Hi I notice that you have quite a lot of questions, like me,
lol. Luckily most of the Buddhists here are quite patient and did
not come down hard on me when I ask questions that sound as if I'm
challenging Buddhist concepts.
The answer which I think I have already mentioned in my own
post, is to tell the lie; I think the rabbit went the other way.
And the Buddha clearly pointed out that telling such a lie in such
circumstances do not constitute breaking the precept of false
speech.
Why? Cos the intention is the deciding factor. The Buddha in his
previous life as a practising Bodhisattva, told the lie out of
compassion for both the rabbit and the hunter. This would instead
be a virtuous and compassionate act and hence different from that
of wilful lying.
The main thing is, are you, Canihelpyou02, able to make sure
that your intention is the same as the Bodhisattva in the story
when encountering a similar situation?
If you can, then I salute you. Not only did you not break a
precept, you have taken a small step towards Buddhahood.
All the best. :)
A wealthy merchant, who was a disciple of the Buddha, went with
a very large caravan of other merchants and his servants to a
certain island, to bring back for trade some of the gem stones for
which this island was famous. On board ship, on the way back, the
merchant learnt that another passenger on the boat intended to kill
all the hundreds of people on board, in order to be able to steal
the cargo of jewels.
The merchant knew the man, and knew that he was indeed capable of
killing all those people, and he wondered what to do about it. In
the end, despite the fact that he had taken a vow with the Buddha
never to take the life of another being, he had no alternative but
to kill the would-be robber.
He was very ashamed of what he had done, and as soon as he returned
home he went to the Buddha to confess his bad action. But the
Buddha told him he had not done wrong, because his intention had
not been to take life, but to save life. Furthermore, since he had
in fact saved the lives of hundreds of people, and had saved the
robber from the very negative karma of killing hundreds of people
and the inevitable consequences of such a bad action, the Buddha
explained that the merchant had in fact done a good action.
~ Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche
