【Description】
The act of releasing captive animals, in its original purpose, is to grant these animals freedom. However, have you ever thought that you could end up damaging the marine ecosystem or threatening the safety of others due to your lack of knowledge?
In this video, find out how Grandmaster JinBodhi sees the act of releasing captive animals.
【You will learn】
- The real meaning of releasing captive animals
- · Why freeing captive animals may not bring rewards of merit
- · How compassion can be rewarding in terms of merits
【Featured aphorisms】
- No killing is the best form of releasing animals.
- · Practicing honesty while doing business brings merits.
- · Loving all Nature’s creations is an act of great compassion.
- · Compassion makes us a warm, happy, calm and gentle person.
【Content】
(Hello, Master. What is your opinion on freeing captive animals?)
I don’t advocate freeing captive animals. The key is why you do it. You want to practice compassion, or want to heal your illness by freeing captive animals. Different masters have varied views.
People free captive animals to give them a new life. The intention is good. It is a compassionate action. If one is dying of a critical illness, freeing captive animals to remedy one’s past mistakes may lead to a cure and a longer life. It is the motivation for freeing captive animals. This may not be wrong. It may be a way out for an ill person, or at least a spiritual comfort. But is it also good for the animals? In many cases, marine fish will die when put into rivers. By doing this, you are actually killing them. The same is true of putting freshwater fish into lakes. It is also killing.
Even releasing marine fish into the ocean might not be the right thing. Why? After marine fish are caught with rods or a net, they must be kept in tanks of water to stay alive. Ordinary people don’t realize the tanks may contain contaminated water. Have the marine fish caught viruses while in the tanks? If the infected marine fish are released into an ocean, the entire ocean may become polluted.
People just don’t think much before freeing captive animals. Thinking of the benefits they may get, they just do it, without considering the consequences: polluting oceans or killing fish. They forget the purpose of freeing captive animals. Your freeing captive animals causes more killing; you don’t accumulate any merit or virtue, but rather commit huge sins. Have people ever thought about it?
I may not be an enlightened person. As I understand it, compassion means no killing; no killing is freeing captive animals. For business people, no
cheating means merits and virtues; be honest and accountable. Especially for those in the food industry, no cheating gains merits and virtues for them. If pigs, cows, sheep or chickens don’t die due to your greed for eating them, then you’re freeing them.
You think of freeing captive animals after being diagnosed with cancer; you want to know how many animals you must release to keep yourself alive. I am not sure about this. But the principle of compassion needs to be studied. We should understand the spirit of compassion. With compassion, we feel warm, happy, peaceful and gentle.
If we govern a country with compassion, everyone will have food and a job, and live a happy and auspicious life. Compassionate kings and presidents don’t easily start a war. War causes death. If men go to battle, they will either die or become disabled. Their wives and children won’t have any support; their life will be hard. Bloodshed from a war harms the people, the country and the world. Hatred and revenge escalate, bloodshed and death becoming ceaseless. Thus, compassion is very important.
If we truly understand compassion, then in our daily life we shouldn’t harm, cheat or swindle people, or kill beings. That is real compassion. Don’t think: If you donate the money obtained by cheating to temples, you will gain merits and virtues. Let me tell you: It doesn’t bring you any at all, as you are a cheater and your money is dirty. Donating it to temples is defiling them. If you earn your money honestly, this action is already gaining you merits and virtues.
Your pure, virtuous spiritual mind gains you merits and virtues. If you earn your money by cheating and donate some to temples, you don’t gain merits or virtues at all. This is how I see freeing captive animals. Each and every day, we should love and respect all sentient beings. No killing or harming. This is true great compassion.