Animal Release by Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche

[muni]

Animal Release
By Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche

In general, we study karma, the law of cause and effect, in Buddhism. The principle of karma is that if you commit non-virtuous actions you will have bad results and if you engage in virtuous actions then you will have good results. The ten non-virtuous actions can be classified into ten different categories and the opposite of these can be classified into the ten types of virtue.* The first non-virtuous action is the worst, the strongest, and that is to take life, then after that is to take that which is not given or stealing; committing sexual misconduct is another harmful action. These are the first of the bodily non-virtues.
Of the ten non-virtuous actions, really the worst is killing. And the opposite is saving lives. From among all the things one should abandon, first you should abandon killing, and the most important virtue to practice is to save lives. By saving lives you accomplish great virtue; you can protect beings and you can save them from fear.
So because of this, of the ten virtues - saving lives or protecting lives - we can either save the lives of humans or that of animals. My teacher in Kham, Khenpo Gangshar, taught me that among these two - saving the lives of animals or of humans - saving humans is not as powerful and the reason for this is that man can speak for and help himself, he or she can do things to improve their situation – we have ways to help ourselves. But animals, on the other hand, are really lost for means to help themselves, they cannot say anything to anyone and they cannot protect themselves from being eaten and tormented, and that is why saving the lives of many animals is really very important...........http://www.rinpoche.com/animalrelease.htm

[Blue Garuda]

Releasing other beings is good.

However, buying them from the market and releasing them may encourage the market stallholders to capture more, possibly even recapture the ones released.

We need to be mindful that our good intentions, and even our good actions, don't cause future suffering.

When faced with animals in need of release we should always do so for their benefit rather than for some notion of merit for ourselves. In some cases, urgent release is very compassionate, and we should also remember that if we create a market by buying certain animal products we keep the cycle of cruelty going:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... l?ITO=1490

[practitioner]

The last lines of the teaching tell why this practice is so important for fish.

Furthermore, there is the benefit of bringing blessings to these animals. In general, in their current state they aren’t able to listen to the dharma, they aren’t able to practice meditation, they can’t really see the body of a Buddha. But through the experience of having been released – through the blessings of this act – in the future they will experience freedom from samsara. That is how it brings them tremendous benefits and blessings.

So there is much more going on then someone simply trying to gain merit for themselves.

[muni]

Releasing other beings is good.

However, buying them from the market and releasing them may encourage the market stallholders to capture more, possibly even recapture the ones released.

We need to be mindful that our good intentions, and even our good actions, don't cause future suffering.

When faced with animals in need of release we should always do so for their benefit rather than for some notion of merit for ourselves. In some cases, urgent release is very compassionate, and we should also remember that if we create a market by buying certain animal products we keep the cycle of cruelty going:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... l?ITO=1490

We need to be mindful! Yes!

All what is done for others, is our own merit. Paramitas wisdom without the concepts me-animal-action is genuine generosity.
Small birds are caught and put in cages which we can release by a payement, encouraged by the words "it wil bring you a lot of fortune". Shit, sell the root cage. After the birds are released they are caught again for "more fortune". There are systems to give animals marks so that all know they are protected. Not sure how to do by fishes.

That webside, Oh! Many prayers.

Om Mani Padme Hung.