Buddha Shakyamuni’s expedient allowances in the pratimoksha precepts.

The Indian patriarchs of the Precepts School Gunaprabha and Sakyaprabha, in their respective works Vinaya Mula Sutra, and the Three Hundred Stanzas on the Vinaya, allowed the consumption of meat if it is pure in three respects. Vinayavastu, the Basis of Vowed Morality also states, “The World Honored One said, the consumption of impure meat is forbidden.” The Vinaya Sutra states, “Observe the meat or fish in the alms bowl, and if it is not human meat, then one can eat it.” The Indian Achary Bhagshes stated in his work, The Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way that, “In the treatises of Sravakayana, the consumption of meat that is pure in three respects is allowed. Eating such meat has no fault, because the soul once inhabiting the meat has left, so it is faultless to receive such meat as food…. Meat-eating is not faulty, as at this time, no harm can be done.” In the Commentary on the Fundamental Verses of the Middle Way, it is said, “Buddha Shakyamuni, the great compassionate Protector, did not allow the consumption of meat in the Mahayana sutras; he explicitly forbade it. In the sutras of the Lesser Vehicle, however, eating meat that is pure in three aspects is said to be faultless.” Many wise ones drew the definition of the “meat pure in three aspects” from a stanza in the Vinaya, “The Buddha that benefits sentient beings said: meat purposely slain for one, or heard or doubt to be slain for one, is prohibited from eating” can be explained as meat that is seen, heard or suspected to be killed for oneself. However, there are certain sastras who state that the meat of animals slain for the purpose of eating is considered impure. For example, Sakyaprabha wrote in his Treatise of the Vinaya with Great Luminosity, “Do not eat the meat of fish or animals slain on purpose; do not kill or persuade others to kill; do not rejoice at other people’s killing; although some meat is pure in three aspects, it is the result of killing which is an act devoid of compassion, and is therefore unreasonable. All meat should be forbidden without exception.”

The Mahayana scriptures strictly prohibit the consumption of meat. Scriptures such as The Elephant Power Sutra, Mahamegha Sutra, Nirvana Sutra, Avgulimala Sutra, Lankavatara Sutra, Sutra Requested by Subahu as well as various Madhyamika treatises expound extensively on the negative karma of meat-eating. In Lankavatara Sutra, Buddha told Bodhisattva Mahamati, “Mahamati, I sometimes have allowed the eating of five kinds of meat, or ten kinds. Now in this sutra I say, at all times, all kinds of meats are inedible without exception.” Another sutra states that, “Those who eat meat will first become a hungry ghost, and then be born in the Screaming Hell.” In his work Śikṣāsamuccaya (Training Anthology), Shantideva said that the fact that the Sravaka vehicle allows three kinds of meat is a teaching that does not reveal the complete meaning, but a method to gradually guide them to enter the door of Buddhism. He also cited the Lankavatara Sutra in demonstrating this point. In Sakya Pandita’s Discrimination of the Three Sets of Vows, he wrote, “Sravakas can eat meat that is pure in three aspects, / Those who do not eat such pure meat / Are those who follow the practice of Devadatta, / Mahayana canons prohibit the eating of meat.” The famous Tibetan scholar, the All-knowing Gorampa (Go Rams Pa), also said so in his work A Commentary on the Three Sets of Vows.

However, those who are ignorant and foolish think of non-vegetarians as heretics, or that they have tainted their precepts because of meat-eating. This is a prejudiced view. Buddha Shakyamuni gave permission to eat meat that is pure in three aspects in the canons of the Lesser Vehicle. Could it be said that the sutras of the Lesser Vehicle are the works of the heretics? Among the Buddhist practitioners of Buddhist countries such as Thailand, Bhutan, Myanmar where more than 95% of the population is Buddhist, vegetarianism is rare even among Buddhist clergy, let alone lay practitioners. Can the entire bodies of clergy and lay practitioners of these countries be considered to have transgressed precepts? If the answer is positive, it is as good as looking at the sky from the bottom of a well.

There are also some people who think that only the Chinese Sutrayana advocates vegetarianism, and all tantric practitioners of Tibet are non-vegetarians. This is not really the case. Aside from those who eat meat that is pure in three aspects, there are a great number of secular and non-secular practitioners who advocate vegetarianism and are vegetarians themselves. When the Institute makes meal offerings to monks and nuns, there is always a big cauldron of vegetarian food for the Chinese or Tibetan vegetarian monks and nuns. In Kakhok there is a reincarnate lama, who, during his first reincarnation, vowed to never eat meat throughout his next seven rebirths. Presently he is in his second reincarnation, and when he was little, he used to weep whenever he saw meat. Today, he is already a grown man, but his vegetarian habit remains unchanged.

Some people refer to the Bodhisattva Precepts cited from the Brahma Net Sutra: The Moral Code of the Bodhisattvas of the Chinese tradition: “The meat-eater forfeits the seed of Great Compassion, severs the seed of the Buddha Nature and causes [animals and transcendental] beings to avoid him”, and challenges meat-eating Buddhists to explain this controversy. They are however not aware of the fact that, in Tibet, the two sets of Bodhisattva precepts, in the traditions of Nagarjuna and Asanga, belong to the yoga sect, and are respectively different from that of the Chinese tradition. There are eighteen major and eighty secondary precepts in Nagarjuna’s tradition of the Profound View, whereas in Asanga’s tradition of the Vast Conduct, there are four major and forty-six minor precepts. Though nowhere in these two sets of precepts can we find permission to eat meat, nor can we find an interdiction against meat-eating. Furthermore, in the Brahma Net Sutra, the precept of not eating meat is among the forty-eight minor not major precepts, and is the same level of offense as the secondary precepts of “issuing discriminatory invitations”, “rescuing clerics along with sacred objects”, and “failing to attend Dharma lectures”. These three particular precepts are very easily violated, but are not regarded as important. So is it reasonable to pay so much attention to only the precept of not eating meat? If one asks, “Meat eating is a cause that leads one to evil destinies, should it still be considered a secondary offense?” The answer is, not necessarily. Although meat-eating is a wrongful deed that leads one to hell, it is still quite easily purified. The Sutra on the Major and Minor Offenses says, “If a Bhiksu wears a piece of white clothes, he still has to suffer in the Reviving Hell for 80,000 years.”

According to Tsonag Sherabzangpo’s Treatise on the Root of the Vinaya – the Sunlight Commentary, in the time when Dharma is in decline, if one can restrain from violating the root precepts, then one is considered to have kept pure precepts. H.H. Jigme Phuntsok also said in Nectar Drops of Advice, “When our mental continuum does not coexist with root downfalls, such is called pure precepts”. Those who eat meat that is pure in three aspects do not violate the pratimoksha precepts, and according to the Bodhisattva precepts of the Brahma Net Sutra, they have only committed faulty behaviors, and these faulty behaviors can be purified through practicing purification. Take for instance the bhiksus of the Chinese region that are generally considered to have kept pure precepts – among them are some who eat after lunch hour, and some who are lazy in hearing the Dharma teachings. Therefore, whatever kinds of precepts one keeps, one should give priority to the relative importance of the precepts. One should not, however, only see from the surface. Nowadays, when people see others transgressing root downfalls, they don’t think it’s too serious, but when they see someone violating a secondary vow, they start pointing fingers, establishing that it’s a root downfall. Whether such judgments are reasonable or not deserves our careful consideration!

To summarize the above-mentioned, vegetarianism accrues boundless merits, while meat-eating brings enormous negative potential. However, in Tibet, Buddhists who eat meat that is pure in three aspects do not violate Bodhisattva or Pratimoksha precepts. Neither is meat-eating equivalent to taking life, or a heretical conduct. Therefore, all Buddhists, primarily the Tibetan and Chinese Buddhists, should form a harmonious union with mutual respect, and not slander each other. They should know that all of them are immaculate lineages imparted by Buddha Shakyamuni, and all are paths leading to enlightenment. Those who are well-learned and have cultivated self-transformation can thereby excel in non-sectarian practice in both the Tibetan and Chinese traditions, practicing sutra and tantra without contradictions, integrating harmoniously among different sects.

ABSTAIN FROM KILLING AND RELEASE LIVES ON AUSPICIOUS DAYS

Life-release has a multitude of merits, rendering many affairs auspicious. Master Lianchi said, “If a household refrains from killing, / Virtuous gods will protect it, / Calamities and disasters will be dissolved, / Lifespan will be prolonged, / Offspring will be virtuous and respect the elders, / Manifold auspiciousness will befall, / The numerous benefits cannot be all listed.” Killing, on the other hand, accumulates resentments towards oneself, and diminishes or destroys good fortune and longevity accumulated through many transmigrations. Therefore, on auspicious days like New Year’s or other holidays, birthday celebrations, marriages, the opening days of businesses, or festivities, you should release lives in large scale, and abstain yourselves from slaughtering lives, ruining and exterminating the gifts of nature and accumulating serious negative karma of killing..

Friends and families are gathered together on what is supposed to be a joyous and auspicious day. On New Year’s and other holidays, people wish for a good harvest, prosperity, and propitious progress for all of their undertakings. Why do people extensively kill creatures and sow the seed of trouble instead? People recklessly slaughter living beings, and cruelty has become a common practice, resulting in the accumulation of heaps of negative karma. Even the celestials are displeased, causing inundations, fire disasters, famines and wars. In Patriarch Pu’an’s Essay on Abstaining from Killing, it is said,

Calamities and droughts happen, and how can we, as human beings, not give it any thought?

On birthday celebrations, people wish longevity for their parents and themselves, and that they could avoid suffering and gain happiness. It is exactly for this reason that they should release lives and abstain from meat to gain prosperity and longevity. But, to the contrary, why are they suddenly oblivious to the kindness of their parents? Why do they harm lives and increase their negative karma? Killing is harmful to oneself and one’s parents. What was intended to bring vitality and longevity has become the cause of harm and termination of lives. Once, the wife of a government official of high status prepared a big banquet to entertain her guests for her birthday. She bought scores of chickens, ducks, pigs, sheep, fish, shrimps and other aquatic creatures. When the chickens and sheep were about to be slaughtered, her consciousness was suddenly attached to one of these slaughtered animals. She yelled in extreme agony and rolled back and forth in bed, experiencing excruciating pain that was worse than dying. That moment, she suddenly became aware of the pain and resentment these animals experienced while being slaughtered. Only, without the faculty of speech, they were not able to verbalize it. In the end, she corrected her mistakes and vowed to abstain from killing and release lives henceforth, vowing to never kill again for her own satisfaction. Later on, this woman lived a very long life, and this is completely a result of her compassion and self-reformation.

On the wedding day, people wish for a harmonious union and producing excellent offspring, so why do they act to the contrary of reason and kill a large number of animals when they are about to bear and rear children? This causes disputes and even ruptures of the union, and their child will often be ill-fated and disease-addled, or even die an early death. Is such a wedding auspicious? Zen Master Cishou once said in a verse to advise life-release and non-killing: “Because the world is full of killing, / There exists the age of war, / You are killed because of the lives you owe, / Your house is burned down because of the money you owe, / Separation with your loved ones, / Is because of the nests you destroyed, / The karmic retribution corresponds (to your own deeds), / So listen carefully to the teachings of the Buddha.”

Businessmen look forward to a propitious beginning when they start a business, and that their business will bring good fortune in the future. So, why do they slaughter lives at such a time, causing cries of resentment being heard everywhere, taking many lives on the day they wish to generate fortune? Is opening the business thus propitious or ominous? What would be the result of such a cause, profit or failure? Lavankatara Sutra records, “Those who kill living beings for earning, or sell flesh for money, / Will fall into the Screaming-Hell after their death.” The ancients said, “Fast for one day, during which the killings of the world have nothing to do with me; who really knows about debts? Growing horns and covered in furs, paying back in the past and at present.” The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom also says, “ What are the benefits of not killing? The answer is as follows: one will be fearless, peaceful and away from terror. Because I cause no harm to them, they will not harm me. Those who often kill, even if they are in the highest position like the ruler of the human race, they will not be safe, while those who refrain from killing have nothing to fear even if they travel alone. Sentient beings do not like people who have the habit of killing, whereas all sentient beings like to be close to those who keep precepts. Furthermore, those who keep precepts will feel peace mentally and physically before they die. They will be free from doubts and regrets. Should they be born as a celestial being or a human being, they will enjoy longevity. Refraining from killing is also the cause for attaining the Way until they attain Buddhahood and gain limitless life. Those who kill will experience physical and mental pain in the present life and throughout transmigrations, whereas those who refrain from killing will experience no such calamity. This is the great benefit.”

Similarly, during transference of consciousness for the diseased, funerals, or when trying to avoid calamity and mishaps, we should refrain from killing and release lives to pray for blessings. We should not act against the interests of the diseased and increase their karmic hindrances. In The Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha’s Vow Sutra, it is said, “I now exhort beings of Jambudvipa to be careful to avoid harming, killing, and doing other unwholesome deeds; to refrain from worshipping ghosts and spirits or making sacrifices to them; and to never call on mountain spirits on the day of death. Why is that? Killing, harming, and making sacrifices are not the least bit helpful to the deceased. Such acts only bind up the conditions of offenses so that they grow ever more deep and heavy. The deceased might have been due to increase his potential for Sagehood or gain birth among humans or gods in his next life or in the future. But when his family commits offenses in his name, he will resent the disasters he inherits, and his good rebirth will be delayed. How much more would that be the case for people on the verge of death who during their lives had planted few good roots. Each offender has to undergo the bad destinies according to his own karma. How could anyone bear to have relatives add to that karma? That would be like having a neighbor add a few more things to a load of over a hundred pounds being carried by someone who had already traveled a long distance and who had not eaten for three days. By adding that extra weight, that person’s burden would become even more unbearable.”

Likewise, we can refrain from killing and release lives when praying for our spiritual teachers’ longevity, thereby increasing sentient beings’ positive karma, removing negative karma, which may motivate our spiritual teachers to stay in this world longer and extensively benefit sentient beings!

LIFE-RELEASE INCREASES GOODFORTUNE AND EXTENDS LIFESPAN

If we want to lead a long life, we should release lives. In A Laud of Life-Release, it is said, “Listen to me, those who wish to extend your lives, / You should rely on yourself for a clear perspective. / If you wish for longevity, you should release lives. / This is the recurring truth. / If you save a creature from the verge of death, / The celestials will save you from dying. / There is no other way to prolong life and have offspring, / But to refrain from killing and release lives. / Bodhisattva Maitreya also has a verse which says, “I urge you to release lives diligently, / You will eventually attain longevity, / And if you have generated Bodhicitta, / The gods must save you from calamities.”

The sutras documented seven godly and humanly virtues, “Rebirth in the high caste, dignified appearance, longevity, good health, excellent karmic affinity, affluence and great wisdom.” Among these, the main cause for longevity and good health is life-release. Life-release is also the assisting factors for the other five virtues. Vasubandhu said, “Releasing those from the verge of death, / Is like giving them the gift of life; / Refraining from harming creatures, / Gives one longevity; / Nurses and Doctors who, / Practice medicine without harming lives, / Will be free of disease.”

Due to the karmic retribution of killing in this life or in previous lives, some people suffer from sickness that even doctors are incapable of treating. However, in some cases, there are some sick persons who are completely healed after releasing lives. In Hangzhou, there was a man who caught birds for a living. Suddenly, sores grew on his back and doctors couldn’t do anything about them. That moment, he realized that this is the karma of all the killing he had done this life, and vowed to never kill again. He then released lives, and consequently, the treatment became effective, and he recovered gradually. In Tibet, for many people who are diagnosed with terminal diseases, if their family release lives and chant Buddhist sutras for them, there are chances that they might recover gradually. Especially the strange diseases that doctors cannot diagnose, these are mainly caused by the karma of harming sentient beings in this life or in previous lives. If such is the case, the only helpful remedy is life-release.

As recorded in the sutra, “Though one is burdened with the negative karma of killing a hundred people and a hundred horses, if one release one single life, such karma will be dissolved. If one releases thirteen lives, then the negative karma of ten thousand eons will be eradicated. If someone is about to reach the end of his life, release lives for him to expand his lifespan. If one is bound to die within three days, then release thirteen lives, which will prolong his lifespan for three years. If a person takes the life of a sentient being whose life has been released, then this person generates the negative karma of killing a hundred people.”

During the reign of Emperor Daoguang of Qing Dynasty, there was a prefecture chief who fell seriously ill. While knocking on death’s door, he made a vow – from that day on, he would benefit all sentient beings, purify all his negative karma, and abandon all worldly business. On that very night, Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara appeared in his dreams and said to him, “You have accumulated heavy karma of killing in the past, and as its retribution, you should be short-lived. Fortunately, you made resolute vows at this time. The only way to prolong your life is to release lives. It can also increase your prosperity and affluence.” When he woke up, he was greatly inspired, and henceforth, his entire family forswore the killing of animals, and frequently bought and set free animals that are about to be slaughtered. He eventually recovered fully from his illness. Indeed, it is manifested that those who release lives can prolong their lifespan. Recently, there was a nomad near the Tibetan county of Drakgo who suffered from various illnesses for many years, and was in a great deal of pain. She visited many hospitals but did not find a cure. Later, a monk made a divination for her, and told her that she had committed a heavy amount of killing, and that if she would not release lives, she would be constantly ill and short-lived. Afterwards, she released lives, and rid herself of all pains and illnesses. Now, she is a firm believer of karma, and donates money each year to be spent on life-release.

When a person is suffering from a serious sickness and is approaching the end of his life, the only way to prolong his life and rid himself of his sickness is to release life. There was a man called Dalin Wang from Suzhou. He had a kind and compassionate heart, and often released animals. Each time he saw the children of his village capturing and torturing birds or fish, he would take pains in dissuading them, and even offering money to set these animals free. When he was advising people, he would say, “Young people should cultivate the virtue of cherishing life and have compassion towards the lives of others. They should not develop the bad habit of cruelty and killing.” Thus, throughout his life, he urged people to refrain from destructive behaviors and to adopt constructive ones. Later on, he became seriously ill, and his life was about to come to an end, he was told by a divine being in a state of awareness: “You have freed many sentient beings from death throughout your life, which has generated enormous positive karma. Your life will be prolonged for 36 years.” Because of this, he lived until he was ninety-seven, and died without illness.

Recently, there was a Tibetan named Gontse. Many yoginis with extrasensory abilities said that he would only live to 31 years old, but if he could release animals and recite mantras, his lifespan would be extended. So he immediately released a large number of animals. He also released and protected animals each following year. He is 50 years old this year. There is another story that is quite similar: there was a Qushi, who bought a red-colored carp in town. Later, when he fell sick, he dreamed of a naga king, who invited him to the palace of the nagas, and said to him, “Sir, your life was supposed to have come to an end, but because you saved the life of a naga son, your lifespan will be prolonged for twelve years.” He was 48 years old when he saved the carp, but he lived until he was 60 years old. So, if we want to prolong our lives, we should release life, and only by doing so can we increase our positive potentials and prolong life.

It is very important that Buddhist practitioners believe in the law of cause and effect, and their sensibility of karma is very intriguing as well. Currently, there are many well-known doctors who include life-release as a method of treatment. There is a doctor in Suining City of Sichuan who is very influential in China and abroad. The walls of her home are covered with silk banners that the patients she had cured presented her as a way of showing their gratitude and to honor her excellent healing skills. These patients include government officials in city and provincial level, patients from China and abroad. Now, she is the life-saver of thousands, even tens of thousands of people. I asked questions to the people she had successfully treated. They all said that, when treatment was ineffective, this doctor advised them to release animals and recite sutras. Following her advice, they released lives and performed other wholesome actions, and subsequently their bodies recovered. Having heard these words, I developed even firmer understanding for the words of the Buddha. So, life-release is a sort of extra-physical treatment method.

On the other hand, taking the lives of sentient beings is the only direct cause of being short-lived and falling constantly ill. Due to people’s habit of killing, those who were supposed to live a long life end up dying young. The Tibetan Acharya Ngawang Chakpa said, “Those who save lives and release animals, even if they are destined to be short-lived, their lives will be prolonged; and if they kill animals like fish or snakes, even if they are supposed to live long, they will die young.” Since the ancient times, cases of prolonged life due to life-release are countless.”

If we can project our compassionate minds onto animals, and if we can refrain from killing and release lives, and endeavor in advising others to do the same, then everything will progress favorably, just as Tractate of the Most High One on Actions and Consequences says, “Heaven’s Way protects him, happiness and wealth follow him.” The All-knowing Patrul Rinpoche also said, “Those who constantly do good and release lives, Dharma protectors and earth deities will constantly protect them.” The Story of Protecting Life says, “Like a shadow that follows you wherever you go, the Karma through the ages is ever so clear, the cases of response are ever so apparent, what doubt do you still have?”

THE BOUNDLESS BENEFITS OF LIFE-RELEASE

Among all concept-bound wholesome acts, nothing can surpass the benefits generated by life-release. If a person does other kinds of wholesome acts with a tainted intention, then no merit will be generated. But whatever intention one may have when releasing life, such an act is directly beneficial to sentient beings, therefore incredible positive karma can be generated from doing so. The merit of releasing even one single life is immeasurable. This is because these released lives have temporarily escaped the unbearable pain of being slaughtered. Besides, when we release lives, the Buddha’s names and mantras that we recite can bless these beings, and they will eventually attain the fruition of non-retrogression.

In the Sutra of the Non-retrogressing Wheel, it is said, “Those who hear the name of the fundamental teacher Buddha Shakyamuni will attain non-retrogression. Animals who hear the name of the Buddha will sow the seed of the supreme Bodhi and eventually attain non-retrogression.” Another sutra says, “Those who hear the Buddha’s name or see his image will gain immeasurable virtue. They will gain liberation.” The Root Tantra of Manjushri says, “Recite the mantra of the Well Gone One, for these mantras have true meanings. If one glances at these mantras out of the corner of one’s eye, the Tathagata will be able to take him in.” In the Biography of Buddha Shakyamuni, it is said, “Once there was a big shark, who was about to devour many merchants. One of these merchants shouted the Buddha’s name. With the merit of hearing the Buddha’s name, the shark was reborn as a human, and attained the fruit of Arhatship under Buddha Shakyamuni.” So, when releasing lives, do not forget to read the names of Buddhas.

I think that the act of life-release itself is beneficial for sentient beings. Great Bodhisattvas also try to guide sentient beings provisionally away from suffering and gain happiness, enjoy the blessings of human and godly realms, and eventually be freed from the cycle of life and death. Life-release possesses the same kind of merit. Those who are fond of releasing lives, whether they are secular or non-secular practitioners, are true Bodhisattvas. We should constantly rejoice at and learn from their supreme actions. Take a certain Khenpo of our Institute for example, he has an innate devotion for life-release, and spends all the money that his disciples offer him to releasing lives.

Now, we are in a time of decline of the Dharma, great masters who can truly benefit sentient beings are rare. Certain Dharma teachers and lay practitioners construct factories and make aspirations to bring blessings to this country, spending millions, even hundreds of millions of Yuan in constructing or decorating monasteries. But in these monasteries, there are no monks to study the dharma or cultivate the mind; sometimes you will find Buddha statues whose appearance does not meet the standards recorded in the sutras, and the statues are not filled with precious objects. This is an act of goodness, but if we can release lives with the money spent in this, doesn’t it create much more vast benefit?

In the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom, Bodhisattva Nagarjuna said, “Among all unwholesome deeds, / Killing is the most serious; / Among all wholesome deeds, / Abstaining from killing is the best.” Kunzang Chödrak, a great master of Tibet, said “One should stop killing. One should protect and release lives. Amongst all wholesome acts of the body and speech, life-release generates the biggest merits.” In the Ten Chakras of Kṣitigarbha Sutra, it is said, “If one can refrain from all kinds of killing, / He will be revered highly by celestial beings. / He will always be free from diseases and enjoy a prolonged life, / And be happy and at ease, away from harms. / Throughout his lives, / He will have deep conviction in the path of the Tathagatha, / And encounter the dharma and sangha, / Attaining swiftly the supreme Bodhi fruit.”

A well-known Tibetan yogini, Kunzang Chogzin’s, advice from her journey of bardo, the Collection of Profound Path, the Esoterically Conferred Profound Meanings of the Daka – the Lotus Heart Drop writes, “For all beings, noble or lowly, / the supreme practice to gain happiness in this life or the next, / is no other than the practice of life-release. / The merit of circumambulating Jambudvipa, / is tantamount to releasing a calf; / reciting the mantra of Avalokitesvara seven hundred million times, / is also tantamount to releasing a calf. / I have witnessed it after touring the realm of the Lord of Death, / so do not forget the words of the Daka, / do your best in releasing calves, / for it generates limitless merit.”. According to Abhidharma-kosa Sastra, the larger the body of the released animal is, the greater the merit of releasing it and the larger in size the slaughtered animal is, the greater its karmic consequence, because the creatures that are larger in size experience gross pain and joy.

Master Yinguang summarized the major merits of life-release in ten steps: no calamity caused by arms and wars, increase of auspiciousness, longevity and good health, prosperous offspring and oftentimes male descendants, the Buddhas are pleased, gratitude from the creatures, no disasters, rebirth in celestial realms, dissolves negative karma, peace in four seasons, the vitality of life will be affected by such kindness.

From ancient to modern times, many eminent monks have devoted their efforts to release lives: Master Zhiyi bought over 200 kilometers of seashore to be used for life-release; Emperor Suzong of Tang Dynasty decreed that each state should establish a pond used specifically for releasing lives; Yan Zhenqing also wrote an epitaph on life-release; Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty also issued a decree to build life-release ponds within his dominion, dedicating the entire West Lake of Hangzhou to be used for life-release; Master Lianchi of Ming Dynasty also built many life-release ponds, and wrote an Essay on Stopping Killing and Releasing Lives, which is still circulating to date.

Persuading others to release lives through building life-release ponds, erecting life-release monuments, or writing articles, rejoicing at the merit of other people’s life-release, donating money or making an effort in helping others to release lives, establishing charity organizations such as life-release societies or animal protection committees, contributing to the act of life-release, although these are not direct life-release, their merits are equivalent to personally performing life-release. On the other hand, the money donated by devoted practitioners to be used for life-release should not be used for personal purposes, or be used on meals or traveling expenses, etc. This money is already turned into sentient beings’ lives, and the consequence of using it is tantamount to killing itself. Moreover, stopping other people from releasing lives, being an impediment to them is also the same as taking the lives of sentient beings. According to Abhidharma-kosa Sastra, rejoicing at wholesome or unwholesome acts results in the same karmic aftermath.

Anyone who releases lives will gain four kinds of positive karma. The fully ripened effect of life-release is to be freed from the suffering of the three lower realms – with lesser aspiration, and if the number of lives released are few, then one gains rebirth in the human realm; with moderate aspiration, and moderate number of lives released, then one gains rebirth in the godly realms; with upper aspiration, and a large number of lives released, one can be born in the form and formless realms, and is progressively freed from the bitter ocean of samsara. The effects similar to the cause of life-release can be summarized in two: firstly, experiences similar to the cause, enjoying longevity and freedom from disease through future transmigrations; secondly, actions similar to the cause, when reborn in the human form, one will have the tendency to abstain from killing and release lives, be endowed with the heart of loving kindness, and will follow the supreme way of the Bodhisattva. The proliferating effects are as follows: those who release lives will not be reborn in dangerous places such as an abyss; the place they are reborn into will be pleasant and picturesque, abundant with food, flowers and fruits. The conditioning effect of life-release: throughout all future rebirths, the merit of life-release will increase.

LIFE-RELEASE CAN LEAD TO LIBERATION FROM SAMSARA AND REBIRTH IN THE PURE LAND

If one can release lives, one can attain liberation even from Vajra Hell. There is a story recorded in the Tripitaka: “Once upon a time in India, there was a heretic who liked to eat meat and drink blood, killing tens of thousands of lives. After his death, as karmic retribution, he fell into the eighteenth level of hell. He was then reborn in Varja Hell, where he had to undergo a hundred deaths and a hundred rebirths in each split second, experiencing extreme agony. At that time, Ananda saw the sufferings of the defiled beings, and told the Buddha about what he saw. The Buddha told Ananda, this person liked to eat meat and drink blood when he was alive, and is therefore suffering the consequence of killing now. Ananda supplicated the Lord of Death, ‘How can this person be liberated?’ The Lord of Death replied that if this person wanted to be liberated from the evil realm, someone must release many lives in the human realm in his honor. After this, Ananda released lives extensively for this person, and liberated him from the Vajra Hell”.

Once upon a time in Śrāvastī, a son endowed with various fine traits was born into a wealthy family. One day, out of affection, people were all trying to hug the baby. Suddenly, the baby fell into the river and was swallowed by a big fish. A childless family downstream caught this big fish with a net, and when they opened its belly, they saw a living child in it. Gratified, they took the baby and raised him. When the child grew up, he became a monk and attained Arhatship. Many disciples asked the Buddha why the child didn’t die in the river. Buddha said, in the past, when Vipasyn Buddha was teaching the merit of not killing and releasing lives, an almsgiver vowed to take the precept of not killing and releasing lives. Due to this, through transmigrations, the almsgiver was endowed with fair appearances, and even when he was swallowed by the big fish, he could still get away, and now attain the fruit of Arhat.

Once upon a time, an almsgiver made offerings to the Stupa of Avalokiteśvara. The almsgiver didn’t have a son, so one day, he swore under the stupa that if he would not be given a son, he would destroy this stupa. The celestial beings residing in the stupa were very afraid, but were not able to give the man a son, so they asked for help from Indra. Indra ordered a dying celestial being to be reborn in this man’s family. However, this celestial being wanted to become a monk in the human realm, and therefore did not want to be reborn in this almsgiver’s family. Indra promised him that if his parents would not let him become a monk, he would try his best to help. So, this celestial being took rebirth in the almsgiver’s house, and when he grew up, his parents, as expected, did not allow him to take the ordination. The child thought, if with this precious human body, I cannot renounce home life, then it is meaningless. So he wanted to end his own life. But when he jumped into the river, the flow of the river reversed, and when he jumped off a cliff, he couldn’t die either. The reign of the king at that time was very strict, so he purposely became a robber, and was arrested. But when the executioner’s arrows directed at him backtracked, the king was astonished and apologized to him. Later, with the help of the king, his family eventually granted his wish to become a monk, and not long after, he attained the fruit of Arhat. Buddha Shakyamuni told his disciples about this man’s karma from previous lives: Once, he saved a man who was about to be killed, and thereby in the five hundred lives that followed, he feared nothing — the earth, water, fire and wind could not harm him, and in the subsequent life, he attained Arhatship. Life-release is a way to offer fearlessness [a kind of almsgiving which offers protection from dangerous and difficult situations]. Sattipathana Sutra says, “Among all precepts, the extraordinary action that leads to rebirth in the upper realms is the precept of releasing lives.” In the Treatise on the Merit of Life-Release, it is said, “If one wishes the bliss of upper realms, life-release can bring forth the merit of human and celestial realms; if one seeks the annihilation of suffering for oneself, life-release brings forth the fruit of Sravaka; With the application of bodhicitta mind, life-release can be the cause for enlightenment; if one wishes longevity for one’s spiritual teacher, life-release can fulfill such a wish; if one wishes for one’s own longevity, life-release is the most powerful practice. life-release accrues boundless merit.”

Life-release is also a principal factor for rebirth in the Pure Land. Recorded in the Infinite Life Sutra are ten factors that lead to rebirth in the Pure Land. Although there are many interpretations of these ten factors, life-release and persuading others to release lives are both widely considered as two of the ten factors. Moreover, according to the Commentary of the Advice on Bardo, if one releases lives when alive, during Bardo, the released animals will come to you and guide you to the Pure Land of your choice; whereas if one kills lives, then these killed sentient beings will appear extremely wrathful, and you will be guided into hell by a powerful force.

Those who often release lives can immediately be reborn in the Pure Land. For example, Chakmey Rinpoche of Tibet persuaded others to release lives throughout his whole life, and when he passed away, he was reborn in the Pure Land directly. In the Han region, Master Yongming of Song Dynasty often bought fish and shrimps for life-release. Later, with this merit, he was reborn in the Pure Land, attaining the highest level of the highest class of rebirth. Such stories were recorded by many historical documents.

CONCLUSION

Recorded in the vast ocean of sutras and sastras are many teachings and stories concerning the merit of life-release and the demerit of killing, and the discussions on the theoretical level are limitless. This article only explored a tiny portion of a vast ocean. Due to the limitation of length, I will not overly expound on this subject. The wise ones will thereby learn by analogy, differentiate the gain and loss, carefully choose what to do and what to avoid, extensively release lives and benefit sentient beings, just as His Holiness Dharma King Jigme Phuntsok gave his utmost efforts in taking the initiative.

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