Master Jìng Jiè - Can I be Reborn in Pure Land with Karma of Eating Meat? 淨土 帶業往生

(English Subtitles) Lectured by Master Jìng Jiè (淨界法師) from Taiwan.
subtitles:
What did Master Yongming（904—976 AD, 6th Patriarch of Pure Land Sect) say in his book? Surface behavior affects your heart. In other words, we believe that you have developed bodhicitta. We believe you have sincerely developed bodhicitta. However, if you crave the desire of taste and belly, what's wrong with eating meat? Because you don’t do it once in a while, you do it every day. You do it every day, so you might lose your sense of shame. It's unlikely you alert yourself every day, it's very difficult. Maybe you alert yourself several times. Over time, you get used to it. Then your compassion will gradually fade away. When your compassion disappears, your Mahayana seed nature also disappears, this is more horrible.
1:00
You are not walking on the path of bodhicitta but on the path of ghost and asura. Because you have accepted carnivorous behavior. The scariest thing is that you have accepted it and no longer resist. Therefore, the Lankavatara Sutra thinks highly of your motivation in the causal place. That is, when you do something wrong, how do you face it? This is critical. It’s so critical, it determines whether you can break through this deed in the future. If you accept it completely, it will be very difficult for you to change the behavior. Because you're creating a strong consecutive force here, and that's the problem. So the problem with eating meat is that it has developed into a daily habit without any shame. 2:00
Therefore, the Lankavatara Sutra raises two questions: Surely, killing, theft, obscenity, and fraud create karma of reincarnation, which will have an impact on your good roots. It will destroy the sense of departure, bodhicitta, and emptiness view that you have worked so hard to cultivate. The two are interactive.
I think the goal of our Pure Land Sect is to be reborn in the Pure Land. You'd better catch some points. That is, when you're dying, there's something that can turn you upside down, and something that can trigger your karma of reincarnation. You'd better pay special attention to these two parts and touch them less. That is to enhance your karma of reincarnation and turn you upside down, must be careful of these two parts.
3:00
Because you want to be reborn with karma (in the Pure Land). You really can be reborn. But you must reduce the intensity of your delusions and karma to within your control. Basically, your vows are the pivot. That is, we have many thoughts in our hearts every day. We cannot achieve single-hearted, we have multiple hearts, right? We do have good thoughts sometimes and bad thoughts sometimes, this is how mortals are in reincarnation. What's the point? You can't let bad thoughts take root, that's critical. It’s understandable that you’ll occasionally have bad thoughts. But you cannot shamelessly let bad thoughts take roots and replace your bodhicitta. No.
4:00
Namely, you must make rebirth and bodhicitta as the pillars of your life and take root in your heart. Though you have made wrongdoings, your heart is at least clean and pure. But through your vow and shame, your roots are still unharmed. Then you have the assurance of rebirth. If your good roots are not ruined, you will have the assurance of rebirth. Certainly, it is best to avoid creating karma of reincarnation, especially those are connected to sentient beings, including eating their meat, theft, obscenity, and fraud. No matter what you did in the past, repent now, cut off consecutive evil thoughts, and settle your mind.
5:00
The Lankavatara Sutra says that there is a lot of dirt in a glass of water, so don’t stir it anymore. Although you can't take away the dirt, you can at least let it settle. For rebirth with karma, what is the karma you can take with? You can take karma. This karma is not continuous and has settled down in your heart, that is, you no longer create it. This is acceptable. If you still keep creating it every day, you cannot take this karma. If you are still stirring it up, this karma will be flourish. How can you take it? Results, it will take you away. You can take the karma you have repented of and no longer create it because it no longer has potency. It's just a seed and is inactive. The karma we can take away is the karma that has already settled.
6:00
Karma that is still active is unacceptable. You can let your wrongdoing dwindle. You used to eat meat every day, but now you only eat meat on the 1st and 15th day of the month. Then you eat once in a month. You can take this karma because you have been resisting and taming. This karma has become a non-growing karma, growing no more. To sum up, we must let good ideas take root and not let bad thoughts take root. Only in a state of taming and guidance can we be reborn with our karma.