The sin of harming life is the greatest. Revenge will be paid, and the misfortune will be suffered in every life. There will be no end. In this life, there will be no peace, and there will be many disasters. People who harm life will go to hell after death, and will leave their human form and fall into the animal world. They will be slaughtered by humans, and suffer from the three evil ways and eight difficulties for millions of kalpas. They will use their meat to feed humans, and there will be no end. They will suffer in distress, eat grass and drink spring water. The animals that exist in this life are all because they were violent and unrighteous when they were humans in their previous lives, harming lives and not believing in cause and effect. As a result, they will be enemies with their enemies for generations, and compensate each other for the harm they have done. Their feelings are the same as humans, but their bodies are different from humans because their sins are so deep.
Wherever these Living Beings are, appear in these infinite places, in order to eliminate hell.
Food nourishes the body, but without food, the body cannot continue to exist.
If we observe the causes and conditions of the body's formation, the causes and conditions of its cessation, and the formation and cessation of the body (impermanence) steadily, we will be able not to dependent on things, and never cling to the various things in the world.
The sense organs, external objects, and consciousness, the three come into contact and there is "feeling", without "contact" there is no "feeling". For example, the eye root, light, and eye consciousness, the three come into contact and produce "eye contact", and there is "eye feeling" only when there is eye contact.
If we observe the causes and conditions of the formation of sense contact, the causes and conditions of its cessation, and the formation and cessation of sense contact (impermanence) steadily, we will be able not to dependent on things, and never cling to the various things in the world.
There is "mind (consciousness)" only when there is "name and form", and there is no "mind (consciousness)" without "name and form". As for the six sense organs, the six consciousnesses will arise because they respond to the six objects (within the scope of name and form). From the perspective of the human body, the six consciousnesses can grow only because of the body and mind (within the scope of name and form).
If we observe the causes and conditions of the arising of consciousness, the causes and conditions of the cessation of consciousness, and the arising and cessation of consciousness (impermanence) steadily, we will be able not to dependent on things, and never cling to the various things in the world.
There are dharmas only when there is intention, and there are no dharmas without intention.
If we observe the causes and conditions of the arising of intention, the causes and conditions of the cessation of intention, and the arising and cessation of intention (impermanence) steadily, we will be able not to dependent on things, and never cling to the various things in the world.
- "Saṃyukta Āgama. 609"
Once you form a bond with evil, you have planted the seeds of suffering. The ten evils are your enemies, the ten virtues are your friends. Whether it is inner peace or the growth of wisdom, it all starts with good thoughts. Good thoughts are like armor, not afraid of swords and guns; good thoughts are like a big ship that can cross the water. If you can persist in practicing good, your family will be happy and blessings will come naturally. Good thoughts bring good rewards, and blessings are not given by gods. - "Ananda Questions the Buddha about Good and Bad Omens"
Precepts about money. When the Buddha was alive, King Prasenajit had doubts about the use of money by some monks. He sent a minister to ask the Buddha, "Excuse me, there are monks who touch money and monks who do not touch money. What do you think should be done?" The Buddha replied, "Monks are not allowed to hold money. If someone holds money and claims to be my disciple in the Dharma Ending Age, you should know that he is definitely not my disciple." The Buddha then set this precept, that is, monks are absolutely not allowed to touch money. So from the time of the Buddha, monks were not allowed to touch money, so the Sangha quickly became pure, and many people attained enlightenment during the Dharma Period. The reason for this enlightenment is related to the strict adherence to the precept of not touching money.
Buddhism is based on precepts. Before the Buddha entered Nirvana, he told the monks that after the Buddha passed away, the precepts would be their teacher. Keeping the precepts can lead to liberation: every time you stick to a precept, you will gain a pure liberation.
In ancient times, there were many monks who would rather die than break the precepts. When the Buddha was alive, two monks were traveling together to listen to the Buddha's teachings. Halfway through the journey, they were thirsty and looked for water. After finally finding a well, they found worms in the water. In order to uphold the precept of not killing, monk A refused to drink the water and eventually lost his life due to thirsty. Monk B thought, "I must save my life to listen to the Buddha's teachings, so I have to drink the water regardless of whether there are worms or not." After drinking the water with worms, he continued on his way and finally saw the Buddha. When the Buddha saw monk B, he asked, "How many of you came to listen to the sutras and the Dharma?" The monk told the Buddha the whole story. The Buddha said, "Although you saved your life and came here to listen to the Buddha's teachings, you did not really see the Buddha; the monk who died because of keeping the precepts, because of the merit of keeping the precepts pure, was born in the Trayastrimsa Heaven after his death and has seen me before you." To die in order to not kill and keep the precepts is a bodhisattva's heart of great compassion, and the result is incredible. Therefore, only by keeping the precepts can one truly be liberated.
There are many similar examples in Southern Buddhism, all of which are for strictly adhering to a small precept and finally attaining the fruit of Arhat. There is a story called "Bhikkhus Tied Up with Grass". The content is as follows:
When the Buddha lived in Sravasti, some bhikkhus lived in Vatsa. When they were wandering around the world to preach, they happened to meet a group of dangerous robbers. These evil robbers took away all the clothes of the bhikkhus. After robbing the clothes, the robbers said: "Today we will kill all these bhikkhus." One of them was a bandit who had been a neighbor of the bhikkhus before. He knew a little about the life and precepts of the bhikkhus. He suggested to his accomplices: "Why bother to kill these bhikkhus? Just tie them up with straw whose roots have not been pulled out, and they will be unable to move. In the end, they will naturally die of thirst and hunger!" After hearing this, the robbers readily agreed, so they tied up the bhikkhus with straw, abandoned them in the wilderness, and then walked away triumphantly.
The king of the country of Vaksa was named Udayana. He was going to hunt in the wild that day. When he passed the place where the monks were tied up, he could not see clearly because of the distance. The king asked the ministers who followed him: "Is it a deer or a bear?" The ministers could not answer because they could not see clearly. So they took a detour to see what was going on. When they got closer, they found that it was a group of monks.
"Who are you?" asked the king.
"We are monks." The monks answered.
"Which sect are you from?" asked the king.
"We are disciples of Sakyamuni Buddha." The monks answered.
"Why did you stop here?" asked the king.
"We were tied up by robbers." The monks answered.
"What did you use to tie us up?" asked the king.
"With living straw." The monks answered.
"Since you were only tied up with straw, why didn't you pull out the straw and run away?" The king asked in confusion. "The Buddha once established a precept for monks: If a monk destroys living flowers, plants, and trees, he will be guilty of a pācittika offense," the monks replied.
Seeing the monks strictly observing the precept of cherishing plants and trees, the king was deeply moved, so he personally got off the carriage, helped them untie the thatch, and gave each monk three sets of clothes.
These monks, who kept the precept of not breaking the grass, did not dare to break the grass. This story is called "The grass tied the monks."
Those who would rather die than keep the precepts are rare. Because of this practice, many people have attained enlightenment.
There is a couplet in Jinshan Zen Temple: "Don't seek for favors even if you freeze to death, don't beg for alms even if you starve to death, don't ask for favors even if you are poor. Follow the flow but don't change, don't change but follow the flow."
Three thousand years ago, the Qinhuangdao area was the area under the jurisdiction of Guzhu State. This ancient state was founded very early, and Boyi and Shuqi experienced the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties. According to archaeological data, its jurisdiction at that time roughly included the entire Qinhuangdao City, the eastern part of Tangshan City and the southwestern part of Liaoning Province, and the capital was near Lulong County. The economy and culture of this ancient state were relatively developed at that time, with a large number of livestock raising and agricultural products that could be used to make wine with surplus grain. Judging from the name of this country, Guzhu, it is two kinds of writing stationery, which are used as the name of the country, which reflects that this country has a relatively high culture.
Boyi and Shuqi gave up the power to rule the country
In the late Shang Dynasty, the story of Boyi and Shuqi giving up the power to rule the country appeared in this country. It turned out that the king of Guzhu State at that time had three sons. The king of Guzhu State had the surname Motai. The eldest son was named Yun and the word was Gongxin, which was later posthumously named Boyi. The youngest son was named Zhi and the word was Gongda, which was later posthumously named Shuqi. When the King of Guzhu was alive, he intended to make Shuqi his heir to inherit his career. Later, the King of Guzhu died. According to the common etiquette at that time, the eldest son should ascend the throne. But the honest and self-disciplined Boyi said: "We should respect our father's last wishes, and the position of the king should be taken by Shuqi." So he gave up the throne and fled to the outside of Guzhu. Everyone recommended Shuqi to be the king. Shuqi said: "If I become the king, it will be unjust to my brothers and inconsistent with the etiquette." He also fled to the outside of Guzhu and lived in exile with his eldest brother. With no other choice, people had to make the middle son inherit the throne. The Confucian school formed during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period highly praised their behavior and commented on this matter, saying: "It is a great benevolence to give the ruling power of the country to others. Boyi is obedient to his relatives and Shuqi is respectful to his brother." They gave them a high evaluation.
Boyi and Shuqi do not eating Zhou millet
In order to avoid the cruel King Zhou of Shang, Boyi and Shuqi lived on the coast of the North Sea and lived with the Dongyi people. They heard that the Western King Zhou Wenwang was rising, the country was stable, and production was developing rapidly. They said happily: "We should go back from Dongyi. We heard that the Western King's country is very stable and suitable for the elderly to live in." So they agreed to go to Zhou.
But on the way, they met the army of King Wu of Zhou who was attacking King Zhou. It turned out that King Wen of Zhou had died at this time. King Wu of Zhou used a car to pull King Wen of Zhou's wooden statue to attack King Zhou of Shang. The two of them were very disappointed and knocked on the horse and advised: "If you don't bury your father after his death, and then use force, can this be considered filial piety? Can it be considered benevolence to attack the monarch as a minister?" King Wu's guards wanted to kill them, but the military advisor Jiang Shang persuaded them: "These are people who are loyal. Don't kill them." Then they took them away.
Later, King Wu of Zhou fought with King Zhou of Shang in Muye, with blood flowing everywhere. As the slave soldiers in front of King Zhou of Shang defected, King Wu of Zhou won a decisive victory, destroyed the Shang Dynasty, and established a new dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty. This was in 1046 BC. Boyi and Shuqi thought this was too shameful and vowed not to eat Zhou Dynasty food again. But at that time, all places belonged to the Zhou Dynasty. They went to Shouyang Mountain to pick wild vegetables (a kind of wild vegetable) to eat. While picking wild vegetables, they sang: "Go to the West Mountain and pick wild vegetables here. I really don't understand if it is right to use violent means to change the violent situation? The former emperor Shennong, Yu Xia! I am afraid that there will be no such prosperous era. Where can we go? It's really sad! My life is about to end." So they starved to death on Shouyang Mountain.
Their actions of giving up the right to rule the country, refusing to eat Zhou grain, and dying for their beliefs were highly praised by Confucianism. When Zigong asked Confucius, "Who are Boyi and Shuqi?" Confucius immediately replied, "They are ancient sages." Zigong asked again, "Don't they regret what they did?" Confucius said, "They sought benevolence and got it, so there is nothing to regret." Later, Confucius went further and said, "King Jing of Qi had a thousand horses, but on the day of his death, the people called him a man without virtue. Boyi and Shuqi starved to death under Mount Shouyang, but the people still praise him today. This is what it means." It turns out that Boyi and Shuqi's actions are in line with Confucian values. Confucianism believes that the value of life does not lie in what fame and fortune you can obtain, but in what contributions you have made to society. The value of life is reflected in the evaluation of you by future generations. This is what is called leaving a name for eternity. Therefore, Mencius emphasized that "Bo Yi and Shu Qi... have inspired hundreds of generations, and those who have heard of them are all inspired. Only saints and sages can be like this!"
Bo Yi and Shu Qi pursued their own ambitions, were ashamed to eat Zhou millet, and starved to death in Shouyang Mountain. They had a wide impact on the whole country. Many celebrities, including famous thinkers, politicians, historians, artists, literati and scholars, emperors and generals, sang and praised Boyi and Shu Qi in various forms.