What is the Level of Humans in the Eyes of Celestial Beings (Values of Celestial Beings)

 

What is the Level of Humans in the Eyes of Celestial Beings (Values of Celestial Beings)

What is the Level of Humans in the Eyes of Celestial Beings (Values of Celestial Beings)

Nantai

I wonder if friends who have read Journey to the West have noticed that when Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing made mistakes in the Heavenly Realm and were banished to the human world, they both lived by eating people. In the eyes of humans, this is extremely evil and ugly. However, when the compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva accepted Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing, she did not criticize or blame them severely. She only gently instructed them not to eat people anymore after they agreed to be escorts for the scripture-seeking monk Tang Sanzang.

Considering the extreme evil of eating people and the extreme compassion of Guanyin Bodhisattva, this seems too understated. Why didn't the Bodhisattva blame them severely and give strict instructions? This is a bit hard to understand.

And it's not just the two of them. There are too many scenes of people being eaten in the entire Journey to the West. It's not surprising that monsters eat people, as monsters are inherently evil. But when celestial immortals or stars from the Heavenly Realm come to the human world to eat people, they are not punished when they return to the Heavenly Realm. Isn't this a bit strange for the Heavenly Realm, which is known for strict discipline? Zhu Bajie was given 2000 blows with a hammer, which was supposed to kill him, just for teasing Chang'e. Sha Wujing was beaten 800 times with a stick, banished to the human world, and even stabbed in the chest and ribs hundreds of times every week with a flying sword, just for breaking a glass lamp. Is a human life even less valuable than a glass lamp?

Besides, many mounts of great Bodhisattvas, once they sneak down to the human world, also eat a lot of people. When Sun Wukong sues them and gets permission, the Bodhisattvas take back their mounts but do not settle the score with the animal mounts for eating people. They only criticize them for leaving without permission and violating discipline, but do not punish or blame them for eating people.

This is really hard to understand. Why is this the case?

If we think about the human world, we will understand. Do humans eat animals? Don't we think that animals such as pigs, sheep, chickens, and ducks are lower in intelligence than humans, so they should be served as food for humans? Has anyone ever been punished by law or condemned morally for eating meat? Is there a rule in the promotion of cadres that people who have eaten animal meat cannot be promoted to official positions, and are not good cadres? When family members celebrate their birthdays, almost all of them will kill chickens and sheep for a big feast. Has anyone ever been punished or criticized for this? Why? It is determined by values. The values of human beings are that animals are mentally retarded and low-level, so they should be served as food for humans.

Looking at the hierarchy between humans and the Heavenly Realm, everything in the Heavenly Realm is of a higher level than humans. They can capture and eat humans, and humans have no ability to resist. Not to mention monsters and the mounts of Bodhisattvas who have listened to the scriptures. Their values determine that humans are mentally retarded and low-level animals, and should be served as food for higher creatures. Eating humans is not a mistake. Only enlightened Buddhas and Bodhisattvas prohibit harming humans and animals.

Shouldn't human beings think about it? The level of human beings in the universe is not high. If we don't improve ourselves, we will be the food of higher-level creatures. Some foolish scientists are still studying how to make humans live longer. When humans are the food of higher-level creatures, what's the use of living longer?