You dont have javascript enabled! Please enable it!
Letters

How To Contemplate Liberation Of Lives’ Cause And Effect? 如何观放生因果?

farm chickens pasturing on meadow
Photo by Julissa Helmuth on Pexels.com

Question: Why is life liberation (放生) practised by Buddhists? Is it important?

Answer: Just as ritual mass animal sacrifice is deemed as important in some other belief systems, life liberation is very important in Buddhism. This was instructed by Śākyamuni Buddha (释迦牟尼佛) in the Brahma Net Sūtra Bodhisattva Precepts’ Text《梵网经菩萨戒本》as the ‘Twentieth (Light) Precept Against Not Practising Releasing And Saving Of Lives’ (第二十[轻]不行放救戒) for the following reasons —

‘If as Buddhas’ [Bodhisattva] disciples, with the compassionate mind thus, practise the karma of releasing lives. All males are my fathers, and all females are my mothers, from whom, I, life after life, are without those not from them receiving birth. Thus, the six paths’ sentient beings are all my fathers and mothers. (若佛子!以慈心故,行放生业。一切男子是我父、一切女人是我母,我生生无不从之受生,故六道众生皆是我父母。)

[Note 1: We have been reborn in so many relationships in so many past lives, that all sentient beings have been our parents before, perhaps repeatedly too.]

Those then killing, then eating them, are then killing my fathers and mothers, also killing my past bodies. As all earth and waters, are my former bodies, all fires and winds, are my original essence, thus constantly practise releasing of lives. (而杀而食者,即杀我父母,亦杀我故身。一切地水,是我先身,一切火风,是我本体,故常行放生。)

[Note 2: Just as we should not kill our parents, we should not eat them (after). This is a reason why eating as veg(etari)ans (吃素) ideally goes in tandem with liberating of lives (放生). The first is a more passive way to liberate lives (from your dining table), and the latter a more active way to liberate lives (from the chopping board). Both are important, connected yet distinct, as to free the already killed from your table does not free those about to be killed from the board.]

From life to life receiving birth, constantly abide in this Dharma, and instruct others to release lives. If, when seeing the world’s people killing animals, they should skilfully save, protect and liberate them from suffering and difficulties, constantly teaching and transforming, explaining and speaking these Bodhisattva Precepts, to save and deliver sentient beings… (生生受生,常住之法,教人放生。若见世人杀畜生时,应方便救护,解其苦难,常教化讲说菩萨戒,救度众生。…)’

To summarise, life liberation is to [i] practise gratitude, compassion and filial piety to our past parents. Since our bodies arose (in part) from our parents, to save them is to [ii] save our bodies too. When liberating them, we should [iii] connect them to the Dharma, including the precepts, for facilitating their spiritual progress for liberation.

Recitation of repentance (忏悔), Threefold Refuge (三皈依), the Buddha’s name (念【阿弥陀】佛: Āmítuófó) and dedication of meritorious virtues (回向功德) should be done. Thus, not only are physical lives saved in the short run, their spiritual lives are saved in the long run too. Without doing the first, it is more difficult to do the latter.

Question: We should try to save sentient beings, especially when their lives are being threatened. However, [1] what if some kill others after? [2] What if others who kill them after? If these happen, will the liberators create evil karmas?

Answer: Liberation of lives should be done with careful consideration, with the right ones (in reasonable numbers) in right (and legal) places only. Usually, for animals, non-carnivorous (i.e. herbivorous) ones (and/or scavengers) are liberated, to prevent more killing, so as to lessen disruption to the environment. (Daily capturing, breeding, exploiting, killing and eating of animals disrupt the ecology much more.)

To answer questions [1] and [2] above, here are two more questions to facilitate thinking [1] If we liberate a human who has served time in jail, who is involved in a deadly accident after, will evil karmas be created by the liberators? [2] If this liberated human kills another later, will evil karmas be created by the liberators?

Since evil karmas are created from thoughts, words and/or deeds motivated by ill intentions to harm, the answer to both questions is ‘no’. [1] No, because the human (who represents any sentient being here) was not liberated with the intention to kill him. [2] No, because the human was not liberated with the intention to let him kill. The liberation was instead done with good intentions only. (Also, not all liberated sentient beings will definitely harm other sentient beings.)

The good and evil karmas created by sentient beings after being liberated is from them actualising their own intentions, which do not arise from the liberators. If the liberators (who represent all helpers with all forms of helping) are responsible, (which they are not), for all that the liberated (who represent all those helped) do, it will be risky to help anyone, since it is likely to harm oneself, (which is surely untrue).

We cannot keep all sentient beings (including ourselves) captive forever just because they might break some precepts, while we can persuade them to uphold them better, and give them right opportunities to practise well. (To keep all beings captive indefinitely creates ongoing great evil karmas for the captors, also making these captors those who should be captured instead, so as to not keep harming so many.)

Related Teachings:

《梵网经菩萨戒本》
Brahma Net Sūtra Bodhisattva Precepts’ Text
https://purelanders.com/pusa

Why Do Buddhists Avoid Meat-Eating And Practise Animal Liberation?
https://thedailyenlightenment.com/2016/06/why-do-buddhists-avoid-meat-eating-practise-animal-liberation

To Kill ‘Em All Or To Set ‘Em Free?
https://thedailyenlightenment.com/2023/04/to-kill-em-all-or-to-set-em-free

二孙如何娶祖母
How Two Grandsons Married Their ‘Grandmothers’
https://thedailyenlightenment.com/2019/10/how-two-grandsons-married-their-grandmothers

上求佛道者应当如何饮食?
How Should All Aspiring For Buddhahood Eat And Drink?
https://thedailyenlightenment.com/veg

Please Be Mindful Of Your Speech, Namo Amituofo!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.