BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Buddhism Your Thoughts on Killing

In the Dalai Lama's book he talks about the one most important activity to avoid is killing. It's not just maliciously slaying another human being, although of course you should try not to do that It's the killing of any sentient life form.

Hopefully few if any of us have had to kill another person - but think about your life. Have you killed other things? Does becoming "desensitized" to killing them affect you in larger ways - sort of like how they say kids who abuse animals as a child then grow up to abuse their spouses and kids?

I used to not like spiders but now I will really try to save them, put them in a box and take them outside. I don't want to live with them but I don't stomp on them either. In some of the early James Bond films he nastily kills spiders and snakes and now when I watch them I call out "No! Don't do it!" (like a super spy has to really fear from a spider??)

But I do admit I will have Bob spray hornets and things, because my son is allergic to them. And I will swat a mosquito who is on me. I consider those health issues - that at some point you're allowed to defend your own health from danger.

My actions with regard to killing seem to echo yours, Lisa. If a mosquito is attacking, I'll swat it. Also, if I see the odd insect in my home that could go after food (grain beatles for example or a fruit fly), it's probably history too. I don't like it though. I'll go out of my way to save most things, if possible. I work a part-time job at a gym and I see mouse traps set out back and always set them off myself and hide them somewhere I can not (absolutely not) understand or condone hunting, fishing, etc. Of course, I am vegan too and don't (or try as much as I can not to) kill animals by consuming them directly or harming them indirectly by eating dairy, eggs, etc. Although I've never thought of this in terms of any spiritual practice, it's still the way I live.

I do think it's easy to become desensitized to killing, and do try and save insects and things when possible. I view it as a part of my spiritual practice - noticing insects and taking the time to save them is part of trying to stay connected to my heart and everyone/everything around me in a caring way.

But, I also studied martial arts for a long time, including a lot of the Zen writings regarding fighting and killing, and many take a different approach to the Buddhist precept of doing no harm. They emphasize that in the physical world, everything is transient, everything must live and die, and we are all part of that truth and that cycle. At times, we are each agents of other beings destruction - consciously or unconsciously (for example, we all probably drive over or step on ants and other small insects without realizing.) So, in the samurai Zen code, they believed there were times when a greater good was served through their fighting or killing, and the same principle applied to daily living. That would be where the examples you have related to health or your own well-being (like spraying a hornet's nest or swatting a mosquito) come in.

I feel this way about killing, also. As a Taoist, I understand all things have a season and a reason. I don't believe one can box up a concept and adhere to it without fail - even if they think that they are. As you said, we unconsciously kill bugs and insects just by stepping on them, all the time. It is my belief that it is the intention behind the action that matters. In the animal kingdom, killing is surviving. It is the way of nature. Even entities who do not eat mammals, have to kill some kind of life form to survive. Plants are just as alive and sentient as we are!

Shay

In the "indirect" sense, I do eat meat. So I am causing animals to be slain "for me". Cute cows with big brown eyes. Fluffy little chickens with their happy outlooks. The commercial world makes it easy by completely separating consumers from the death. All we get is a completely clean, sterilized, packaged chunk of meat and never have to think about the animal it came from.

I eat a ton of vegetables - and there are stretches I go without eating any meat at all - but I do sometimes eat it. I realize that raising animals for meat puts a strain on our environment. I'm just not sure nutrition-wise that I'm ready to make that transition yet. I'm not really sold on high levels of soy being healthy. So I'm taking it slowly. I can at least try to eat "healthier meats" (free range, organic) etc. to go in the right direction.

I'm by far no expert on the subject of killing, and I do believe that there is a reason for everything that happens whether good or bad. I have had the experience of taking a life back in 1985, and what i had to work through and deal on a social level. Its something very few people could imagine. No, I was not the aggressor, but in harms way-and under no circumstance did i intend on taking someones life or meant to.I called myself a born-again christian before this tragedy, and spiritually it took its toll. The guilt and tears, the prison, the embarrassment, the heartache and pain that ensued. Has the years passed and i started my spiritual quest- things became clear to me, and even though i reflect on the past, i also use it in a positive way. And i understand the ying-yang of the universe and the part of killing, has well as living.Life is to be cherished and all living things will eventually die- humans, animals, and plants. I believe that death is the beginning of our true life-which is spiritual.

Wow, babydoll, I could never even imagine being in that situation, what you must have felt. Thank you for talking about it. I imagine that is something that stays with you for your entire life.

Wow, Babydoll. I am humbled and amazed by your experiences and journey to transformation. You exemplify my beliefs on killing and its mind altering role in transcendence.

Shay

This is how I view it also...I do eat meat, and view it as part of the natural cycle of things (although I know many vegans who argue humans are not meant to eat meat), but I try to buy free range/organic and support those movements in other ways so that these businesses will become more viable, and eventually the norm in the whole industry...

I do eat some meat as well, and also keep it organic, very much for the same reasons that you do. Also because of the antibiotic and hormone levels in commercial meats that are unhealthy. I feel it's silly for one group of people to claim to know what all humans are meant to do and not do. I was a strict vegetarian for many years, and I was totally unhealthy. In the book "Eat Right 4 Your Type" the consensus is that one's blood type determines what foods are needed for optimum health. I'm a type O, and do need some meat in my diet.

I do feel however that Americans eat more meat than is necessary, and if everyone cut back to having meat once a day or less, a lot of issues with deforestation and slaughterhouse animal abuse would be solved.

Shay