To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Buddha Shakyamuni so now and then suffered from back pains.
He explained:
At one time, during one of his previous lifetimes,
the Buddha-to-be saw a man fishing and catching a fish.
The Buddha-to-be smiled, because he was happy that
the man was happy with his catch.
The karmic result was suffering backpain so now and then because the Buddha-to-be was smiling because of the catching of the fish.
I remember a scene from my primary school days. The boys were playing with guppies kept in a tank. They were catching the fish with their bare hands, scooping them out of the tank and transferring them to other containers. I vividly remember seeing a guppy that had been handled so roughly and grabbed so hard that its body became bent, like an arch, and feeling horrified and sad. If even the Buddha suffered back pain from smiling at a catch in an unenlightened previous life, imagine the possible karmic consequence for causing a fish’s bodily deformation. And what would be in store for those who eat their flesh.
Hmmm, many eat meat without the notion that killing is involved. (1) Having the intention and action to kill animals to eat versus (2) just having the intention to eat meat has great karmic differences. (Of course, every time a person wilfully denies that animals were killed in/directly for one, there is karma involved.)
(1) above is filled with great greed, hatred and ignorance. The intention to kill is always filled with hatred to some extent, and there’s not enough compassion to want the animal to live. This, further driven by greed and blinded by ignorance, leaves one little room to hesitate that killing is wrong.
(2) above is more of greed and ignorance, with little if any hatred. Greed for taste and ignorance of the fact that by buying this meat to eat is not linked to the process of demanding continual killing. Although the intention to kill is less or not existent here, no unenlightened being is without hatred at all – there’s a subtle tint of it even if it appears not to surface. E.g. The thought must have at least crossed the minds of meat-eating grown-ups at least once in their lifetimes that ‘It’s ok that animals are killed for them.’ This thought has some element of hatred within. Being attached to meat, one is still very much guilty of greed. There is ignorance too, of the karma involved.
If the boys’ intentions were to hurt the fish and rejoice in doing it, the karmic consequences would be great. If there’s no intention to hurt yet while rejoicing, the karmic consequences are perhaps less than the former. If there was repentance, the karmic consequences would be lesser.
Therefore, it’s very important to watch our three roots of evils mindfully and constantly prevent them from sprouting. We can start by treating and handling every being with loving-kindness. One never knows what negative karma has in store for one 😉
What about sport fishing?, catch and release… Does it have a karmic consequence?
Yes, as it creates unnecessary suffering of pain and terror. There is also no guarantee that the hurt fish will heal swift and well. May all beings be well and happy, free from harm and danger. Amituofo
I’m unfamiliar with the back story of the Buddha’s back pains, but am familiar with the story of the Buddha-to-be having once hit a fish thrice on its head as a child. As a result, he had to endure three days of headache. Out of compassion, the Buddha told us the cause of the headache. A cautionary tale!
:-O
Does using leather product consider as killing? Is the karmic consequence same as that of eating meat? I am already a vegetarian but still using leather product. I guess it is still greed for me because sometimes I buy leather products (belt, shoes and bags) because I consider value for money (more durable than synthetic leather) more than be mindful not to buy leather products.
The boys probably did not intend to harm the fish, but in their enthusiasm to catch them, brought harm to them and were oblivious to the ‘damage’ done. Some kids are more sensitive though, like a friend’s son who cried when he saw ducks hung by the hook at a duck rice stall. The empathetic boy told his mother that the ducks must had feel great pain to be plucked bare, cooked and then hanged. The cautionary tales told by the Buddha will come in ‘handy’ to remind kids (and adults) to act with mindfulness and give more consideration to the well-being of others lest the long tentacles (pun intended) of karma whip out at them later on.
Hi Ed, the next progressive step of increasing acts of compassion after being vegetarian is to be vegan, to cut oneself from the supply loop that demands killing, even if indirectly. Leather exists only because there is killing. Using leather is not killing per se but it does support killing. The Buddha in the Surangama Sutra clearly discouraged the use of animal skins – probably because it is likely to increase demand for killing. The Mahayana ideal espoused by the Buddha is ultimately vegan in nature.
It’s not really a by-product – in the sense that even if a cow is not fit for eating, it is usually still killed for its skin. The karma involved depends on how closely linked one is to the killing. As you will see below, it differs from case to case, and pivots upon intention. E.g. The more wilful one is to wanting leather despite knowing it comes from killing, the more negative karma there can be. (Also, most milk-bearing cows get slaughtered for their meat and skin at the end.)
Leather might seem like value for money, but we need to consider the value of the cows’ lives. To every being, one’s life is priceless. The leather trade is a very problematically toxic one too. Here’s more on leather –
“Leather Problems
Most people believe that leather is simply a by-product of the meat industry and therefore no additional cows are killed to make our leather products. In fact this isn’t true. Although the skins from beef cattle are often used, and dairy cattle that have outlived their usefulness are also sold on for leather products, the most prized skins for leather come from calves. Often they are killed at the same time as their milk-producing mothers, or even when their mothers are killed whilst still pregnant – these unborn calves make the softest leather of all and are highly prized.
Treatment of Animals
Cattle are often poorly treated throughout their farmed lives – more so if they are bred overseas in developing countries – and their final moments at the abattoir must also be extremely unpleasant and frightening.
Bear in mind that some endangered or exotic animals are also hunted for their skins to make clothes and accessories. Alligators are farmed. Kangaroos are killed to make football boots. Zebra, bison, elephants, sharks, dolphins, seals, snakes and lizards are just a few of the species hunted for their skins.
Tanning
Although leather is often thought of as biodegradable and therefore eco friendly, the tanning process is often quite toxic. Leather is treated in a number of ways to prevent it breaking down as it would if left as skin, and extremely harsh and very toxic chemicals are used during the treatment. These include cyanide and arsenic, and several other chemicals that are very poisonous if brought in contact with people or make their way into the water supply. Some are carcinogenic. The waste products like hair, slurry, lime and salt all need to go somewhere, and there have been problems safely disposing of it. In the US there was a study on increased child leukaemia near a site where tannery waste had been dumped, which concluded there was a “significantly elevated incidence of childhood leukaemia†amongst those living nearby. Many tanneries have now moved to developing countries where wage costs are cheaper and environmental regulations are less stringent.
Leather Alternatives
Despite the problems with leather production, it is quite easy to find alternatives for most leather clothing and accessories. The one area where it might be hard to find an acceptable alternative for leather is where it is used as protective wear – for example by motorcycle riders. But even here there are light yet extremely durable synthetic alternatives available. If you feel you must have leather, try looking in charity or other second hand shops. That way, at least you’re ‘recycling’ a previously bought coat, rather than adding to those bought new and thereby encouraging the continuation of the leather industry. The manufacture of football boots is a huge industry and more than four million kangaroos are shot every year for meat and leather. The official figure does not include the joeys in the pouches of their mothers when shot, which are also killed. By finding alternatives to ‘K Leather’ or ‘KRT’ as some boots are labelled, you will be doing your bit to register disapproval of the practice.
Although we tend to think of leather as a fairly harmless by-product of the meat industry, the truth is quite different and many animals and the environment do suffer in the process of making our leather shoes, trousers, jackets and accessories.”
🙁
Thanks Shi’an for explaining 🙂