Clarifying Doubts About the Pure Land (I)
淨土釋疑(一)
Answer to Q30 about releasing living beings (3 /4 )
If one truly wishes to practice life release, then regular releases are not impossible; but, they should be carried out quietly. It is best to go to markets or places of slaughter, where the animals are about to be killed, and buy them immediately. If others are informed in advance, people may intentionally capture animals for this purpose. Thus, releasing life is very good; but, its execution requires careful thought.
Should the practice of releasing life be promoted? It does have value and is worth promoting. When one imagines a living being being killed, the suffering is immense—alive and thrown into boiling oil or scalding broth. If we consider ourselves, it would already be painful just to have a finger pricked by a needle or burned by a drop of hot water, let alone the entire body. The suffering is truly beyond words. Therefore, releasing life should indeed be encouraged. It is just that one should strive to avoid negative side effects and reduce them to the lowest possible level.
When we release living beings, we allow lives that were destined to be killed or cut short to continue and be prolonged. Amitabha Buddha’s deliverance of us is like releasing us into the Land of Ultimate Bliss—not only freeing us from the six realms of rebirth, but also granting us immeasurable life.
Our way of releasing life, of course, differs from ordinary ritual procedures. We give the beings guidance on Amitabha Buddha’s compassionate deliverance, and then recite Namo Amitabha Buddha for them.
(to be continued tomorrow)
答 Q30 (3 /4)：
同時，如果真正要放生的話，定期也可以，但是要默默地進行，最好是到 市場或者是有殺生的地方，馬上就要被殺的，可以立刻把牠買下來。如果先 讓人家知道，人家就會故意去抓了。所以，放生本身是很好的，但是在運作上 就要考量。
那放生可推行不可推行呢？它是有推行價值的。因為，一個眾生被殺，想 像起來是非常的痛苦，活生生地被放進油鍋熱湯裏面。如果以我們來講，實 在難以忍受，手指頭被針紮到或者被一滴熱水燙到就會苦了，何況全身？真 是苦不可言，所以，放生本身是應當提倡的，只是要儘量達到沒有副作用，讓 副作用減到最低。
我們把眾生放生，使本來要被殺的、夭折的生命能夠繼續延長。而阿彌陀 佛救度我們，等於把我們放生到極樂世界去，不只是離開六道，而且成了無 量壽。
我們放生，當然跟一般放生的儀規是不一樣的，我們給牠開示阿彌陀佛 救度的道理，然後給牠念佛。
Namo Amituofo!
