White Tara said:
“For a Buddhist practitioner, the first major precept is not to kill. The five heinous crimes are the most serious offenses and the hardest to expiate. They are killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, killing an arhat, causing a buddha to bleed, and killing a sage or a monk. Because these acts of killing are so grave, they are called the five heinous crimes.”
I asked:
“What about the karmic consequence of creating a schism in the Sangha?”
White Tara said:
“The Sangha is the harmonious community of monks and nuns who practice together. If someone creates division or conflict within the Sangha, it is like destroying the collective wisdom of the whole assembly. The karmic consequence is extremely severe, comparable to the five heinous crimes. Such a person falls into Avīci Hell, the Hell of Uninterrupted Suffering, and the suffering lasts without end.”
(These are the most severe karmic transgressions.)
White Tara said:
“No matter how it is described, killing is listed first among the sins that lead to the three lower realms. Practitioners must be careful to avoid the three kinds of killing. First is killing motivated by greed or desire: craving the victim’s flesh, skin, or some benefit from their death. Second is killing motivated by anger: murdering out of jealousy, hatred, resentment, or lust for wealth or sex. Third is killing through ignorance: for example, destroying bird nests, beehives, ant colonies, and so on.”
White Tara said:
“Crimes born of evil intent, plotting assassination, actual killing, and having no remorse cannot be forgiven!”
***
The words of White Tara made me think of Genghis Khan, the Great Khan of Mongolia, also known as Temujin. Genghis Khan was a courageous and formidable military leader, and he established the vast Mongol Empire.
When Genghis Khan invaded India, he remembered that in northern China there was a Taoist master named Qiu Chang-chun.
So Genghis Khan invited Qiu Chang-chun to meet him at the Indian border so that he could ask him about the Tao.
Qiu Chang-chun traveled day and night until he reached the Indian border.
Genghis Khan asked:
“What is the Tao?”
Taoist Master Qiu Chang-chun replied only:
“Kill fewer people!”
Genghis Khan and Taoist Master Qiu Chang-chun made an agreement involving a Copper Symbol and an Iron Seal. Later, when Genghis Khan invaded China, the people in northern China pasted Qiu Chang-chun’s Copper Symbol on their doors. As long as they did so, Mongol soldiers would not break in and kill the residents. In this way, many lives were spared.
I would say:
Genghis Khan.
Qin Shi Huang.
Emperor Wu of Han.
Alexander the Great.
Julius Caesar.
And others.
All of them killed countless people through acts of unimaginable violence. Their sins were so grave that they must endure endless suffering in hell. Even now, they are still there, tormented by unbearable agony!
***
Tantric practitioners cultivate qi, channels, and drops. Both qi and inner fire, which are essential to their practice, depend on nutrition derived from animal flesh.
Tantric practitioners also know that one must not kill.
Therefore, before eating and drinking, they perform a deliverance practice.
They use mantras, mudras, and visualizations to guide the spirits of the animals to be consumed into higher realms, thereby delivering them.
(In this way, there will be no karmic offense.)
Buddha said:
A mouthful of clear water,
contains 84,000 organisms.
If one does not recite mantras,
it is equivalent to killing living beings.