Life Wisdom: Promoting Vegetarianism and Inspiring Goodness in All
Recently, I have videoconferences with our Tzu Chi members every day. Yesterday, over 20,000 Tzu Chi members in 52 countries and regions took part in a videoconference. Thanks to live streaming, we could greet each other and share our experiences with each other without difficulty.
In recent videoconferences, we always talk about promoting vegetarianism and we always talk about promoting vegetarianism and how everyone can practice vigilance and safeguard their health. The only way is by going vegetarian.
“After joining Tzu Chi, I've changed a lot. In the past, I strove to make more money as I wanted a better life and better material things. Also, I used to sell non-vegetarian food and I liked to cook and share non-vegetarian food with others. But now, I've kept my desires in check. And, as I've seen many people in suffering recently, I've learned to count my blessings. As Master says, we must cherish what we have rather than envy others,” Honduras Tzu Chi volunteer, Lin Yue-zi, shares her stories and experiences.
Yesterday, when I heard how our Tzu Chi volunteers promote vegetarianism in their countries and how local people have responded to their calls, I felt very much relieved. By not eating meat, they spare animals from being killed for food. This is protecting and saving lives. I hope everyone can have the heart to do so. This is the starting point to cultivate goodness.
In all, we must protect animals and cultivate goodness. This is what going vegetarian is truly about. Only when we all practice vegetarianism with sincere piety can our sincerity be sensed by all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and other heavenly beings above and touch the heavens and Mother Nature.
We must all harbor goodness within, and as we humans have created much bad karma, we must repent with sincere piety. For that, we must vow to stop the killing of animals and abstain from eating meat. Only when we vow to protect all animals are we truly practicing repentance. Again, to cultivate goodness, we must begin with not harming animals anymore.
Vegetarianism is the source of goodness. By loving and protecting all animals, we can nurture goodness. That's why vegetarians have a much better temper. Cattle and horses are herbivores while tigers and leopards are carnivores. So, obviously, food can affect temperament. Working animals are mostly herbivores. They are very gentle and have great strength to do labor work for people.
They are gentle as they are herbivores. Yet, some animals do not work for people. Even worse, they harm people. Such animals include tigers, leopards, etc. They are all carnivores. So, what we eat is very important as it has much to do with our temperament. We see how a volunteer shared his story yesterday.
“In the past, a dish without meat was not enjoyable for me. In addition, I worked as a salesperson in In addition, I worked as a salesperson in the world's largest meat supplier. I used to sell a lot of meat. That was how I made a living in the U.S. Yet, all this changed three and a half years ago. Back then, I drove my two children to and from school every day. One morning, stuck in a traffic jam, I looked out the window and saw a cow being followed by her two calves. While they were walking down a slope, from time to time the two calves would get close to their mother and caress her, and she would also turn back to see if they were following closely. Seeing that, I took a look at my children and wondered, "Are they different from the calves? Am I different from the cow?" So, at the very moment, I decided to go vegetarian. I called my wife and told her that I'd begin to practice vegetarianism right away,” said Huang Xu-mu, USA Volunteer.
Suddenly realizing that like humans, animals, too, are living beings that love their own children, he decided at once to go vegetarian. Vegetarian food can also look, smell, and taste great. As humans, we must not harm or kill animals to satisfy our desire for meat.
Otherwise, we will create bad karma. Recently, I often share how we can become indebted to animals by eating meat, and people have come to tell me: "Master, we've gone vegetarian, so we won't be indebted to animals." We need to encourage more people to go vegetarian. We can all feel the benefits of vegetarianism, promote it, and practice it ourselves.
Our volunteers in the UK's Oxford City not only practice vegetarianism themselves but also encourage others to do the same. They have the heart to teach people how to prepare vegetarian dishes so they can understand that practicing vegetarianism is actually not difficult and that dishes without meat or fish can also be great in presentation, smell, and taste.
Going vegetarian is truly not difficult as long as we have the will to do so. I'm grateful to our Tzu Chi members around the world for giving with love and learning the Dharma diligently. Recently, I've heard many Tzu Chi members share how they've been listening to my Dharma talks. This has truly set my mind at ease.
In our videoconferences, there are thousands of listening to my talks at the same time. Hearing many of them share how they've been listening to my Dharma talks and discussing my teachings in study groups, I feel that I should give more talks so everyone can take in my teachings, cleanse their hearts and minds with the Dharma, and pass on goodness forever and ever.
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