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The Animal Rights National Conference, recently met bringing together such various groups as Farm Animal Rights Movement, Mercy for Animals, The Save Movement, Compassion Over Killing and The Humane League, Speakers made a sharp distinction between animal rights and animal liberation.
"Animal rights is different from animal welfare. It's not about better cages; it's about empty cages," said Anita Krajnc of The Save Movement, a group who conducts "vigils" at slaughterhouses across the country. Speakers agreed that any form of meat production is inherently inhumane, making statements such as "There is no such thing as humane slaughter" (Michael Budkie, Stop Animal Exploitation NOW!), "You cannot humanely kill something that doesn't want to die" (Justin Van Kleek, Triangle Chicken Advocates), "I do believe that all farming and slaughterhouses are cruel" (Jaya Bhumitra, Animal Equality) and "All farms are factory farms, no matter the size" (Hope Bonahec, United Poultry Concerns).
"Animal rights is different from animal welfare. It's not about better cages; it's about empty cages," said Anita Krajnc of The Save Movement, a group who conducts "vigils" at slaughterhouses across the country. Speakers agreed that any form of meat production is inherently inhumane, making statements such as "There is no such thing as humane slaughter" (Michael Budkie, Stop Animal Exploitation NOW!), "You cannot humanely kill something that doesn't want to die" (Justin Van Kleek, Triangle Chicken Advocates), "I do believe that all farming and slaughterhouses are cruel" (Jaya Bhumitra, Animal Equality) and "All farms are factory farms, no matter the size" (Hope Bonahec, United Poultry Concerns).
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With permission from the monastery Abbott, a monk borrowed an old boat and rowed out into the middle of a lake for his afternoon meditation session. It was a truly peaceful place to meditate as the boat gently floated.
After more than an hour of undisturbed silence, he felt the bump of another boat bang against his. With eyes still closed, he could feel anger swelling within himself at the careless boatman who didn’t prevent the lake collision.
Upon opening his eyes, all he saw was an empty boat which he realized had obviously become untied from the dock and merely drifted out into the lake bumping up against his. Immediately, the monk experience a flash of enlightenment, one which would serve him well for the rest of his life. “The anger is within me,” he thought to himself. “All anger needs is a bump from the outside to be triggered and provoked out of me.”
From that moment on, whenever another person irritated him and he could feel even the slightest anger rising, he gently reminded himself: “The other person is an empty, floating boat. The anger is within me.”
After more than an hour of undisturbed silence, he felt the bump of another boat bang against his. With eyes still closed, he could feel anger swelling within himself at the careless boatman who didn’t prevent the lake collision.
Upon opening his eyes, all he saw was an empty boat which he realized had obviously become untied from the dock and merely drifted out into the lake bumping up against his. Immediately, the monk experience a flash of enlightenment, one which would serve him well for the rest of his life. “The anger is within me,” he thought to himself. “All anger needs is a bump from the outside to be triggered and provoked out of me.”
From that moment on, whenever another person irritated him and he could feel even the slightest anger rising, he gently reminded himself: “The other person is an empty, floating boat. The anger is within me.”
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In brief, without being mindful of death, whatever Dharma practices you take up will be merely superficial. - Milarepa
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Life is impermanent, but that does not mean that it is not worth living. It is precisely because of its impermanence that we value life so dearly. Therefore we must know how to live each moment deeply and use it in a responsible way. - Thich Nhat Hanh
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In the Dhammapada, another great teaching of the Buddha, it is said that people would never fight or argue if they fully realized they were going to die. - Larry Rosenberg
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We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts, we make the world.
—Buddha Shakyamuni
The thought manifests as the word;
the word manifests as the deed;
the deed develops into habit;
and the habit hardens into character.
Watch the thought and its way with care, and let it spring from love, born out of concern for all beings.
—Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda
With our thoughts, we make the world.
—Buddha Shakyamuni
The thought manifests as the word;
the word manifests as the deed;
the deed develops into habit;
and the habit hardens into character.
Watch the thought and its way with care, and let it spring from love, born out of concern for all beings.
—Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda
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I took the photo right after I encountered this beautiful being while hiking a mountain trail in New Mexico yesterday. It's a diamond back rattle snake and was completely non-aggressive. After posting this image on Instagram (@revdzen), a friend messaged me saying rattle snakes help control lyme disease eating rodents which carry ticks which, in turn, carry lyme disease. So I did some research about rattle snakes and lyme disease. Here's the fascinating information I came across in an blog post by environmental writer William LeRoy:
I suspect one reason why lyme disease is on the rise may be due to human interference with nature by the senseless killing of rattle snakes. LeRoy says that "Nature is based upon intelligent design. This means that all living things have a role to play in the environment. It is a simple and unalterable fact, that if you remove one naturally occurring element (animal) from a functioning eco system, other elements (animals) will misalign, and very often to the determent of the entire system....The beauty around us is fragile and has been designed to work perfectly absent human intervention."
- Scientists studied diets at four Eastern forest sites, the scientists were able to estimate how many small mammals the snakes consume. They then matched their estimates with information on the average number of ticks each small mammal carried. In the end, they found that each snake removed anywhere between 2,500 to 4,500 ticks from each site annually–that’s a huge benefit to humans.
I suspect one reason why lyme disease is on the rise may be due to human interference with nature by the senseless killing of rattle snakes. LeRoy says that "Nature is based upon intelligent design. This means that all living things have a role to play in the environment. It is a simple and unalterable fact, that if you remove one naturally occurring element (animal) from a functioning eco system, other elements (animals) will misalign, and very often to the determent of the entire system....The beauty around us is fragile and has been designed to work perfectly absent human intervention."
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The mind has the capacity for great things; it is not meant to behave in petty ways.
- Huineng
- Huineng
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Across the years, I've spent ample time with grievers - those who have lost a loved one to death - and conducted hundreds of funerals. Too often I witnessed the ways people complicate their loss and make the grief more difficult. One of those is the denial of the words "dead" and "death". Because it’s emotionally difficult to inform people about a death, many have resorted to the use of euphemisms – the substitution of an inoffensive word or phrase in order to soften unpleasant information.
However, euphemisms which mask the reality of death run the risk of setting up complicated grief. Here are some common euphemisms which should be avoided, especially with vulnerable individuals such as children and even adults who may take the information literally.
However, euphemisms which mask the reality of death run the risk of setting up complicated grief. Here are some common euphemisms which should be avoided, especially with vulnerable individuals such as children and even adults who may take the information literally.
- we lost him
- she’s gone to sleep
- he kicked the bucket
- she’s pushing up daisies
- he went on a trip
- she’s gone to a better place
- he passed on, passed away
- she’s asleep
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On each branch of the trees in my garden
Hang clusters of fruit, swelling and ripe.
In the end, not one piece will remain.
My mind turns to thoughts of my death.
- Dalai Lama (7th)
Hang clusters of fruit, swelling and ripe.
In the end, not one piece will remain.
My mind turns to thoughts of my death.
- Dalai Lama (7th)