01: Why do
Buddhists practise life liberation?
Buddhists
practise life liberation to give the priceless gifts of
fearlessness (from being killed), freedom (from captivity) and the
Dharma (by connecting them to the Triple Gem through offering
repentance, refuge and a better future birth, especially in
Amitabha Buddha's Pureland).
The Avatamsaka
Sutra says, "If the negative karma (of killing in this and previous
lives) is to take form, even limitless space cannot contain it."
Because we have accumulated immeasurable negative karma through
killing directly and indirectly in the past, life liberation (for
creatures great or small, of insects or animals of the land, sea or
sky) is the most efficient way of repaying our karmic debts of
killing, especially in this Dharma-diminishing age. Life liberation
has immeasurable merits because it saves the lives of animals,
generating immeasurable gratitude. This practice also fulfills the
perfection of generosity in the aspects of sharing wealth (in
buying the animals), time, energy, fearlessness and the
Dharma.
Because we have
been reborn for countless times already, many beings, especially
those we have the affinity to encounter, have been our parents in
previous lives. Think of it this way, if we do not liberate our
parents, are we not worse than animals? It is already very
unfortunate that our parents are reborn as animals, much more to
say, to die painfully through slaughter. Just as we take the
trouble to save our present parents' lives, we too should save our
previous parents' lives. When we save animals, we are also saving
future Buddhas.
02: What are
other benefits of life liberation?
The merits from
life liberation are varied and boundless. Here are some, according
to the Buddha and many Venerable masters -
1. One will be
unharmed by war or die by violence.
2. One will attain longevity and healthiness with few
illnesses.
(Many pains and illnesses come from the karma of killing.)
3. One will be unharmed by natural disasters and accidents.
4. One will have abundant offsprings for future generations.
5. One will easily attain what one wishes.
6. One will prosper in official positions without obstacles.
7. One will be a source of gratitude to other beings and a source
of joy to the Buddhas.
8. One will dissolve vengeance, and vanquish evil influences and
worries.
9. One will experience joy and peacefulness in all seasons.
10. One will be easier born in Pureland.
(With practices of developing faith and aspiration, practising
repentance, vegetarianism and single-minded chanting of "Namo
Amituofo")
03: If life
liberation is so good, why do so many criticise
it?
Life liberation
is the easiest way to dissolve negative karma. Because of this, our
negative karma of many lifetimes readily manifests obstacles to
obstruct us from liberating life. As many who criticise the
practice are plain ignorant of its benefits, we should share with
them the benefits out of Compassion, so as to benefit them. We have
to be careful not to criticise (or to let others criticise) life
liberation as it creates great negative karma. We should not
discourage the practice without understanding as we will be
preventing many lives from being liberated.
04: How should
we liberate life?
We can buy
animals from any place selling them for slaughter (or plain
imprisonment). Before releasing them into the appropriate natural
environment, we (with venerable monks and nuns if available) should
clearly recite (for the animals to hear), the verses of repentance,
threefold refuge in the Triple Gem (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha) and
"Namo Amituofo" (Homage to Amitabha Buddha) and/or other mantras
such as "Om Mani Padme Hum (the mantra of Compassion) as many times
as possible. We can also carry the animals while circumambulating
holy objects such as stupas, Buddha images and relics. We can also
sprinkle blessed water on them.
Through
repentance, we remind the animals to repent their misgivings which
made them reborn as animals. Through refuge, we wish the animals to
be disciples of the Triple Gem. Through recitation of "Namo
Amituofo", we wish the animals to hear and be mindful of Amitabha
Buddha, so as to create a strong karmic imprint to make birth in
His Pureland possible in a future life. With repentance and taking
refuge, this can free them from future births in the three lower
realms of hells, hungry ghosts and animals. In Pureland, they will
be able to attain Enlightenment and return to Samsara to help other
beings be free of suffering.
05: Sounds
incredible. Seems like an easy way out for the
animals!
The workings of
the law of karma are intricately exact but difficult to fathom.
However, the fact that the animals we chose to liberate were chosen
from among countless ones means that these particular animals
actually have the merit to be liberated. However, when we choose to
liberate them, we ourselves are actively creating positive karma by
being part of the process of ripening their positive
karma.
06 : But there
are endless animals to liberate!
We should just
do what we can in the moment. Just because we can't being peace to
the world overnight does not mean we should not start with our
family. Likewise, just because there are many beings in suffering
does not mean we should not help any at all.
07: Won't life
liberation over-populate the world with
animals?
We do not eat
ants and worms but they do not multiply in excess. They breed and
balance naturally - without over-populating our world. We worry too
much, when we should readily work in relieving other beings'
suffering, in dissolving our own heavy negative karma. We are like
a farmer who hasn't planted his crops yet, who worry about his
fields being overgrown with crops.
A reason why
there are many animals in our world is because many humans in the
past have killed animals. For instance, when a man eats a goat, the
goat in a future life might take a human form, who in turn eats the
killer reborn as a goat. Thus is the animal and human world full of
mutual killing. This makes it even more important to reverse the
trend of killing animals, to stop perpetuating this vicious
cycle.
08: But I'll
rather use money to help needy fellow humans.
Helping any
needy beings is no doubt very commendable. However, if you analyse,
with an equanimous mind, the suffering of an average needy human
and an average animal about to be slaughtered, which is more urgent
to save?
09: I'd heard
of released birds which fly back to their "masters", who
re-imprison them for sale. What is the point of liberating such
animals?
We should only
liberate life with the best of intentions. Whether they get
captured or not is another matter. For instance, when we feed a
starving child, we cannot guarantee that he will not be hungry
again. Similarly, a doctor who heals a patient cannot guarantee his
healthiness forever. But he does it anyway because it should be
done. Many matters are like that. We should not have the biasness
or hesitation to liberate life, while we might not hesitate to do
evil.
The
shopkeeper's capturing and selling of animals creates his own
negative karma, while we create our own positive karma. Of course,
we should also try to dissuade him from continuing his wrong
livelihood. We should even dedicate merit to him, in the hope that
he can change his livelihood to one more beneficial for himself and
others. We should also approach shops selling animals randomly and
without pre-order, so as to avoid the shopowners from
over-capturing animals for sale.
10: Isn't
liberating animals through vegetarianism
enough?
Without doubt,
vegetarianism is a crucial part of the practice of universal
compassion. In fact, if the whole world becomes vegetarian, there
will probably be no need to liberate animals. However, it is only a
passive way of liberating animals. In the mean time, there are
countless animals which get slaughtered everyday for others' meals.
The Buddhas taught us to "Avoid all evil, to practise all good, and
to purify the mind." In a sense, vegetarianism (and veganism),
which is the practice of not being directly or indirectly linked to
killing, is just the avoidance of doing evil - it is not yet active
doing of good! Animal liberation is Compassion in action, which
also gives us golden opportunities to create positive karmic links
with countless beings. Life liberation also prevents butchers from
killing to some extent, relieving them of some negative karma, even
if in a relatively small amount.
11: Isn't is
spiritually hypocritical for non-vegetarians to practise life
liberation?
Not really.
Just as it is better for a non-vegetarian to be vegetarian, it is
better to be a non-vegetarian who liberate some animals rather then
be one who does not at all. For instance, one who liberates
chickens is not likely to eat chickens again. The more kinds of
animals one liberates, the more likely he will become vegetarian.
This is how life liberation teaches one to respect and treasure the
equality of all life, to realise that we all have Buddha-nature. In
the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, the Buddha taught, "One who eats meat
cuts off the seed of compassion." If one is serious about
practising compassion universally, you should be vegetarian. Then
one would be doing "animal liberation" from one's dining table all
year round!
12: There are
cases of liberated animals causing other species in its environment
to become extinct. Isn't this harmful?
The fact that
there are many animals means there are many beings (including
humans) reborn as animals due to ignorance and negative karma. In
this sense, a high animal population for every species in not
necessarily a good sign. The diversity of species is not truly a
"wonderful thing" as it means there is a wide spectrum of
animalistic karma. In the Buddhist perspective, the extinction of
an animal is not necessarily a good or bad thing. It means the
particular animal has been reborn in another form in another life,
for better or worse. But of course, it is important to survey the
suitability of the environment before releasing animals into it, as
the animals and plants in it play a part in supporting the
interdependent web of life.
13: Don't we
create bad karma when we liberate animals which get eaten by other
animals in nature, or which eat other animals?
Unlike humans
who kill for sport and to satisfy his appetite, animals do not kill
unnecessarily, other than for survival. If you believe in the law
of karma, the life and death of every being is the fruition of its
karma. There is no death for no just reason. The laws of nature and
karma are one. Animal liberation simply frees animals into their
natural environment which is their real home. Every animal would
rather have freedom than be imprisoned and slaughtered for food.
Even if the animals were to die, wouldn't it be better that they
die free in nature, especially after having strong karmic imprints
of having taken refuge?
14: It still
doesn't feel right that freeing some animals might mean sending
them to kill or to die.
When we
practise animal liberation, we have to be mindful of the purity of
our intention and our well wishes. What we wish to do is to give
freedom, fearlessness and the Dharma, for this life and beyond. Any
captive animal will be appreciative of that. It is inevitable that
some might die in the process of liberation through accidents in
handling. But because they have taken refuge, their next life will
be better. Because of this reason, it is believed that those
animals who die shortly after taking refuge are the most
meritorious of the lot.
Anyway, most animals liberated properly do not simply die. We
should not stop saving the majority out of fear of accidentally
"conditioning" the death of a few. If we do not liberate any at
all, they will all definitely die by slaughter. In this way, we are
blameless. Remember - we are not just saving the present physical
life of the animal we liberate; we are more importantly saving its
"wisdom life" (spiritual life), giving it an uplifting
boost.
15: Some people
liberate the wrong animals into the wrong environment. For
instance, releasing fresh water fish into the sea. Shouldn't this
be discouraged?
Of course this
is discouraged! Although it's the thought, above the consequences,
that counts when we practise compassion, we definitely need to be
more thoughtful than to simply release life indiscriminately.
Compassion has to go hand in hand with wisdom!
16: It seems
pretty hard to ensure that the balance of the environment will not
be disturbed when we release life into it.
Indeed, it can
be very tricky. However, everything we do disturbs our environment
to some extent. For instance, using an non-biodegradable plastic
bag plays a part in harming the environment for hundreds of years.
Note that we should not break the law by releasing life in lawfully
prohibited or protected areas. If seriously in doubt about finding
a suitable place to liberate life, perhaps the best solution is to
liberate sea creatures into the sea - which is limitlessly open and
wide.
17: But some
say there are sea creatures bred out at sea within nets which might
not have the instincts for survival in open
sea.
Nature is often
more marvellous than we think. Animals have strong natural
instincts. While we cannot be absolutely sure that they will
survive on their own, we are also not absolutely sure that they
will not. Maybe some scientific study someday will reveal accurate
results to us. In any case, always remember to put yourself in the
position of the captive animals... Will you rather wait for
slaughter in a prison, or run to freedom despite fear of unknown
"ground"? The choice is obvious.
18: How often
should we liberate life? How many people should be
involved?
One should
liberate life or contribute to life liberation funds (if one is not
free) as much as possible. There is no fixed occasion, though holy
days are often preferred. Life liberation can even be part of
birthday celebrations! The more participants there are, the better
it is as more people coming together means more merits are created
and shared with each other, including the animals and other
beings.
19: The
practice of mass animal-liberation on special merit-multipying days
seem to encourage regular mass capture of animals. Is this a good
idea?
Animal
shopowners that we buy from can be approached randomly to avoid
their discovery of obvious purchasing patterns. However, think of
it this way - Isn't it terrific that many animals are brought
together to be given the opportunity of a lifetime to take refuge
and be freed? What's more, everyone's merits, both the released
animals and their releasers will be multiplied! Of course, one
should not be attached to accumulating merits, or it will taint the
purity of intention.
20: Great! I
have no more questions!
Sadhu! Sadhu!
Sadhu! What you can do next is to put your Compassion into
action!