Question: What is the best thing to do for a pet who is dying with great pain, when medication is already exhausted?
Answer: There should be offering of guidance (开示) and support-chanting (助念), according to the guidelines at https://purelanders.com/now, which apply to all kinds of animals too, including cats, dogs, birds… and even insects, as can be seen in the relevant cases at https://purelanders.com/testimonies. Guidance text for animals can be seen at https://purelanders.com/2015/05/29/how-to-help-animals-reach-pure-land. (There is a course on this important practice too: https://thedailyenlightenment.com/2026/06/destination-pureland-how-to-have-the-best-rebirth-run-11.)
As shown in the testimonies, there can also be auspicious signs (瑞相) of animals having secured the best rebirth, all without euthanasia done. Buddhist perspectives on euthanasia can be seen at section [4] of https://purelanders.com/2015/12/30/important-guidelines-1-before-dying-pure-land-passport-section-4a. (If euthanasia should not be facilitated for our beloved human family members, why should it be done for beloved animals in our care?)
Question: How can anyone simply watch a beloved pet suffer on?
Answer: The teachings at https://purelanders.com/now show how to alleviate suffering and facilitate the best rebirth possible, which can be attained peacefully and blissfully (安乐), while allowing natural departure with the Buddha’s blessings. The ultimate way to spare loved ones from pain is to guide them to Āmítuófó’s (阿弥陀佛) Pure Land, where there will no longer be any suffering from rebirth; only the Ultimate Bliss (极乐) of body and mind (身心).
Question: Does choosing euthanasia interrupt a pet’s karma, causing unripened karmic suffering to continue in the next life?
Answer: Technically, although one can create karma for oneself personally with what done, no one can directly create more suffering for another, as what to be experienced (or not), is due to one’s own karma ripening.
Question: If euthanasia was chosen for a pet, was there good karma (善业) or evil karma (恶业) created?
Answer: Generally, we say karma created is good or evil, depending mainly on the intention of the deed being good or evil respectively. However, even if euthanasia was not chosen with an evil intention, but with a good (yet misguided) intention, it cannot be considered as a good deed that created good karma. This is because good intentions should also be guided well with wisdom from the Buddha’s teachings, thus arising and acted upon with both compassion AND wisdom. Yet, if there was no evil intention, it did not create evil karma either.
Compassion has to work with wisdom, with wisdom being the ‘eyes’ that guide the otherwise ‘blind’ kindness of compassion. Thus is there the expression ‘悲智双运’, which means ‘with compassion and wisdom both utilised’. When practising the Six Perfections (六度), no matter how kindly the first five are, they should all be guided by the ‘last’ yet crucial perfection of wisdom.
Question: Should there be guilt over having chosen euthanasia for a pet?
Answer: There is no need to feel bad about this, if one had simply applied the best of one’s compassion and wisdom available back then. However, as non-Buddhas, who still have room to grow, we should continually learn to have more skilful practices in all aspects of life and death.
相关教理
Related Teachings:
死亡前后与丧礼中后的诵念
Chanting When Dying, After Death, During And After Wakes
https://purelanders.com/wake
How To Help Animals Reach Pure Land
https://purelanders.com/2015/05/29/how-to-help-animals-reach-pure-land
Does Helping Others ’Interfere’ With Their Karma?
https://thedailyenlightenment.com/2026/08/does-helping-others-interfere-with-their-karma
