To release one's life is to let oneself go

 

To release one's life is to let oneself go

 

There are many legends about the release of animals among Chinese folk.

It is said that Master Qingyan, whose body was indestructible after being released from the vat, was seriously ill once when he was alive. He was seriously ill and had difficulty living. Although he took medicinal stones, chanted sutras and repented, and tried various methods, the effect was not effective, so he made a vow to release his life. Soon after, he Serious illnesses can be cured immediately, so releasing lives is the last magic weapon to eliminate disasters.

In the Song Dynasty, Zhang Kui, a native of Qiantang, went fishing by the stream to cut open fish when he was a child. He accidentally injured his finger and realized in his heart: I hurt my finger so much, how painful is it if the fish is cut open? Then he released all the fish in a basket and always refrained from killing and releasing them. Later, in a dream, a man gave him a big fish, and he gave birth to a son. He became a Jinshi and became the prefect of Yongzhou. He was rich for many generations. If a person wishes to have a son, or to have a son who will be a virtuous person, if he tries his best to free his life, he will definitely get what he wants.

It is also said that a certain rich man gave birth to a son with dementia. The rich man was also deeply troubled. One day, a Taoist priest came to ask for alms. He rubbed his son's head with his hand and said: "The official is a good person in life. Unfortunately, the killing karma is too heavy, and the spiritual orifice will not open." The rich man realized something and from now on no living things were brought into the kitchen. One day later, I saw a beggar holding a jacquard snake on the street. He didn't have any money, so he persuaded a friend who ran a market shop to buy the snake and release it. The next night, I dreamed of a man in colorful clothes coming to thank him, hoping to help the young master study and become famous. Later, his son suddenly vomited black water for several buckets, and had an unusual enlightenment. He was listed on the first list. Therefore, releasing animals can eliminate the karma of disinfecting and gain wisdom and fame.

Wu Wenying of the Ming Dynasty was fond of persuading people to release their lives and do good deeds, but as time went by, people today became tired of him. A friend ridiculed him and said, "You urge others to do good. After all, goodness lies in others, not you, so why are you so annoying?" Later, Zen Master Ting Xue told me: "I heard in the scriptures that if one person persuades another, the blessings will be equally divided between the two." So Wu Wenying advised people to work harder so that they would not have to worry about disasters or hardships throughout their lives. Generally speaking, people who have had heavy killing karma in their previous lives or in their youth will not suffer from dementia and disasters, but will suffer from toil. Therefore, some devout practitioners, although they practice hard, still suffer from many misfortunes and disobey their bodies. They can release more lives to eliminate their sinful karma. If you don’t have money to release lives, you can also persuade others to release lives, and the merits gained will be the same.

According to the regulations of Buddhism, in general, when a living creature is released, it will still be reincarnated as a living creature. However, if a living creature is released according to the "release rituals", the living creature can be reincarnated as a human being and form a deep bond with the sect, so the merits are even more immeasurable. The content of the ritual is roughly as follows; "If there is no note, recite each step three times."

 

1. (Yangzhi Water Purification) Perform the purification ceremony once again.

2. Recite the Great Compassion Mantra once. (You can also substitute the six-character Great Ming Mantra a hundred and eight times).

3. Invite the saints of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

4. Take refuge in the Three Jewels on behalf of living creatures.

5. Repent sins on behalf of living creatures.

6. The four great aspirations for living creatures.

7. Make the four great aspirations of your own nature on behalf of living creatures.

8. Recite the holy names of the Seven Buddhas, and those who hear them can ascend to heaven.

9. Recite the Prajna Heart Sutra once or three times to open up wisdom for living creatures.

10. Recite the name of the Buddha and the mantra of rebirth. The more times, the better.

 

Master Hanshan’s verse on the merits of releasing lives says:

​

People love their longevity, and living things love their lives. Release your life and unite your mind with heaven.

Release lives and obey the Buddha’s orders. Release animals to avoid three disasters. Release life from Jiuheng.

The release life is long. The official who released his life was prosperous. Release the son Sun Chang.

Release the family to celebrate. Free from worries. Reduce disease.

Release lives and resolve grievances. Release sin and purify it. Release Guanyin Ci.

Release Samantabhadra. The results of releasing and killing animals are clearly known in the mirror.

 

The three disasters here refer to: weapon disaster. Diseases and epidemics. Famine disaster.

The nine horizontal strokes here mean: getting sick without medical treatment. The king's method is to kill. Non-humans take away the essence. Burned by fire. Drowning in water. Eaten by evil beasts. Fall off a cliff. Poisoned and cursed. Trapped by hunger and thirst.

 

Buddhism believes that releasing animals is the accumulation of merit:

 

Abstaining from killing and eating vegetarian food is the highest expression of Buddhism, which is to release animals. Those who cannot eat vegetarian food can also release animals to accumulate merit and make up for their mistakes. Anyone who wants longevity, a child, health, wisdom, wants to eliminate disasters, wants things to go smoothly, and tries various methods, but the effect is not obvious, can do life release, and he will be able to respond quickly and achieve what he wants.

 

I am not a Buddhist layman, but my understanding of life release is:

 

The most important thing in life is freedom. Wherever there are humans, people will regard freedom as the most important criterion for living in this world. For freedom, you can give up everything. If you can give liberation and freedom to all living beings, that is, you can give yourself freedom as you wish, be magnanimous, and provide convenience to others, this is also a kind of liberation.

Freeing animals is not just about giving freedom to fish, shrimps, insects and beasts; more importantly, it is about giving freedom to humans. Giving freedom to people is the greatest merit of life release. We do not have to be vegetarians in order to release animals. We must know that all fruits and vegetables also have life and a reason for their existence. Destroying the natural ecology will result in nature’s revenge.

We long for freedom, but freedom will always pass us by. Those with power and money will not grant freedom to the people. So, how should we find and obtain freedom? Politicians, sociologists, historians, scientists and religious preachers all have different understandings of freedom, different pursuits, and even different ways of fighting for it. method.

But I thought:

The best way to fight for freedom is to first learn to let your thoughts fly. Only by liberating your thoughts can you not be imprisoned. A person with an emancipated mind will accept new things, new concepts, new environments, new friends... Only then can he innovate and develop. Only by seeking new changes in innovation can the fittest survive. People who let their thoughts fly not only accumulate personal merit, but also contribute to society.

I wish that all people in the world can let their thoughts fly, themselves and others.