About killing living creatures

Hello. I used to be in charge of baking at a small bakery, and I used to bake bread every day. We use yeast for all of our breads. As I worked every day, my interest in Buddhism grew stronger, and I began to think that I was burning a large amount of bread yeast to death. I now feel a strong sense of guilt that the yeast moisturizes, warms it, gives it sugar to feed, splits sufficiently, and then burnt to death all at once in a hot kiln. I think the job of buying bread and making customers happy is very wonderful.
However, even more than that, I began to feel that the burning work I was in charge of was a heavy crime, and I was struggling in my heart. This isn't the cause, but I changed jobs and now I have a job that doesn't kill living creatures at all. Even though I still have this mental conflict, I'm still living today.

Recently, there has been an aversion to real fur. I thought it would be terrible to strip animal fur and leather. Ideally, I would like to live my life using drugs and synthetic leather that have not been tested on animals.

I think it's unavoidable that even if you avoid them, creatures that will be sacrificed somewhere beyond your reach will appear. I try not to use leather products to the extent I can, but recently I received a cowhide pass case as a present. I've been avoiding it, but I have no choice but to use it. I am grateful to have received it. Cowhide is a by-product of meat, so don't worry about it. I've heard that opinion, but isn't it contradictory? I think so. It makes sense to use it without waste, but what is the monk's opinion...?

It also feels similar to that, but there is some resistance to using mold sterilizing spray. If you make the area around the water unsanitary, your health will be affected over time, and you have to use it to some extent. It's an everyday thing, so I worry about it every day. Do monks ever use disinfectant sprays like this? Also, I'd like to hear your thoughts on using it. I'm sorry for the long document. Thank you for your answers.

4 Zen Responses

Purpose and scope of immortality

Buddhism is a teaching that reduces the worries and suffering of oneself and others (including non-humans).
That is the purpose of immortality.
The precepts of not killing are useful in order to become aware of one's own anger, hatred, and the afflictions of laziness.
One of the lifestyle practices to weaken one's own afflictions (the root cause of worries and suffering) is the precepts of immortality.
On the other hand, from the viewpoint of reducing the worries and suffering of others (other living creatures), for example, when killing someone who thinks “I don't want to die,” the person being killed naturally feels bad, so it's better not to kill them.

However, in Buddhism, even plants and bacteria are not subject to the precepts of non-killing.
I don't know if plants and fungi have the feeling of “not wanting to die.”
For example, even if you just scratch your own skin with your fingernails, it is possible that you are damaging skin cells.
In that case, if you think of skin cells as a single living thing, you can also think of them as killing.
However, skin cells say, “Help me! I don't want to die!” There are probably no specific feelings like that.
Even if such cells are killed, they may not suffer.

The bottom line is that plants and bacteria are not subject to the injunction.

However, if it is useful for weakening worries such as greed, anger, laziness, pride, etc., it's OK to personally work hard.
Conversely, if your obsession with not wanting to kill germs stimulates anger (including sadness and regret) and worries of pride, and becomes stressful in your life, I recommend that you don't get too bogged down.

Eventually, so that we can transcend this world of reincarnation

This is Kawaguchi Hidetoshi. This is my humble answer to the question.

Certainly, there is the word “affectionate” in the sense that emotion is one guideline.

Therefore, creatures that are subject to the precepts of immortality are expressed as “affectionate” in Buddhism, so it is as Ganyo Joshi said.

Well, in order for us to live, it is unavoidable that there are places where murder is inevitable regardless of whether we know it or not, whether directly or indirectly, even if we are affectionate.

That's true even if it's a humble life. Mold is also destroyed by mold killers, and if you burn mosquito coils, cockroaches are also placed there, and bees can also be exterminated with spray... you can even kill them by stepping on insects without knowing it...

Also, I eat meat and fish...

If possible, of course, it would be nice if we could live completely unkilled, but there is a reality where this is not the case...

If possible, I would like to make adjustments so that we can avoid it little by little by walking through Buddhism, and eventually, transcend this world of reincarnation.

Kawaguchi Hidetoshi Gassho

You're right

I read it.
I think it's wonderful that you have such compassion for living things.
I want to cherish the lives of living creatures as much as possible. Therefore, I think it is necessary to unavoidably receive the life of a living creature to the minimum necessary, and to have a sense of gratitude for the life you receive.
In order for us to live, we must receive the lives of living creatures no matter what.
We have to eat vegetables, fruits, meat, and fish, and leather products are durable and are used in our daily lives.
That's because both petroleum and coal are made from sediments of life long ago.

I try not to use pesticides as much as possible. After all, I use it when I want to avoid being bitten by insects. I also use mold killer. You use it to live, don't you?
I just want to keep it as minimal as possible.

Therefore, while appreciating various things, I want to correct my own life and live my life with a clear mind.
Those who know enough are rich, right? I think being rich in heart means living with gratitude.

I sincerely pray that you will be able to live a healthy life with a feeling of gratitude for various things from now on.

Don't run in both extremes

Japan's sense of murder has clearly gone too far.
In southern Buddhism, which is based on the precepts, monks are not allowed to burn mosquito coils. However, if murder is necessary, a non-monk parishioner will do it for you. We will thoroughly do that. For that reason, it would not be an exaggeration to say that there is a distinction between being a monk and being a family member.
The inevitability of murder is acknowledged. People seeking wisdom are not killed; it's just a system where wisdom obtained on top of that is shared with supporters.

Or honey. In Japanese Buddhism, honey “steals a bee's meal, and is N.G., because it causes indirect killing,” but around India, it is a “medicine for immortality and longevity called amrita.”
Even if it's carnivorous, in the south, they say, “Eat without leaving any meat you get from alms. But it's no good to narrow it down for the monks. Meat from restaurants that have been strangled for an unspecified number of people is OK”, but in the north, “eating meat is completely prohibited because it is dirty! “Meat eaters don't stink!” That's it.
Surprisingly, the north is thinking too much rather than the south, so it's tough.

In the first place, Buddhism is a “middle way” way of life. The way to the middle is to avoid running in both extremes. If I bake bread, I'll kill you! and disinfectant sprays kill! That is clearly extreme. why? “Because it's a way of thinking that makes you unable to move.”

What happens if you deny murder to the extreme? It means “denying life itself,” such as the food chain. That's hypocrisy. Therefore, it was not the result that the Buddha let him die, and he “prohibited murderous intent and harm.” That is the commandment of immortality.

While watching them get moldy and squishy, they say, “Ahhh, everyone is dying, it's fun. I want to kill them even more!!!” If you feel like it, you'd better worry a little bit.
However, keeping the living space clean is an act of living as much as eating. As a vector of life, we should do what we should do, and being happy to be clean is probably a natural feeling as a result of evolution.

This is true even when it comes to clothing. Food, clothing, and shelter are equivalent.
Most of all, leather is not used for vestments or vestments. That's because it's monk clothes. However, when I am presented with a leather product such as a wallet for social life, I usually use it.
Rather, if you look at leather products and fur and always associate it with killing, it could lead to dislike for producers and users, and it may be said that it is a seed of harm. On the contrary, they are probably obsessed with killing.

I'm not overthinking it. It makes me feel like I just think too much. That too is Buddhism

← all dialogues ← previous next →