I just realized that strictly keeping the first precept e.g. termites is not just a seemingly impractical and even a potentially devastating obstacle to continuing to own a quiet house in which to live in order to do the real Dhamma practice such as meditation, but is a real challenge.
Thanissaro Bhikkhu wrote:
on the level of the precepts,
you work up to a higher level.
“How am I going to maintain my precepts in difficult situations?”
Say, when people ask questions
that you know are going to be harmful
if you answer them,
how are you going to avoid the answer
so that you don’t lie?
Or how are you going to live in your house
so that you don’t have to kill pests?
Once you’ve laid down the law for yourself —
“Okay, these are the principles I’m going to hold to” —
you suddenly find yourself
with a whole new set of questions.
You’ll need ingenuity and discernment to answer them.
And as you come up with answers
using whatever ingenuity you have,
you find that your ingenuity and discernment get stronger.
From: The Path of Questions by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Years ago, long before I had ever heard of Buddhism and precepts, my husband was engaged in an ongoing battle with fire ants. One of the most popular pastimes around here seems to be killing them. Anyway, the whole thing made me uncomfortable on some level. One day I went into the yard and there they were. Those unmistakable mounds of sand were back. I went over to the closest one, squatted down and watched for a little while - until one of them bit me! LOL! Everyone will tell you DO NOT DISTURB THE MOUND!! It says so on the poison container, yeah. I went and got a broom and began to sweep the mounds as carefully as I could. They were not happy! I was bitten by a few more - memorable and understandable.
I wasn’t at all sure of what I hoped to accomplish, but for the time being anyway the tell tale mounds were gone. No poison today! A few days later they were back but a few feet farther away. Ahh Hah! I repeated the sweep, being more careful this time and didn’t get bit. This went on for a couple of weeks and I was eventually caught by my husband DISTURBING THE MOUNDS!! He was a bit upset and told me that was the worst thing I could do! He now calls it ‘herding fire ants’ and I’m in charge of that.
I rarely have to interfere anymore - not at all this year so far. They happily (for ants) reside in the back corner of my yard where we don’t go anyway. They don’t like being disturbed-so kept moving until the problem stopped.
-Jaiboon,
Ants in the drain are more challenging, but at least they don’t bite! Fortunately they only show up once a year for me. I haven’t figured out why. Some get washed down the drain initially. It’s accidental and unavoidable. I say I’m sorry and move on. That’s always the first sighting and I’ve turned on the water without noticing them. After I know they’re there I sweep them onto a large index card and drop them in a cup and take them outside. Ants need food and moisture and that’s what they’re after as I understand it. So during those few days of the year my sinks are the cleanest and driest you can imagine! Ha! Hmmm maybe if I kept them that way all the time the ants wouldn’t visit at all. They’re never in the kitchen sink, only in the bathroom sinks. I don’t know why that is.
There is usually an alternative response to the various creatures we find in what we like to think of as “our” space. Better for us as well as the ‘invaders”. I’d love to hear how others handle these situations.
Hello Everyone,
I guess we all face this problem in one way or another. With the heat of summer we have a serious ant problem every year. They get in the sink in the kitchen and bathroom where washing them away can’t be avoided. All over the drain as well. When she can’t avoid it my wife says a prayer in Pali that has something to do with the animals of the world forgiving her karma. Is there a better way?
As a mail carrier I come across my fair share of bees and wasps. Just recently I had some mud wasps building nests at both of the properties that I service. I carefully reflected on how to deal with the situation and came to the conclusion that the best thing for me to do was to destroy the small foundadtion they were building so they would have to move elsewhere. Both nests were in the foundation stage and there was only one wasp that I could ever find building. I decided on this because I figured that if I were to allow them to build the nests completely someone would actually call the maintenence department at the properties I service and have them killed and the nest destroyed. When I first started this job there was a nest in one of the parcel lockers and I simply avoided it but someone must have called maintenence because one day I went back and the nest was destroyed and the wasps were dead arouund the parcel locker. Hope this helps in dealing with bees/wasps.
This topic, any and all of the precepts and our different experiences actually, is certainly worthy of further exploration here. I remembered listening a couple of years ago to a talk given by Ajahn Brahm on the Buddhist response to euthanasia and abortion. I found it to be very helpful. The link is here:
http://www.bswa.org/modules/mydownloads/visit.php?cid=4&lid=274.
The first precept can present a variety of snags for many people, particularly when considering it in relation to life other than human. Like Justin, I live in Florida where we have our fair share of “pests”. For some reason they just don’t bother me much. I have never suffered from the “ick factor” when it comes to critters and such. I know many people who do, some in a big way. This would make a difference in how we relate to different creatures and just how big of a pest we perceive them to be. If it’s something that is obviously going to destroy my house, like termites, the answer is clear. Other than that I try to observe first before acting.
Jessica-
How did you handle your situation? I’m assuming you didn’t literally mean bees “in” your house, or were they actually in your attic or garage or something? I’ve always seen bees in my yard as a good thing, but I’ve never had hives or swarms or anything so extreme.
I’d like to raise the topic of euthanasia and the First Precept.
I am suffering flashbacks of the euthanasia of our gentle female Siamese (Buddhist?) cat in 2001.
After the euthanasia of our other cat in 2004 I found this vinaya teaching from Thanissaro Bhikkhu:
3. Should any bhikkhu intentionally deprive a human being of life, or search for an assassin for him, or praise the advantages of death, or incite him to die (thus): “My good man, what use is this wretched, miserable life to you? Death would be better for you than life,” or with such an idea in mind, such a purpose in mind, should in various ways praise the advantages of death or incite him to die, he also is defeated and no longer in communion.
<big snip>
Effort. This factor covers four types of action: taking life, assisting a murderer or suicide, describing the advantages of dying, and inciting a person to die.
a) Taking life.
b) Assisting a murderer or suicide.
c) Describing the advantages of dying. This, the third type of act covered by this rule, can include berating a sick person ("Why do you keep hanging on to life like this? Don’t you realize what a burden you are to others?") or simply telling a person of the miseries of life or the bliss of dying and going to heaven in such a way that he/she might feel inspired to commit suicide or simply pine away to death. The Vibhanga notes that these statements fulfill this factor whether delivered by gesture, by voice, by writing, or by means of a messenger
d) Inciting a person to die.
<snip>
Caring for the terminally ill. Some of the most highly charged issues involving this training rule concern the duties of a bhikkhu acting as nurse, and his accountability in the event that his patient dies. Not a few controversies have arisen in the past when highly respected teachers have died after an illness, for there is a tendency to blame the nurse either for the teacher’s death or for being so intrusive in his care that he does not let the teacher die in peace. Recent developments in modern medicine — such as professionally mandated care, life-support machines, and organ transplants — have further complicated the issue of exactly how far the nurse’s accountability goes. Fortunately, the texts are quite clear on these issues — applying rules where rules are called for, and guidelines where rules would be inappropriate”
<snip>
The principal ethical constraints on this arrangement, ancient medical textbooks show, were that doctors should not use their knowledge to aggravate or prolong illness — to do so would count as malpractice — and that no one should subject a patient to treatment designed to bring on death faster than it would if the disease were simply allowed to run its course: To defy this principle would count as murder.
(Antony: According to Theravada Buddhism there is a danger that if a wrong decision causes the death of one’s mother or father this is a weighty kamma leading to a rebirth in hell)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/bmc1/ch04.html
From: Buddhist Monastic Code: Chapter 4 Parajika by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
There is no easy answer to the question of pest control. In Florida we have a lot of pests like fire ants and mosquitos that can be a real pain. Ever since taking my precepts more seriously I actually try not kill anything at all. In the case of mosquitos, I will actually trap them and bring them outside. If I see small spiders in the house I either let them outside or ignore them. As for wasps and bees I don’t have a really good answer. I think what has been said before about being careful with your intentions is what really matters. Good luck to you.
It’s a struggle. I am trying the incense and metta plan right now. But I suspect this will not be practical, or safe in the long run. I don’t think I can make the call to action. My partner Todd may have to deal with exterminators, if/when it comes to that. This is totally new to me as a homeowner, and it brings back a discussion I had with a dhamma friend when I first bought the house about how it is the opposite of renunciation, and there will be consequences to that.
I’d like to encourage both of you to offer an introduction post. It’s a friendly gesture and one we encourage in this forum. Please read the “How to use this Forum” section. You’ll find it by clicking on the “Upasika Life” words up above this window.
Thanks so much for your questions Jessica, its a tricky one isn’t it? How are you doing with this challenge any way?
Dorthea and Jessica be at peace: In the ordinary living of our daily lives many beings die by our actions without our even being aware this is happening. When you wash your bedding for instance, myriads of living creatures loose there lives. (dust mites)The fact you cant see them doesn’t make them less important than ants..yet you have to wash these items to have a clean bed. Its the same principal as fixing your toilet if you consider it. How many creatures die without you knowing it when you drive your car, or take a walk, or rake the leaves or till your garden..it is an endless list. the only real difference is the sudden visable impact of the unfortunate but necessary destruction of those ants. It was not your intention for this to happen but the truth is we have no control of what goes on in the living of our lives. Things come and things go, we can only try to live respectfully and with good intention as we proceed through this life so lay aside your guilt you have not created bad Kamma for yourself.
Well this is a tough one. We discovered a nest of carpenter ants when a plumber lifted our toilet to reseat it. The huge black ants erupted out of the floor by the thousands. It looked like a volcano. There was no question in my mind that both the ants and we couldn’t live in the same house together. I sadly, but quickly, called an exterminator.
When the exterminator came, I sat quietly sending metta to the ants, to myself, and to the universe. I kept in mind that I was breaking the first precept, but I felt that the reality of the situation gave me no other practical choice. I had chosen my life style, which includes home ownership. This is not consistent with allowing thousands of ants to destroy the structure of the house. I’d have to accept the results of my breaking the first precept with as much equanimity as possitle. I was taking a “karmic hit” out of necessity, with full understanding that there would be unknown consequences.
I still tremble when I think about that day. But I still think that I had to do it.
I don’t know how practical it is for the whole yard, but my wife once chased away a nest of wasps from under the eaves using the smoke of incense. She had to do it everyday for a time. They don’t like it so they moved, but she did it with Metta so there was no negative intent and nothing was killed.
Struggling with what seems like the inevitability of pest control, i.e. removing bees from my house and yard. Anybody know how to deal skillfully with this topic?
