Monday, June 22, 2009

Harming Other Beings

Q: Are all things - like even rocks - beings? In terms of harming other beings - how can one possibly avoid harming other beings? Even just taking antibiotics would create bad karma.

MM: When we logically follow this notion of not harming another being the first thing is that we realize that our life depends on the many lives of others. The animals we may still be eating, the medications we depend on that have taken many lives, the ants we step on, the plants we eat, etc, etc.

The important thing is to grow one's awareness of how many beings must suffer for us to live, and then instead of feeling guilty to become deeply humble and grateful. The more our humility and gratitude grows, the less we will require, and the less harm we will cause. But it will never be zero.


As our awareness grows, even stones will reveal themselves to us as beings. And in the end - when the being-ness of all things is understood, as well as the interconnectedness and oneness
of all things - who is there to harm or be harmed?

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