千百年来碗里羹，
怨深似海恨难平。
欲知世上刀兵劫，
但听屠门夜半声。── 愿云禅师
For thousands of hundreds of years since, within meat broths in bowls, is resentment deep like the ocean, with hatred difficult to pacify. If desiring to know the world’s wars’ and disasters’ causes, you only have to listen, at slaughterhouses’ gates, to their midnight cries.
── Chán Master Yuànyún
In Mèngzǐ《孟子》(The Works Of Mencius), within King Liánghuì’s Upper Section (梁惠王上), there is this dialogue recorded. Mencius to the King recounted the following incident heard… The King was sitting in a hall when a man leading an ox passed by. When the King asked where the ox was going to, the reply was that his blood will be used for ‘consecrating’ a bell (衅钟). The King ordered, ‘Let him go! I cannot bear to see him trembling with fear, as if without guilt, then approaching the place of death.’ (舍之！吾不忍其觳觫，若无罪而就死地。)
The man asked if the ‘consecration’ should be abolished then. The King replied, ‘How can it be abolished? With a sheep change him!’ (何可废也？以羊易之！) Mencius later asked, ‘With a smaller animal changed from a bigger one, was it with that evil [of the smaller animal], knowing it? If the King was concealed from him, without guilt then approaching the place of death, then between the ox and sheep, why was there choosing of this?‘ (以小易大，彼恶知之？王若隐其无罪而就死地，则牛羊何择焉？) Saying something else then, the King did not really reply.
Mencius later said, ‘This is thus your benevolent governance, as you saw the ox, but had yet to see the sheep. Noble persons, of birds and beasts too, when seeing them alive, do not bear to see them die. When hearing their cries, do not bear to eat their flesh. Therefore, noble persons stay far away from kitchens [where there is slaughtering too].’ (是乃仁术也，见牛未见羊也。君子之于禽兽也，见其生，不忍见其死；闻其声，不忍食其肉。是以君子远庖厨也。)
Although this episode is royal in nature, there are parallels for commoners too. Many other people also cannot bear to see innocent-looking animals being led to the slaughter. Yet, they still feel that ritual sacrifices should be done, even if there is no proof of their need. Why not ‘sacrifice’ delusional superstitions instead? Why not sound bells reminding of peace, instead of desecrating them with bloody violence? Just because a sacrificial animal was changed to a smaller one, is there still not pain when killed, with the animal equally treasuring his or her life?
Although the incident shows some compassion, it was clearly incomplete. It is a classic case of cognitive dissonance with some bad faith to animals, on the part of the King, and perhaps Mencius too? (Confucian teachings are not known for promoting veg[etari]anism.) They might stay away from kitchens and slaughterhouses, yet not abstaining from eating meat, and still agreeing to animal sacrifices. Are animals not seen not innocent-looking too? Out of sight, out of mind? Since all dread pain and death, even calm and guilty-looking ones should not be killed.
In the Buddhist teachings for beginners, there is speak of threefold pure meat (三净肉), to not eat animals seen kill for one (不见杀), heard to be killed for one (不闻杀) and suspected to be killed for one (不疑杀). This is where Confucianism (or Mencianism here) part in perspectives from Buddhism. The third criteria should be met too. Based on direct supply and demand, the King surely does NOT not suspect the sheep and other animals to be killed in his name for rituals and food. In fact, he knows this for sure. Mere shunning of kill floors is thus not ethically adequate for the truly noble.
If, to satisfy greed for meat, there are millions of murders in slaughterhouses daily, creating more pain and suffering, evil karmas and karmic creditors continually, how can there be total peace on earth for a single day?
── Shilashanti
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