So, as a Buddhist you are told to harm sentient beings. Of course, I try very hard to make sure that if there's a spider in the bathtub I put it on a piece of paper and take it outside (I can hear the snickering starting) BUT this dude I know has decided that he can't live in his house because it's been taken over by bees and he can't kill them so he's crashing at someone else's house until they either die or go away............(I know there's laughing going on) Am I supposed to go to that kind of extreme as a Buddhist? Letting them die seems the same as extermination.......am I required to give up my house if this happens to me?????? HMMMMMM......thoughts? (I'm still laughing on the outside and crying on the inside) Namaste!
2007-07-27 08:01:51 · 13 answers · asked by Yogini 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I still think it's important to have a sense of humor about the tenets and I respect them deeply Sybil, I'm asking an honest question.
Palladin: good point.....never thought about it like that.......
2007-07-27 08:11:04 · update #1
Very good points about the bee keepers, I'd never thought about that......my brain must be fried from the heat
2007-07-27 08:13:39 · update #2
I find the man's devotion to his morals highly admirable. Surely there must be some way of persuading the bees to leave the house without killing them.
2007-07-27 08:06:58 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
The big dummy needs to call a bee-keeper. They will smoke them out, or if they're honey bees they can be removed to another location where they can make honey. In either case, the bees can be removed without killing them.
This is one of the more difficult precepts to be able to draw your boundaries around. Some Buddhists eat meat and some don't. Some say eat it if it's served, but don't kill anything yourself for the purposes of eating it. Killing is wrong, take only what is given, etc.
Rev. Bikkshu Kusula from the Los Angeles meditation center has an interesting approach. Start out saying to yourself "Today, I'm not going to kill any human beings." you can probably manage that. Then, work your way down to "today, I'm not going to kill any lions, tigers or bears." you can probably do that. then, "today, I'm not killing any of the above, and I'm not going to kill any dogs or cats or bunnies, either" and you can probably do that, too. Then you just keep working your way down to where you're dealing with ants and mosquitoes. But recognize that it is your intention that counts, and that there may be occasions where you step on a bug or two, and it won't wreck your karma so long as you're aware and awake and you've always set a positive intention.
2007-07-27 15:32:26 · answer #2 · answered by buddhamonkeyboy 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think you have to decide for yourself. If having bees exterminated would cause you to lie awake nights thinking you are evil incarnate, maybe you should consider letting them alone.
Plus there's a bee shortage, so ecologically, it might be a good thing to let them live.
If, however, you would feel like a complete idiot for vacating your home over bees and this would cause you more distress than just killing them, then you should consider that option.
You could share the house....
2007-07-27 15:08:30 · answer #3 · answered by ZombieTrix 2012 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm not a Buddist, but it seems to me that all he needs to do is call a local bee keeper. They'll sometimes come out for free to smoke a hive out, since bees are in short supply nowadays. (Millions of hives have died out due to illnesses the past year.) The bees aren't harmed at all and -- voila! -- he has his home back.
2007-07-27 15:09:22 · answer #4 · answered by Suzanne: YPA 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
i'm not laughing. i just had a similar conversation with my father in law at lunch time. he killed an ant, just because it was there. i said at our house we perfer the relocation program instead of the death penalty. he started laughing, of course.
anyway, when you can, it's important to respect all life, but there are occasions when you might need to take drastic measures, like in your friends case. he is letting the bees needs be placed on higher priority than his own.
obviously the best solution is to relocate them if possible, but that may not be possible
2007-07-27 15:08:40 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Avoid killing them if you can, but assert your position in the world as they themselves are doing. Eventually it has to come down to the idea of permanence. If you own a house and bees build a hive near it, they will attack you in assertion of their place. How is it inharmonious to attack them back, or even just eliminated them to prevent such attacks to begin with?
2007-07-27 15:08:26 · answer #6 · answered by Peter D 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He is living his belief to the best of his ability and to what his understanding of it is...I am not laughing...we are not SUPPOSED to do anything when following the Buddhist tenets, we want to do things a certain way...
2007-07-27 15:07:53 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I have no idea what buddhism says about this...I personally feel like if they (bugs) are in my space and they are biting or jumping out and scaring me, it is okay for me to take their life. When I am in their space, I have to respect that fact.
2007-07-27 15:16:07 · answer #8 · answered by NONAME 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
there are other ways. Probably the best would be to find professionals who do that sort of thing without killing them, possibly by smoking them out.
2007-07-27 15:09:07 · answer #9 · answered by Jameskan Video 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
kill them! for some reason its okay to sacrifice animals according to some people and its your house, you were there before the bees so go ahead...or spiders, whoever your talking about
2007-07-27 15:08:46 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋