BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Buddhism Growing a Love for Spiders

Back when I first started chatting with everyone in this Buddhist forum I would have Bob kill spiders and bugs he found in the house. I disliked them intensely.

With our discussions I worked hard to foster a more forgiving attitude, to recognize spiders as members of our world community with a vital role. I started taking pictures of them to get to know them better. I started to be able to recognize different types of spiders, to know what their role was in the web of life. (sorry that pun was accidental).

Now when we find a spider we put it somewhere safe and are very happy about doing that! When we recently took a motorcycle to the shop we found there was a spider in it (at the shop) and I worried about the shop owners squishing it. They said it would be happy hanging out with the other spiders, but I'm not sure if they were teasing or not.

So I feel a serene peace that I am making progress on a goal that I set for myself, to try to be more understanding of all creatures. I wanted to thank you all for your help!

Seeing this witnessed by just one person just made my day, no my year! Congratulations Lisa you are part of the radiance of what is life.

I have always had a very clear deal with spiders in my homes. When I see them, I tell them they are welcome to the ceiling corners and the roof beams, and I bless them to go about their business by catching other insects in our home. Our home meaning the spiders and me. I consider them part of my ecosystem. 99% of them stay up where I tell them.

Part of what I tell them is that those areas are their domain, and to try to not walk on the floor, get in the bathtub or crawl on my bed. Ones that don't listen will be removed to the outside to try again.

I have a tougher time with scorpions and centipedes. Those show up very very rarely in the shower and it's much harder to capture those humanely for release outside.

I like having feral cats living under the house to dissuade rattlers from moving in, but even a rattler would have a job too - to catch rodents. I'd just rather have a feral spayed cat do that job.

I've never really minded spiders. I can kill them or remove them or let them be. I let them be here usually, but I don't have many. We don't have scorpions here.

Snakes--I doubt I'll be evolved enough in this lifetime to be happy if they're anywhere I am. I get the circle of life thing & understand they have their jobs to do, I just don't want them doing so around me. :-) People find snakes in their houses & I've always said "Wow--I'd just move & let the snake have it." I used to be crazy-phobic about them. Now, I have evolved to a "stay away & it'll be okay" sort of state.

That's great! We have been working on letting critters be in our own home too, or on peacefully moving them out. With three little kids I have a little less tolerance now for co-existing with them in the house. Our latest challenge is mice - we have been finding droppings around. And mice are very hard to capture and move somewhere else without harming them! But they also do carry a host of diseases, so I don't simply want them around. I have been researching humane traps, we will see. We don't have any cats, just a Golden Retriever who is an amazing dog but totally worthless when it comes to catching rodents...

See, now, harmless gopher snake could eat all your rodents and be peaceable.

No.
That's asking some'one' else to do your killing for you, which the Buddha said was just as bad as the Intention of doing Harm.
Intention and volitional action create kamma.

Horse chestnuts placed in corners where spiders congregate...especially those spiders with teeny-tiny bodies and very long, very thin legs.... will eliminate them and discourage spiders from web-building.
Spiders hate the toxic fumes horse chestnuts emit. They're harmless to us, and we can't detect them. But spiders? Can't stand 'em.
Horse Chestnuts are also known as Conkers, in the UK.

We don't have any scorpions here, and while we do spot a snake in the yard maybe once or twice a year, they're always the friendly, peaceful garden snake kinds so I do not mind them at all. I am thrilled to see them and call Bob over to see.

It is interesting to me that I used to have Bob squish spiders actively - and now I would be really upset if he squished a spider. I think it shows how you really do have control over your mind and your feelings, if you gently and slowly apply yourself to it.

Alexandra, can you find nicer ways of sharing your ideas, please?

Do you know of anything similar for mice?? Someone told me eventually having a cat is like this, they don't have to kill any mice, just having a cat in the house will make them move elsewhere, but a cat is out for now...ditto for gopher snakes...chestnuts or something similar I could handle!!