For hundreds of thousands of years,
the stew in the pot has boiled up
a resentment very hard to level.
If you want to know why
there are wars in the world,
just listen to the haunting cries that come
from a slaughterhouse at midnight.
From ancient times to the present, there have been countless people who willingly sacrifice the lives of other beings for their own benefit, having no qualms about killing others in order to nourish and sustain themselves. Therefore, the piece of meat in a bowl of soup contains resentment accumulated so deeply that it is like an ocean.
Life after life, beings kill and eat one another. All living beings cherish life and fear death, yet human beings still resort to oppression and cruelty, slaughtering those weaker than themselves.
In the consciousness of animals before they die, vast resentment has already crystallized. They seek only an opportunity for revenge, and there is no way to pacify or dissolve this hatred.
Do you wish to know where the wars of this world originate? Whether it is the Vietnam War, or the Falklands War between Argentina and Great Britain, all arise from the karma of killing, which is too heavy and too deep. That is why people employ airplanes, heavy artillery, warships, and naval mines to annihilate one another.
If, in the stillness of night, one listens to the cries and wails from a butcher’s house—the screams of pigs, cattle, or goats begging for their lives—then one will know precisely where the causes of war come from.
Venerable Master Hsuan Hua taught.
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