A person whose outer appearance is impure cannot possibly have gathered the mind.

Some people say that whether or not one eats meat is not something to be attached to—that is non-attachment to signs—and that gathering the mind is the true precept, which is the fundamental thing. But facts, results, and cause and effect do not depend on whether you or anyone else is attached or unattached; they will inevitably manifest. Wishful thinking solves nothing.

Only with the ability to gather the mind can one truly keep the precepts; without that ability, one cannot keep the precepts. What kind of person can gather the mind, and at what level of cultivation can one truly gather the mind—this is the key. It is not that you gather the mind just because you think you do, nor that you are unattached to signs just because you think you are. Such thinking is far too unreliable and makes no sense. To be able to be unattached to signs, one must realize the corresponding truth, and one must also have deep meditative concentration (samādhi); only then can one be unattached, break through signs, and gather the mind. Anything else is mere lip-service Chan.

You must be clear about what level of cultivation is required before one can gather the mind. Ask yourself honestly: can you gather your mind? If you can, then any problem can be solved, and whether or not you eat a particular meal would no longer matter. If being concerned about whether to eat meat or not is attachment to signs, then that would mean that not being concerned about eating meat or not means the mind is already unattached to signs. Since you are already unattached to signs, then you should be able to eat anything and no longer be picky—plain white rice alone would be fine, or with a plate of pickled vegetables, or meatless raw vegetables—anything would do. A person unattached to what they eat should be able to eat any leftovers; as long as the belly is filled and one can apply effort to cultivate the Path, nothing else matters.

True non-attachment should be like this, not the claim that there is no need to avoid eating meat.