While peeing into the ceramic urinal, I saw a small black dot near where my stream was going. I avoided it, and watched it intently – so as to check if it was a small insect. It struck me that if it was an insect, and if I were to leave it in the lurch after peeing, it would be flushed away and most likely drown. It moved a little. It’s really an insect.
After finishing peeing, I bent lower to reach for it with a finger. To my horror, though I displaced my body just a little, the movement activated the auto-flush. Staring in shock at the water filling the urinal that swept the insect away, I chanted ‘Amituofo’ (Amitabha Buddha), hoping that if it dies, at least some karmic connection to a Buddha was forged.
As I looked on at the swirling water, I suddenly caught sight of the black dot in the pool. I put a hand into the urinal to scoop it out, and laid it on some toilet paper. Almost immediately, the little fellow got dried and walked away – while I bade farewell with more ‘Amituofo’s. It was an opportunity to practise sincere good faith to a sentient being – as much as possible; without giving up too soon. Amituofo!
What will you do then if there is a cluster of ants in the toilet which you are going to shower in?
Anyone experience before that there’s a whole new cluster of tiny, weeny, flying bugs that bred in the toilet near the covering where the water runs down? How to prevent them from breding there? I’ve been trying my best to make sure the covering is clean but every morning i will see a whole new cluster of these bugs bred again. It is a very exasperating situation. When i tries to at least save some of them with tissue paper, they die the moment they touched the paper. Any ideal solution?
very moved by what you did Shian,If its me, I would think twice about touching the bowl 😆
Hi problem, I used to have the same problem, they bred inside the water hole. I don’t know what is it call, it is a round thing with a ball that float when there is water so water can drain that is used to keep out cockroaches. After I put this in, there is no more bugs.
Hi Ed,
where did you buy this ’round thing’ from?
Thanks for the tip.
Should be able to buy from DIY or hardware store.
Hi Shan, for ants, what I used to do is to ‘fish’ them up with toilet paper, which they readily cling to, and take them out, while chanting Amituofo. It might take a few minutes if there is more than one ant, but it’s the easiest way to move them. After that, clean the area well to make sure there’s nothing to entice them to come back.
😉
Hi Problem, for tiny flying bugs, I’m not sure if they breed there or just cluster around (to drink water and eat something?). Good to remove hair and such – in case somehow they could feed on ‘something’ there. Maybe you should use a torch light to shine in the drainage hole to see? If it’s clear, good to give the whole area a good clean. They can be shooed away gently (while chanting) one by one if they are just flying around – before turning on the shower. It takes patience – but you’ll feel relieved of guilt!
(Y)
Hi Wen, my next challenge is to rescue insects from solid waste!
:-O
Hi Ed, good idea!
Does it necessarily have to be chanted out loud enough for the insects or animals to hear?
Can we say prayers silently in our heart and wish for their best with “compassionate” look from our eyes?
Sometimes, with non-understanding Buddhist friends around, they may misunderstood our intentions.
Sometimes, even with buddhist friends they might chide you for reciting ‘Amituofo’ in the toilet which means being unrespectful.
It’s better aloud than not, so as to create a stronger connection for them. The name of Amituofo is an indestructible seed that will bear fruit in time, when conditions ripen. It’s important to plant this seed.
If it’s really inconvenient, you can do it with a softer voice, or silently. By looking on ‘compassionately’, i take that to mean radiating loving-kindness? It’s a good idea, but coupling that with the power of sound makes it even better. Loving-kindness only is not a strong and lasting connection.
If non-Buddhist friends dunno what’s going on, why not take the opportunity to explain it to them? There are friends of other faiths who do things we don’t understand too – but we respect that. I’m sure they can respect us… or they wouldn’t really be friends?
If Buddhist friends chide us for our good intentions and actions, try asking them what better way they can propose to connect the insects to the Dharma!
😉
[P.S. We disabled the use of Anonymous as a name for comments to avoid confusion – e.g. One Anonymous might be another. Do try to use nicks. It can be as simple as e.g. ‘Me’ or ‘Me2’. Thanks for understanding :-]