Question: In our residential area, there are some lay people who often go out to help people die, help people die, or hold salvation ceremonies. But I know that many of them eat meat. Is it useful to help them pray?
Answer: Regarding the question of Buddhist rituals that benefit the deceased, “Ksitigarbha Sutra” says: “If a man or woman does not practice good deeds during his or her lifetime and commits many sins. After death, his family members, small and large, will do all the sacraments for the benefit of the deceased. Out of seven points, one will get one, and six points of merit will benefit the living. Therefore, in the future and now, good men and women will learn and cultivate themselves, and gain by themselves.” The Buddha told us in this passage that mortals in the world At that time, he could not eliminate the ten evils and practice the ten good deeds, nor did he do any great good deeds. After this person dies, his descendants and family members want to do some merit for him, such as releasing animals for salvation, or sponsoring charities, etc., seven points of merit , the dead person only gets one point, and the other six points of merit are for the benefit of the living. why? Because performing meritorious deeds and bringing good fortune depends on financial resources, and after a person dies, the money in the family is at the disposal of the living. The living are willing to use their own assets to perform meritorious deeds and bring good deeds to the deceased, and the merits gained will naturally be greater than those of the deceased. Therefore, the Buddha hopes: “Good men and women in the future and now will learn and cultivate themselves, and they will gain their share.”
As for the issue of people who drink alcohol and eat meat and recite sutras to be saved, the Buddha said in the Lankavatara Sutra: “I see all sentient beings are like a child, so how can I not rejoice when I hear meat as food, let alone eat it myself. Mahamati ! Just like all onions, garlic, garlic, stale, stinky and unclean, they can obstruct the holy path, and they can also obstruct the pure place of human beings and heaven in the world. How much more the fruits of the pure lands of Buddhas! The same is true with wine. It can obstruct the holy path, damage good deeds, and cause all kinds of mistakes. This is Therefore, Mahamati! Those who come to the holy path should not eat wine, meat, onions, leeks, garlic and other smoky flavors.” It is clearly pointed out here that if a practitioner drinks alcohol, eats meat, and eats five pungent foods, it will be difficult for him to achieve good results in humans and heaven. If you want to save others from life and death and be reborn in the Pure Land, it is even more difficult. But a dying person who hears Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s name and hears it in his ears will never experience the suffering of the three evil realms. Therefore, if you want to save others and be reborn in the Pure Land, your own body and mind must first be pure.
If you recite sutras for people to achieve salvation just for the sake of eating, drinking, or making money, then you are sowing the seeds of hell. It’s not too late to rein in the situation. The sins you have already committed should be repented of before the Buddha and you will never commit them again. The Buddha said that even a heinous sin can be eliminated with one confession, not to mention the sins you committed when you were ignorant.
In the second blessing of the three blessings of pure karma in the Sutra of Aspecting Infinite Life, the Buddha asked us to “fulfill all the precepts”, and cutting off the flesh is an important part of the Mahayana Bodhisattva’s precepts. How can we “fulfill all the precepts” if we give up the flesh? “What? In the Pure Land Sutra, the Buddha said that the Pure Land Dharma is “not Hinayana”, but Mahayana Buddhism. How can Mahayana Buddhist disciples not abide by the precepts of Mahayana? In the “Infinite Life Sutra”, the conditions for the three generations of rebirth are all ” “Generating Bodhicitta”, how can a Bodhisattva who has developed Bodhicitta still eat the flesh of living beings? The Buddha pointed out in “Four Reliances on the Dharma” that we should “rely on righteousness but not on righteousness”, so true practitioners should follow the principle of cutting off flesh. To understand righteousness, we should not use the three pure meats that do not understand righteousness as an excuse to eat meat.
If a monk drinks alcohol and eats meat, his three karmas will be impure and his sin will be even greater. Master Xuanhua said, “Those who know the law and break the law will be punished by three additional grades.” In “Four Purity Teachings”, the Buddha said: “Why are thieves pretending to be my own clothes to support the Tathagata and create all kinds of karma.” The Buddha put this kind of Buddhist clothes on, The so-called Buddhist disciples who do not cultivate themselves, but use the Buddha’s teachings to do business, rely on the Buddha to dress and eat, are compared to “thieves”, and it is a very serious sin. The Buddha also said in “The Lankavatara Sutra”: “After my Nirvana, when the Dharma is about to disappear in the future, there will be monks in my Dharma who shave off their beards and hair and claim to be the ascetics, and wear my cassocks. They are as stupid as a child. , who claims to be a lawyer, falls into both sides, has all kinds of false perceptions, and is obsessed with the taste of meat. According to his own mind, he eats meat by saying what is said in Binini, and he also slanders me. Buddhas and Tathagatas also say that when people eat meat, they listen because of restraint. Eating meat also slanders me, and the Tathagata, the World Honored One, also eats meat… I sing this in the Vinaya, all meat is unclean food for all ascetics, it pollutes the pure life, obstructs the holy path, and can be obtained without any convenient means. Eating… If that fool talks to himself as a lawyer, saying that people in the temple eat meat, he also slanders me and says that the Tathagata has eaten meat. That fool will become a great sin obstacle and spend a long night in a place where there is no benefit, no saint, and a place where he does not hear the Dharma. If we cannot see the sage disciples of the present and future, how much more should we be able to see the Buddhas Tathagata.” With these clear instructions from the Buddha, we, the sentient beings of the end of the Dharma, will be able to distinguish between good and evil.
Master Xuanhua once said that when a virtuous person meets someone seeking salvation and says, “I have passed away,” then the spiritual consciousness of the person who has been saved can be reborn in a good path. The old monk Miaofa also said that if a virtuous person encounters a family holding a funeral on the road, he can sincerely recite a Buddha’s name for the soul of the deceased, or recite the mantra for rebirth, and the soul of the deceased can be reborn in a good place. This principle also applies. Various animals and poultry that are about to be slaughtered or have become carcasses in the vegetable market, and even animals that have been run over and killed on the road. The virtuous people mentioned here refer to those who uphold the five precepts and practice the ten good deeds. Of course, lay people who have given up sexual intercourse, murder, and theft will certainly have their words followed. This is a convenient way to save the souls of the dead and go to a good place of rebirth while traveling.
Dutiful men and women who really want to benefit the souls of the dead and reap great benefits, and if they have not given up eating meat, must also fast during the funeral. It is best to fast within 49 days and not eat meat or fish to show sincerity and devotion to Buddhism. To show respect to the monks, use the money earned from your own labor (pure wealth) to buy incense and flowers as offerings, set up a solemn ashram at home, and read and recite Mahayana classics such as the Ksitigarbha Sutra, at least 7, 21, or 49 times. , there is no limit to the number, recite sutras, recite mantras, and make offerings according to the Dharma. The most important thing is to sincerely confess sins and pray for blessings on behalf of the deceased. Such salvation can make the deceased reborn in heaven, and if he is reborn in the human world, he will also be a blessed person. If the deceased is a virtuous person who observes the precepts and recites the Buddha’s name, he will definitely feel the presence of the three holy relatives in the West to lead him to the ultimate bliss.
I have participated in several family Dharma gatherings for deceased elderly lay people. During the chanting, the unusual fragrance of sandalwood suddenly filled the room. Many people heard the Buddhist music in the air, or saw with their own eyes the sublime realm where Guanshiyin or the Three Saints descended. Here I won’t go into details.
It is hard to hear the Dharma now, and it is hard to find famous teachers in the sutras.
This body is not meant to be spent in this life, let alone in any other life.
