Huangpo and Linji, Part 4 of 4, January 19, 1992

We should keep the precepts strictly. The first precept is no-killing. This precept mustn’t be violated. Breaking that precept will cause you a lot of trouble. Your body won’t feel comfortable, and you’ll get very heavy karma. And it will shorten your life. Some people want us to stay longer. We are not afraid of death, but we live for others, right? All right, apart from a shorter life, bodily discomfort, lots of illness, such as those untreatable diseases, are all from the bad karma of killing. Killing karma is very, very serious. So a person who kills dares to do so because he doesn't know his own karma. Otherwise, he would never dare to do it even if you beg him.