Q: To be a lifelong vegetarian, without meat-eating is prevent from killing. But can we eat eggs?

M: Eggs contain half of the life, and then they unite together and become a chicken. This is the first reason why we should not eat eggs. Now some eggs are unfertilized, but still they contain half of the life in them.

The second reason is that chickens they eat all kinds of worms with bacteria and disease. So when we eat them, the eggs are not that pure — not good for our delicate system. The more we practice, the more we become very sensitive. It’s dirty.

The third reason is that all the black magicians, witches, they use eggs to attract so-called dead souls, controlled souls. If we eat them, we also attract these souls to ourselves. So we add more negative nature to our own beings. It’s not very helpful for spiritual progress, so we don’t eat eggs.

Q: As the Buddha asked His disciples to filter the water, do we have to filter our environment and our actions so we may attain enlightenment easier?

M: Yes, we do! Therefore the emphasis is on keeping the precepts, the commandments.

Q: What’s wrong with occasionally having a beer or a glass of wine with friends?

M: It looks like nothing is wrong, but people start from there. People start from a glass of harmless wine and a beer with a friend, and become alcoholics. They couldn’t suddenly become a alcoholic, no? It develops from a glass of beer, a glass of wine, and becomes more habitual — take more and more and become possessed with it. So don’t start. Don’t play with fire. Also any drop of wine, anything that’s alcoholic dulls your wisdom, kills your memory, takes you further from the truth, makes you forget who you are and disconnects you from the glorious path and your highest wisdom. Therefore we better avoid it.

Many people were born mentally damaged. It’s due to them having killed their own wisdom with too many intoxicants in the past, like alcohol, drugs or such things. So, do not play with fire! We do not know how much we can control ourselves. No one knows until it is too late. All mistakes come from the overestimation of our control of will power. It’s easy to say, but hard to practice. So better not to try.

Now you see the world is already very mysterious and foggy. Why do you want to add more confusion to your mind? Our vision is already blurred, already not clear. Why should we add more to our, unclear mind with alcohol or drugs.

From “Practicing Makes The World More Civilized”
News 55, Media Reports
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Columbia University, New York, USA • November 3, 1989
(originally in English)