今天讲肉字的意思，有一首偈颂这样说：

Today I will explain the Chinese character for “meat.” There's a verse which goes:

肉字里边两个人，
里边罩着外边人；
众生还吃众生肉，
仔细思量人吃人。

In the character for “meat” there are
two people.
The one inside is covering the one outside.
Living beings eat the flesh of living beings:
If you really think about it, doesn't it
 amount to people eating people?

在“肉”字的里边，有两个人，一个是吃肉的人，一个是被吃的人；吃肉的人，头在肉的外边，被吃的人，头在肉的里边。今生你吃我的肉，来生我吃你的肉，礼尚往来，公平交易，所以世界永无和平之日，冤债相酬，于是战争爆发，众生相互残杀，这种因果报应，丝毫不爽。

There are two characters for “person”（人）in the Chinese character for “meat”（肉）. One of them is eating the meat, and the other is being eaten. The person who is eating the meat has his head outside the character, and the one being eaten has his head inside. In this life, if you eat my flesh, in the next life I'll eat yours. I'll return the favor, and it'll be a fair deal. Because everyone is paying back these debts of enmity, there is never a day of peace in the world. Wars break out, and living beings slaughter one another. The law of cause and effect is never off, and each person receives exactly the retribution he or she deserves.

“肉”字外边的人，吃“肉”字里边的人；这个人也许前生是你的朋友，今生变了形相。你若吃他的肉，便结下冤仇，将来他要复仇，一定要还来吃你的肉，才能解心头之恨，所谓“冤冤相报”，永无了期。如果你不吃肉，则一切冤债，便能一笔勾消，化敌为友。“肉”字里边的人，也许前生是你的亲人，甚至可能是至亲骨肉，只是他们变了形相，你怎么忍心吃他们的肉呢？

The person outside the character for “meat” is eating the one inside. Maybe the one being eaten was your friend in a previous life, who has now assumed a different form. If you eat his flesh, you are setting up conditions of enmity and he'll seek revenge in the future. He'll definitely eat your flesh in return, for that's the only way he can get rid of the hatred in his heart. There's no end to the cycle of vengeance. If you don't eat meat, your debts of enmity are cancelled and your enemies turn into friends. The person inside the character for “meat” may have been your close relative in a past life. Even though he has taken on a different appearance now, how can you bear to eat his flesh?

所以佛教提倡“平等、慈悲”，不吃众生的肉。那么怎样才能戒掉吃肉的习惯？这方法非常简单，当你想吃肉的时候，就做这样的观想：“那是死尸的肉，臭不可闻！”能如是观想，就渐渐不再有心情来吃肉了。爱吃肉人，不妨试一试这个办法。

Buddhism advocates equality and compassion, and teaches us not to eat the flesh of living beings. Well, how can you break the habit of eating meat? It's very easy. When you have the urge to eat meat, just think: “That's the stinking flesh of a corpse!” If you contemplate in this way, gradually you'll lose the taste for meat. Meat-lovers ought to try this method!

一九八三年十月廿三日开示