They hold all life sacred, and vow not to destroy it. What do they do if they get infested with mice, rats, roaches, etc?
What if they had a parasite living inside them? Would they take medicine to kill it?
2007-11-29 05:28:57 · 21 answers · asked by sippers 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Thank you all who were not abusive in your answers.
Girl Wonder, if you could define stupid measures. I have read some about Buddhism, but nothing that explicitly answers this question. Perhaps if you shared the links to what I need "read up on hon" I would and if it dealt with the question I asked I would appreciate your contribution.
2007-11-29 06:46:28 · update #1
Well, we look for the most non-harmful solutions first. Killing should be avoided at all costs. But life is full of difficult situations where one has to choose between two unpleasant actions. I don't think anyone would put up with a rodent infestation if the safety of their family was at stake.
We do take medicine. Infectious bacteria and parasites live unfortunate lives because to survive they must cause harm to other living beings. Only an extreme pacifist would avoid taking medicine to protect the lives of microscopic beings. Buddhists are under no injunction to live that way.
We practice non-violence, but we also pursue wisdom. That means we're also realistic in our non-violence.
2007-11-29 10:53:00 · answer #1 · answered by Sophrosyne 4 · 5⤊ 0⤋
No Buddhist do not live with rodents and pests. They are a very spiritual people who do not believe in violence but that does not mean that they are unclean as your question would imply. The have very clean homes just as you would keep yours at any given time. The only difference between the Buddhist and Christian, Catholic, Muslim, etc... is that they have a totally different system of believes by which all they want to really do is to attain a higher level of enlightenment but not by a strict set of rules like other religions. As a fact if you were to call Buddhism a religion you could say that yes it is only if you mean by this word that it is a system to help other people achieve a greater understanding of themselves and the universe since Buddhism has no rigid set of beliefs concerning life and Divine Beings. As we usually believe religion to be construed in the western world.
2007-11-29 05:46:20 · answer #2 · answered by shidoshi1966 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Yes. An interesting article in the Los Angeles Times last spring spoke about how a certain sect of Buddhists were living with biting red ants because it was against their philosophy to kill any other living creature.
2007-11-29 05:35:49 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Karma are caused by body action, or speech, or mind thoughts. Among these, mind thoughts is most important.
Harmless way of clearing rodents are acceptable. And taking medicine to cure sickness is also acceptable. In either case, Buddhists should not habor any anger or thoughts to kill, and thus the karma effect is minimal.
Remember: Middle Way, guided by law of causation. Buddhists do not stretch to the extreme.
2007-11-29 17:04:17 · answer #4 · answered by Prajna 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I'm sure they take a few precautions to that sort of thing but they don't think like you are thinking to a Buddhist it isn't an infestation and those creatures have just as much right to be in their homes as they do.
2007-11-29 05:33:37 · answer #5 · answered by Shelby L 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is possible to capture and release a mouse or a rat without harming it. I'm not sure your neighbors would approve if they knew, however. As to bugs, I had not heard that Buddhists don't kill them, but that Jains are like that. I was told that Jain priests are sometimes called "broom fathers," because it is their habit to sweep the sidewalk in front of them to brush aside any bugs they would otherwise walk on.
2007-11-29 05:34:20 · answer #6 · answered by auntb93 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Noble Truth 1: Rodents and pests are unavoidable. Noble Truth 2: The "problem" really is your desire to be away from rodents and pests. Noble Truth 3: You should just accept the existence of rodents and pests. Noble Truth 4: Just grab a can of RAID you moron.
2007-11-29 05:35:53 · answer #7 · answered by An Independent 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Although I'm not a Buddhist, I do appreciate and embrace some of their ways. When I have mice in the house I trap them alive and take them out to the ravine at the edge of my property. They may or may not survive out there but at least I'm giving them a fighting chance.
2007-11-29 05:34:28 · answer #8 · answered by Murazor 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't mind living with rodents and pests. They might not even consider them to be "pests" as we would. As for parasites living inside of them... I think they would find a natural medicinal way to ... get rid of them.
2007-11-29 05:32:44 · answer #9 · answered by jjefrench 2 · 5⤊ 1⤋
No. But there are traps that are more humane for rodents and catches them live. As for internal parasites I can only answer for me, I would not intentionally let myself be infested and would take medication for it.
2007-11-29 05:33:35 · answer #10 · answered by The Godless Heathen 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋