jeffrito Posted April 16, 2012 The other day I was preparing a salad. I opened up the lettuce to find a load of greenfly inside. I'm not just talking one or two, it was really quite a lot. Knowing that they were there I picked them off one by one and put them outside which took quite a long time. But I still think there were some left inside the remainder of the lettuce which went back in the fridge. Am I crazy? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C T Posted April 16, 2012 (edited) No, i dont believe you're crazy, but i know i am ( ) , because what i would do would be to put the whole lettuce, with the flies, out in the garden and leave them to their obvious indulgence. ...but that's just me... though on some level, i think you did the decent thing. Imagining the numbers, i'd say it must have been a good exercise in mindfulness and patience? (late edit 4 typo) Edited April 16, 2012 by C T Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeffrito Posted April 16, 2012 D'p.. Glad to see I'm not alone. It does raise some real questions about our actions. I have a cats. They had fleas last year. I picked the fleas out of them and flushed them down the toilet. Was that a terrible thing to do? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C T Posted April 16, 2012 Glad to see I'm not alone. It does raise some real questions about our actions. I have a cats. They had fleas last year. I picked the fleas out of them and flushed them down the toilet. Was that a terrible thing to do? Perhaps terrible for the fleas, not so for the cat. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ish Posted April 16, 2012 I've found since cultivating i really dislike killing anything, you see many people would rather kill an insect rather then wasting 5 seconds of their precious time to put it outside. So i think your heart was in the right place. Perhaps to some highly developed race us humans are effectively insects... Im sure we'd appreciate any mercy given then! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Harmonious Emptiness Posted April 16, 2012 Maybe it is the instant karma of those insects. They attacked an animal and they lost. I think this is where karma is not a concept lacking in Taoism. You try not to disrupt the harmony of things, and try to keep the harmony and balance in ones self so that you can be attuned to the push and pull of things. Also being in harmony you can try to bring other things into harmony rather than see them suffer or further disrupt the harmony. When they continue to disrupt the harmony, then they will only cause suffering for others and eventually themselves, so "the sage follows the actions of heaven." We've polluted and assaulted heaven and earth for a long time now and rarely see the consequences, so this shows how heaven and earth work in this way. However, it won't help anyone if we discard all capacity for corrections. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RiverSnake Posted April 16, 2012 Ants often gather in my sink and i'll need to wash my wands...i don't want to kill them so i'll either wait for them to leave or go to another part of the house to wash myself. I don't like killing anything either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
三江源 Posted April 17, 2012 I think is fine to kill what is living on the lettuce you are about to eat. I think is not evil, is not bad intent, is not done in anger, therefore no problem. They were living there.. now they dont live anywhere... back to source. Wish them well on their journey. Thanks be to the lettuce for being a lettuce. I think if you have ultra sensitivity to such issues all well and good, it is something in your psychology/karma that need that level of awareness of 'other' to be integrated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mYTHmAKER Posted April 17, 2012 Jainism might be the religion for you Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
