Kill Cow - Get Enlightenment

Question: My husband has an idea to open a seafood restaurant in China. He has a very good plan and it seems that we can make money from that business. But having a restaurant, especially a seafood restaurant, means that you kill many lives. So I asked him not to open this restaurant, but I don't have enough grounds to convince him. How would you convince him, sir? Zen Master Seung Sahn: There was a man in Buddha's lifetime. His everyday job was killing cows. He could not change his job because of the way Indian society worked at that time: there were Brahmins, very high class families, next the king's family, next usually farmers, then the lowest class families, who would kill cows or jobs of this sort. So this man killed cows every day. The cow would come, then "Boom!" The cow said "Muuuuu!", then died.

The man never changed this job, but he didn't like it. He talked to his parents, but it was impossible to change it. One day Shariputra, a disciple of the Buddha's, passed by the man's working place. Shariputra had completely attained the sutra on emptiness. The man went over to him, bowed and said, "I am sorry, I have a question. Buddha and the precepts say 'Don't kill any life.' My job is killing cows every day. I make a lot of bad karma. What shall I do?"

Shariputra said "Who kills the cow?"

"I kill the cow."

"Who are you?"

"Don't know."

"Only keep this don't know mind, and kill cows. Then you don't make bad karma." Then Shariputra left.

The main continued to kill cows every day, but in the meantime he asked himself "Who is killing the cow?" This question became bigger, bigger, bigger. While killing cows, he did not feel guilty, only the big question: "Who is killing the cow?"

One day a cow appeared. He only kept his big question: "Who is killing the cow?" Then 'Boom!', he killed the cow. The cow said "Muuu!" The man heard this 'Muuu!' and 'Boom!' got enlightenment. "Our true self has no life, no death. I am one of the Buddhas."

Any kind of business is no problem. That's very important. If its only for you, then you will have a problem. But, if you make a lot of money, and build a temple, then you help many other people Then your direction is clear. That's bodhisattva action. Okay? Try that.

Question: Thank you, sir.