Translated by Harmony

Edited by Dance Smith

Proofread by Jessie

Provided to TBN Courtesy of Padmakumara Translation Team

Website: www.padmakumara.org

(From Book 158: Contemplation Under the Lonesome Light)

In New York, animal rights activists beat up a woman wearing a mink coat. The woman shrieked in distress, “I am also an animal! Who will protect me?” The animal rights activists are committed to protecting animals. However, they forgot that humans are also a species of animal.

In Hampshire, England, another group of animal rights activists sneaked into a mink farm at night and released 6,000 minks. It takes 40 minks to make a mink coat. The organization had good intentions, but they failed to realize that minks are also bestial killers. They are violent animals in nature—they not only fight for food, they also prey on their own kind and others. Although minks are not big in size, they are capable of attacking larger animals. Imagine 6,000 minks running all over causing a great disturbance, affecting all the domestic and wild animals in the area. They even invaded homes, threatening the safety of young children. The English government had headaches dealing with this kind of “alternative terrorism”.

Releasing these 6,000 minks caused tens of thousands of other animals to get hurt or killed. These people really forgot that other animals are also animals.

Buddhism is against killing and encourages the freeing of living beings. This is the right thing to do. Nevertheless, if releasing an animal will cause harm to even more animals, is it correct? I feel they went too far.

Moreover, just because they wanted to save minks, they brutally beat a person wearing mink. I feel they overdid it. Even though Buddhism is against killing, Buddha once killed a man to save the lives of five hundred others! Buddha taught us the principle of the Middle Way. To overprotect and to underprotect animals are both inappropriate. One should observe the teaching of the Middle Way.

(本文譯自蓮生活佛文集第158冊－－孤燈下的思維「過與不及」)