Clarifying Doubts About the Pure Land (I)
淨土釋疑(一)
Answer to Q30 about releasing living beings (2 /4 )
Many temples hold regular, scheduled life-release activities. If one releases life merely for the sake of releasing life, it easily becomes just a matter of formality. When people know that releases are held on a fixed schedule, they will catch animals in advance. (With unscheduled releases, this is less likely; but with scheduled ones, they deliberately go out to catch them.) Creatures that were originally living peacefully in their natural environment end up being captured precisely because people intend to release them.
Therefore, if the spiritual essence of compassion cannot be preserved, scheduled releases of life easily degenerate into empty form.
Furthermore, if the place where the animals are released is unsuitable, then what is released is not truly “life”: before long the animals will die, and the environment may even be polluted. Hence, the method of releasing life must be carefully considered. If the motivation is genuinely “unable to bear seeing living beings improperly die,” then this truly reflects the heart of one who learns from the Buddha and the bodhisattvas. However, each method requires thoughtful consideration.
(to be continued tomorrow)
答 Q30 (2 /4)：
一般的寺院都有定期的放生，為了放生而放生，等於是在做那種形式——定 期的放生。人家知道他是定期的放生，所以預先就去抓了（不定期放生還好， 他就不去抓，定期放生他就特意去抓），本來這些生物在那裏還活得好好的， 因為你要放生，所以就被抓來了。
所以，定期放生，如果放生的精神內涵不能保住的話，等於是流於形式 了。
還有，你所放生的地方如果不適當，那等於所放的不是生，不久牠就死了 ，而且還污染環境。所以，放生的方法就要考慮。動機如果是見其生不忍見其 死的話，那真的是學佛菩薩的心腸，但是方法上總是要考慮。
Namo Amituofo!
