My pets and their food. How does it effect me?

Mythil

Good evening/morning everyone all over the world.

I have been reading into Buddhism for quite some time, many years in fact. Though I have not been a practitioner I think it will be soon time.

I just wanted to ask a philosophical question, of a kind at least.

I have pet snakes and lizards. I myself am a vegetarian though the snakes and lizards don't have this choice. Now the snakes eat defrosted frozen mice and the lizards eat insects I keep in their own colonies and feed live to them (they need to be fed live as lizards have bad eyesight and rely on motion in most cases).

Now, how does this effect me as a person within the teaching? Because I buy the mice for the snake is that good or bad? Isn't it good that the snake is well? Also is it bad that I, and lets face the bluntness of this, send insects to their death to feed a lizard to keep this alive.

Basically, I will continue to feed insects to the lizards and keep the snakes fed though it's a question I've always pondered over and would be interested in hearing your opinions

Valtiel

Now, how does this effect me as a person within the teaching?

You tell us.

Mythil

Valtiel wrote: »

You tell us.

Well it doesn't make me feel bad if that's what you are saying. Not everything in this world has a choice on what it is.

I think I should qualify or maybe expand my original question slightly. If you take killing of anything to be a gross negative physical act then is feeding something to something so that something can live also a gross negative physical act and what would the effect on your Kama be?

Mountains

It's my (very limited) understanding of the dharma that if a sentient being is killed specifically for you (ie: you pick out a live lobster and have it boiled up for you), that's bad. But eating a piece of meat from an animal that was killed (by someone else) to be consumed by whomever isn't, or at least isn't *as* bad karmically.

I think in the case of your snake and your lizard, if you're not the one doing the killing (assume you by frozen mice as-is, right?), but rather the lizard or the snake who are doing it, it has no karmic effect on you. As you say, those creatures don't have any choice in the matter. One could say much the same about opening a can of dog food. That doesn't bother me in the least. Starving my dogs (who depend on me for their well being) to death would bother me a lot more.

Again, my very limited understanding.

Mtns

mugzy

As I understand the teachings, there are karmic effects for every action - positive, negative, and neutral. So yes, there would be karmic consequences of some kind for your actions. Since we are lacking the means to see these outcomes we cannot understand the karmic consequences for our actions, but I imagine there are several factors.

The most important factors I see here are love and compassion. You love your pets, you don't want them to suffer, and without food they will suffer and die. Unfortunately for us their only choice in food is another animal, but it's clear you also have compassion for the suffering of your pets' meal. While you really have no choice in feeding your pets other creatures, at least you can be thankful that they gave their life so that another could live.

One other thought is that since insects, animals, etc are unable to understand or practice dharma teachings, and that their death may actually benefit them - the possibility that their next incarnation may be to a form that is an improvement from their current life. When I kill an insect (accidentally, as I try to avoid killing intentionally, even a bug) I apologize and wish them luck in their next life. When I feed my cat, I feel sadness for the animals in his food but am thankful they have been released from their suffering. I also feel pity and compassion for the unfortunate people forced to work in the slaughterhouses that produced meat for pet food, and as I have read (possibly in Words of My Perfect Teacher? not sure of the source) that the negative karma continues to transfer - although as Mountains pointed out, while still negative it may not be "as bad" - even if you are not the one doing the killing. So I take on the negative karma of killing, but I am benefiting my cat by giving him healthy food. Cats, like snakes, eat meat in the wild; it is their nature, and as they cannot change their biology it would unhealthy to try and force a vegetarian diet on them.

SO yes you are generating negative karma for the negative deeds, but also positive karma for your compassion and kindness towards your pets.

BaileyD

My dog eats a raw food diet. All meat and bones. I buy pounds and pounds of meat every few months. Sadly, I only buy the cheapest meat I can find right now. I feed her this knowing that the animals that are in those bags were probably raised in a terrible environment and killed to feed me or someone else. I feed her this because I believe it is a more biologically appropriate diet for her than anything else and I am trying to feed her the way she would eat if she had to fend for herself. I am trying to do the right thing for my dog. I knowingly and willingly take on any karmic consequences for these actions because I believe it is ultimately the best thing to do.

I believe that owning and caring for pets has its rewards and its drawbacks. It's up to you to decide which is more important to your practice.