| I am not a Buddhist monk (I am a yogic monk) but this | | | | person comes to take your land, burn your house or |
| question was asked to me recently and it deserves an | | | | poison you, you will have to defend yourself if you |
| answer. | | | | wish to continue living. The person who comes to |
| Obviously if you have a pest in your garden you have | | | | attack you is surely an enemy, and if you defend |
| to make a choice whether you are going to take | | | | yourself it is not against ahimsa. |
| action or not. To kill the pest would seem to go against | | | | Similarly, if your food supply depends on a field of grain |
| "non harming" which is basic to many Eastern religions | | | | and vegetables, an animal or insect that comes to eat |
| and philosophies. Not hurting others by thought word or | | | | and destroy that field is also your enemy, just as |
| deed is known as Ahimsa, and it is an important value | | | | surely as a person who comes to pillage your land. If |
| in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and other faiths. | | | | you take forceful action to defend your food, and |
| The Jains took ahimsa to its limits and some of them | | | | thereby kill some of the pests it is not against the true |
| said that any kind of agriculture is forbidden because | | | | spirit of Ahimsa. You have used force to continue your |
| when you plow the soil worms and other small | | | | own life, not to inflict harm for no reason at all. A strict |
| creatures are bound to be killed. So what did they do | | | | interpretation of ahimsa, not allowing you to kill |
| about this dilemma? I think in most cases they hired | | | | mosquitoes that spread malaria or to kill pests that eat |
| other people to plow the soil for them! | | | | your food, would be a folly at best and hypocrisy at |
| Clearly this is no solution to the problem. The solution is | | | | worst. |
| to have a more practical interpretation of ahimsa. Life | | | | So, if that Buddhist monk is truly depending on his |
| feeds on life. Whenever we want to sustain ourselves | | | | garden to provide his livelihood, he could kill the pests in |
| we have to take some life, whether it be an animal or | | | | the garden. If the garden is only ornamental or done |
| a plant. Yogis say that it is best to avoid killing animals | | | | for a hobby, he might just let the worm or insect enjoy |
| or living beings where consciousness is developed, and | | | | a share of the fruits and veggies and not worry too |
| that is one of the reasons why they are vegetarians. | | | | much about it. But if you are really curious about it, the |
| Furthermore, Ahimsa doesn't mean living a passive life | | | | next time you should ask a Buddhist monk. |
| and letting others attack you without any defense. If a | | | | |