Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In Register
Examples: Monday, today, last week, Mar 26, 3/26/04
Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.

Question about the value of life...

TheFoundTheFound
edited December 2009 in Buddhism Basics
Is my life worth the value of 100 dogs, or 100 cats?
Is my human life worth a thousand or even a million insects?

Humans, are the most likely to realize Buddha?

So by this logic, could I value my 1 life against 100-1000 monkeys?
by this logic,
is animal, scientific and medical testing worth it?

by this logic is the pest control guy, like our friend there, the exterminator, to keep our lives safe and happy, is it worth it to kill thousands of creatures?

wtf is my life worth??

Comments

  • potopoto
    edited December 2009
    It is not right to kill another being for our benefit. There are times when killing pests are unfortunately necessary. This does not make it right.

    It's dangerous to start thinking that just because something may be unavoidable or necessary that it is right. For example, take WW2. Hitler needed to be stopped, but that does not make the millions deaths suffered in the war right. War is still wrong, and killing is still wrong.

    I don't think I can answer your question of what your life is worth. And honestly, I think it's foolish to attempt to value your life against numbers of animals or insects.

    Maybe the words the Buddha spoke about the precious human birth will be of some help to you.
    "Monks, suppose that this great earth were totally covered with water, and a man were to toss a yoke with a single hole there. A wind from the east would push it west, a wind from the west would push it east. A wind from the north would push it south, a wind from the south would push it north. And suppose a blind sea-turtle were there. It would come to the surface once every one hundred years. Now what do you think: would that blind sea-turtle, coming to the surface once every one hundred years, stick his neck into the yoke with a single hole?"

    "It would be a sheer coincidence, lord, that the blind sea-turtle, coming to the surface once every one hundred years, would stick his neck into the yoke with a single hole."

    "It's likewise a sheer coincidence that one obtains the human state. It's likewise a sheer coincidence that a Tathagata, worthy & rightly self-awakened, arises in the world. It's likewise a sheer coincidence that a doctrine & discipline expounded by a Tathagata appears in the world. Now, this human state has been obtained. A Tathagata, worthy & rightly self-awakened, has arisen in the world. A doctrine & discipline expounded by a Tathagata appears in the world.

    "Therefore your duty is the contemplation: 'This is suffering...This is the origination of suffering...This is the cessation of suffering...This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of suffering.'"

    SN 56.48
  • DeshyDeshy Veteran
    edited December 2009
    Superb reply poto. I couldn't have said it any better.

    Human life is precious TF. Don't waste this lifetime trying to figure out how many animals or insects are worth your life. Why not invest that time to study Buddhism and practice meditation? I am telling you through experience that meditation has made me happier than any other method I have tried so far
  • Emma-AngelEmma-Angel
    edited December 2009
    Deshy wrote: »
    Superb reply poto. I couldn't have said it any better.

    Human life is precious TF. Don't waste this lifetime trying to figure out how many animals or insects are worth your life. Why not invest that time to study Buddhism and practice meditation? I am telling you through experience that meditation has made me happier than any other method I have tried so far

    *Nods and agrees totally.*

    Life is life. Some say we are all the universe made manifest in order for the universe to figure itself out. Consider fire - You have a match and you lit a candle. With the same match you then light a waste paper bin which erupts into flames. Which fire has more value? It has come from the same source, but its only difference is its size. Life is life, whether it be as minute as a flee or as giant as an elephant. Life is life, and taking it consciously and with motive is not a good thing (I cry when i accidentally tred on a snail and pray that it will have a better incarnation in the next life - dread that crunching, gooey sound! :(
  • SimonthepilgrimSimonthepilgrim Veteran
    edited December 2009
    TheFound wrote: »
    Is my life worth the value of 100 dogs, or 100 cats?
    Is my human life worth a thousand or even a million insects?

    Humans, are the most likely to realize Buddha?

    So by this logic, could I value my 1 life against 100-1000 monkeys?
    by this logic,
    is animal, scientific and medical testing worth it?

    by this logic is the pest control guy, like our friend there, the exterminator, to keep our lives safe and happy, is it worth it to kill thousands of creatures?

    wtf is my life worth??


    This is not about worth but about price. Worth cannot be calculated like price.
  • FyreShamanFyreShaman Veteran
    edited December 2009
    Regard all sentient beings as beyond price. None should suffer or die to benefit others.

    Regard your own human life as a rare and fortunate opportunity to help other beings as well as you are able, and conmsciously avoid causing harm to them.

    In that way, you will benefit all beings.
  • Quiet_witnessQuiet_witness Veteran
    edited December 2009
    TF I see your logic and it is sound; human life has the potential to be the most valuable of all beings in all of the realms, so why do so many waste it on seeking treasure and temporary pleasures. The value of the Mycoplasma genitalium (probably the smallest living cell) is immeasurable. If we cannot even measure the worth or value of something so small, how can we even begin to measure the value of a mouse?
  • fivebellsfivebells Veteran
    edited December 2009
    TheFound wrote: »
    Is my life worth the value of 100 dogs, or 100 cats?
    Implicit in this question is the assumption of some kind of external judicial force to decide this kind question for us. You decide how much your life is worth. Buddhist practice actually has nothing to say on the matter.
  • DeshyDeshy Veteran
    edited December 2009
    fivebells wrote: »

    You decide how much your life is worth. Buddhist practice actually has nothing to say on the matter.

    I like this statement. Yesterday I was listening to a Dhamma talk on TV and the monk said:

    "If you are a Buddhist then take responsibility of your life. There is no external force deciding things for you. You decide your life, only you have the power to change your life and you are responsible for your kamma. "
Sign In or Register to comment.