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Killed half a dozen flies, have I broken my lay-precepts?
Yeshe2019
Australia Explorer
This past summer I killed about 6 flies. I have two dogs and a cat, so the flies were swarming in and out of the house, as I keep door open. Have I broken my don't kill vow? Can I do my purification prayers to restore this vow?
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Comments
Yes, you can do purification prayers. If you practice Mantrayāna, ask your guru as primary opinion.
It may also be worth doing something physical as repentance i.e. donate or work at an animal shelter. Or rescue and protect animals in some way.
Did you intentionally kill these flies or were their deaths accidental?
If it was intentional then trying to address the causes for that killing intent is just as important as a purification restoration of that vow.
Screen doors?/ parting bug screens for doors?/pet doors?/live-fly capture & a safe return for them outside?/ limiting open food, water & fly odor attractants?/or being as tolerant of the fly's comings and goings as you are of your other pets.
Not intending to kill, restores a not killing vow. Understanding and mitigating where possible all the causal factors behind why this vow ended up being broken in the 1st place will go a long way toward not repeating the same type of vow breakages in the future.
I had a similar experience recently with ants I had killed in my kitchen. It made me question how many were too many. I think I reflected on my reasoning and determined I killed them out of emotion. I live my amends through mindfulness of the new ants and various bugs in my home, by finding some balance and extending myself a little further to not cause harm from emotion going forward.
When I keep my kitchen a little cleaner, they don't flood in any more. Just a few small search parties from time to time. I think we can both live with that.
You are clearly a mass murderer and should hand yourself over to the Beelzebub police, Dharma squad or contact your Jain lawyer.
As someone who gardens by moving or creating areas to be habituated by insect killing birds, rodent killing cats and other acts of profound evil, I am hardly in a position to judge.
Be real.
How many useless thoughts are still living in your fly zone? How many harmless sangha/insects are you supporting?
… meanwhile at the nearest shrine …
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect_hotel
I feel you Yeshe2019.
I have a similar issue because in my garden I have these worms that come from these moths that at night lay eggs on the leaves. They are really destructive. I tried keeping them alive and moving them...didn't work. The moths also fly around freely and it is not that I can put a net in the sky.
What about here?
Purification prayers? What if I have no guru nor prayers?
Thanks.
Old habits die hard @Yeshe2019
It's important not to beat yourself up when you slip up.....
Just 'vow' to do better the next time you find yourself in a similar situation...
.
Every winter our house spiders turn white through lack of flies. Many die. Our garden robin has probably been killed by the cats who are now allowed visitation rights. The death, destruction and mayhem in our compost heap is truly monumental.
Nature has an untamed abundance.
Existence, growing food crops/ornamental flowers organically involves choices and so does kindness to our preferences.
Are we realistic or …
https://www.urbandharma.org/udharma3/vegi.html
@Yeshe2019
When a general asked the Buddha about killing as a soldier, the Buddha answered that all that was necessary was to kill the will to kill.
Since that is so for a soldier who's job includes killing in battle, I think you are safe.
Peace to all
There is a type of small vermin called silverfish, who we see occasionally in our house. They are small and rather delicate, they almost fall apart when touched with any force. I am sad to say that I have taken to killing them on sight, rather than letting them multiply in areas where we keep food. It’s not very buddhist but i think nature and existence will forgive me the small tresspass.
The only way I can remove silverfish without killing them is by using the edge of a very wet piece of tissue which they temporarily stick to long enough to get tossed out the front door.
It's humane but all those resulting pieces of toilet paper on my front walk must give my neighbors something to puzzle over.
Shit happens @how
For several years now, we've been seeing some small flies in the house in the summer - they spend much of their time in the air, and I find their flight patterns quite fascinating. I leave them alone, sometimes watch them as I meditate, and have spent considerable time trying to come up with some way to study them and figure out what, exactly, they are doing with this aerial ballet they perform.
Last year, however, they multiplied beyond reason. There were hundreds of them, and one could hardly walk through the room without choking on a couple of dozen. Alas, I ended up slaughtering most of them with fly paper and vacuum cleaner - I could think of no realistic alternative. Left about 30 to continue their race, and am waiting hopefully to see if they will return again this year.
It is our curse that, sometimes, we cannot avoid killing - but it must never be done lightly or reflexively.
If they look like a smaller version of the common housefly, then they are what's known as the lesser housefly and you're right, they rarely settle on surfaces, but will occasionally land on your skin, but for the most part they just flying round and round...
Aha! Thanks for that - yes, looks like that might be them. There is a white facial marking between the eyes on many of them that is fairly distinctive.
Yes,
Developing 'heroic willpower' …
https://blogs.dickinson.edu/buddhistethics/files/2018/10/Gold-final.pdf
… in order to practice Ahimsa
https://buddhaweekly.com/the-importance-of-ahimsa-non-violence-in-buddhism-buddha-ghandi-and-dr-king-showed-us-nonviolence-is-the-weapon-of-the-strong/
or even Extreme Ahimsa
https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Ohimsa_(Ahimsa)
Woah, does this mean don't cherry-pick your virtues? Let them surface spontaneously and naturally through skillful practice of the dhamma? I guess I should read it and find out.
Good guess
✨Thank you to all who contributed to answering my question✨You have all given me much to think about. Since posting the question I have caught and released a moth, a wasp, a dragon fly and rescued a small lizard from the clutches of the cat and dogs. You have all assisted me with becoming more mindful while not taking my faults too seriously. Venerable Robina Courtin says that for a being to die, or be killed in the manner that they are is based on their past karma. That everything is interdependent, cause and effect, therefore, compassion for all sentient beings who cannot practice Dharma as a human being is essential and compassion for oneself too. Obviously this is not verbatim as said by Venerable, but hopefully it makes sense 😊 Blessings to you all 🌺