Seeing of practicer and training

Have you ever watched a wildlife show on public television, where predators hunt other animals for food? The tiger hunts a deer or a snake swallows a frog. These shows are filled with suspense. We hope that the deer will escape the tiger's claws, and the frog will be saved from the snake's fangs. It is painful to watch the tiger tear apart the deer and the frog disappear into the snake's mouth. This kind of program is not invented it is real life. We long for the well being of the frog and the deer, but rarely do we consider that the tiger and the snake must also eat in order to live. We humans eat chickens, pigs, shrimp, fish, and cows, and, like the tiger and the snake, even deer and frogs. Yet because it is painful to watch, we take the side of the prey and hope it will escape.

In these situations, as meditators, we must remain very clear. We cannot take either side, because we exist in both. Some people can remain unmoved or even enjoy the sight of a tiger tearing apart its prey, but most of us, feeling its agony, take the side of the victim. If a scene like this were occurring in front of us, we would try to find a way to save the deer and the frog. But we have to be careful not to do this just to avoid our own anguish.

We must also feel the pain of the tiger or snake deprived of food, and have compassion for them. All beings have to struggle to survive. The more deeply we penetrate into life, the more we see its miracles and the more we see its heartbreaking and terrifying events. Have you seen the life of a spider? Have you lived through a war? Have you seen torture, prison, and killing? Have you seen a pirate rape a young girl on the high seas?

Hunters are  killer, they have not take  five precepts of Buddhism. But they hunt because their family, but never the hunter went deprived of life of an animal because of pleasant. You remember that.

  Do not kill the snake to soak alcohol for drinking. Do not kill the deer for their horns decorate entertain in  your home.

22/9/2015

Hoàng Phước Đại – Đồng An