1. The point of being vegetarian is to not incur the heavy karmic debt that comes with eating meat. The suffering of the animal all goes to you when you eat it, and that suffering has to come out in some form. There is no suffering in heaven, so if you cause suffering to others willingly and knowing (animals included) you won't be able to learn this method of meditation.
2. Try your best to be honest.
3. As long as there is consent from both parties for you to get something, it is ok.
4.good.
5. Marijuana is labeled as an intoxicant in the precepts. Don't take any mind altering drugs. Certain situations are questionable, but the bottom line is that you need a clear head to meditate effectively. Marijuana is out.
Drugs are bad
, they ruin you. Be drug free.All of these precepts are really guidelines, no need to be fanatical, but try your best to do what is right.
Again, marijuana is not allowed, it's bad for your meditation.
Here is a question that was asked of the master about drugs:
The Horror of Drugs
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Hsihu, Formosa, June 27, 1995
(Originally in English)
Q: I have a problem with the meditation. Before, for a few years, I was taking quite a few hallucinatory drugs.
M: So what happens now? If you don't take, it's good for you. Of course, you damaged the brain cells a little; but it's all right, we'll repair it. So you have problems when you meditate. What kind of problems?
Q: Concentration.
M: Concentration - that's why you have to practice, of course, but I think you're okay; you are repaired. Don't worry about that. Concentration is just a common "disease" of this world's people, so don't worry; take it easy and when you meditate you always have to remember here (Master points to the wisdom eye) with all sweetness and loving kindness. Then it massages your inner brain. Use your love, contact inside, that's all you need. Because you didn't take drugs for too long, it's okay. It's repairable. You do the Quan Yin Method and it will repair more. It will mend all the tissues and recharge them with new life and energy. Don't worry about that. You have to do it more diligently. Even if you can't concentrate, you do it. When you do the Quan Quang, the Light, of course, it's not easy to concentrate. But the Quan Yin Method, even if you don't concentrate, it's also there so it will help you. The Quan Yin Method means the "Sound"; it's the most beneficial for this kind of problem.
I'm very happy that you have quit the nasty habit and come back to your beautiful Self, fragrant with the elixir of love. It's more suitable for you, for such a handsome guy. So he is very clever and strong. It is very difficult to get out of that habit. If you are in, I think you're finished. Many people are finished. Sometimes they end their lives because they can't do anything about it. You know drugs are very nasty. When a drug addict has no food, drugging "food," then he feels like millions of needles are pinching him from inside and his whole body is like it's on fire and things like that when he can't get it on time. Terrible, and they're in agony all the time; or it's like thousands of snakes are biting them at the same time everywhere, from inside the brain. That's how drugs damage the nerves of people and make them die a horrible and slow death.
That's why all of the drug-selling people are the most horrible beings in this world. They trade such a poison, killing people's brains, energy, youth and their precious intelligence. The drug-selling people are terrible. If they realized what harm they do to the world, I think they would stop. I don't think they realize it because, as the drug dealer they probably don't take it themselves. They know it very well and don't take them. If they do take them, they always have enough supply, so they might die eventually from the poison but not in such agony; they would die from the drugs, that's all. Overdose and die quickly, but not in such agony, so they don't realize what harm they are doing to the youth of this world.
It's terrible. See how terrible it is? Very rarely can people get out of that habit. This is really terrible. All the time the world is in trouble. Actually drugs are one of those things we can avoid; therefore, we must avoid them. We must avoid spreading suffering to humankind by trading drugs, encouraging the use of drugs, having anything to do with drugs, or covering for the people who buy, sell or accidentally stumble onto drugs and become the victim of them.
We must avoid them - drugs, cigarettes, alcohol and things like that. It's a disaster that we can avoid, so we must avoid it. We can die anytime of anything, of course; but if we inflict suffering upon ourselves and upon other people, then we take the karma.
Of course, in war too, the people who order war take the heaviest karma. If we go to hell, we see all kinds of people there. If one day you're bored and you want to go "shopping" in hell, you have a look. Almost all the famous murderers are there and they are suffering all the time. They are suffering the feelings that they caused to millions or billions of victims when they were alive. That's what is called "hell". There is no need of a devil to pinch you, to fork you, to chop you, to grind you - no need; your eternal turmoil is enough to kill you every day. The more people you kill, the more people you abuse or agonize, the more suffering and the longer you will have to experience that.
