What do you think, mendicants? Have you ever seen or heard of a butcher of sheep … a butcher of pigs … a butcher of poultry … or a deer-hunter selling deer which he killed himself who, by means of that work and livelihood, got to travel by elephant, horse, chariot, or vehicle, or to enjoy wealth, or to live off a large fortune?”

“No, sir.”

“Good, mendicants! I too have never seen or heard of such a thing. Why is that? Because when the deer are led to the slaughter he regards them with bad intentions.

By regarding even animals led to the slaughter with bad intentions he did not get to travel by elephant, horse, chariot, or vehicle, or to enjoy wealth, or to live off a large fortune. How much worse is someone who regards human beings brought to the slaughter with bad intentions! This will be for their lasting harm and suffering. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell.”

Numbered Discourses 6.19 2. Warm-hearted Mindfulness of Death (1st)

At one time the Buddha was staying at Ñātika in the brick house. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants!”

“Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

“Mendicants, when mindfulness of death is developed and cultivated it’s very fruitful and beneficial. It has freedom from death as its objective and culmination. But do you develop mindfulness of death?”