Here, I can only reluctantly explain this sentence in my own words. The original intention of "putting down the butcher's knife and becoming a Buddha on the spot" is to persuade people to do good, which is similar to Gong Xuan's famous saying "It's never too late to correct mistakes" in Zuo Zhuan, meaning that everyone may make mistakes.
The above is superficial, but the deeper meaning is more complicated. First of all, the phrase "put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot" is aimed at those who do evil. In response, the human body is a tool of Buddhism. Buddha is everywhere. No matter how evil people are, they have good roots, but their hearts are blinded and they cannot be discovered.
Once the conscience of the wicked is found and their good roots are found, it is equivalent to raising a lotus flower in the western paradise, just like a cluster of sparks generated in hay, which will instantly change their temperament. At this time, it is easier for ordinary people to enlighten evil people.
In a word, everything has Buddhist nature, and Buddhist words and sutras are all displayed through human expression, which will inevitably lead to ambiguity. The word "understanding" itself is not understood. How can we realize Buddha nature? How to express the word "put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot" in dog, sheep and horse languages? If you persist in becoming a Buddha, how can you become a Buddha? Therefore, "put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot" can only be aimed at a certain kind of people, and there is no spark in their hearts after watching it for 10 thousand times, but some people just watch it once and suddenly have a good idea. This is the subtlety of Buddhist scriptures. Although I have written a lot of words, I always feel that I can't express them clearly. People can understand it. Everything is understandable. )