The release of Buddhism originated from the records of Buddhist classics. For example, the Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures say, "Be kind to your heart and let it go." . All men are my fathers, all women are my mothers, and I live and die from them, so all six sentient beings are my parents. And those who kill food, that is, kill my parents, kill me. ..... If you see that the world is killing animals, you should be convenient to save them and alleviate their suffering. 」
It can be seen that Buddhism contains the feelings of equality and respect for life, as well as the wisdom of self-improvement and karma. Therefore, in history, Buddhism in China strongly advocated abstinence from killing and vegetarianism, actively organized conservation and release, and formed a release culture with a long history and profound connotation. For example, in the Southern Dynasties, Liang Wudi promulgated the "Duanjiurouwen", which initiated the vegetarian tradition of Buddhism in China. The wise masters of Sui Dynasty dug a large releasing pond, which affected the fishermen in coastal areas and voluntarily gave up their fishing industry. More than 400 miles along the coast were released. In the Ming Dynasty, master lianchi wrote "Don't kill and don't let go" and made a release ceremony, which was widely circulated among the people. Master Hongyi cooperated with Feng Zikai, which was completed by modern nursing students. All these indicate that the release culture has become an important part of China traditional culture.
Second, the main problems
At present, release is still a very important form of belief practice for the majority of Buddhist believers in China, which has had an impact on all aspects of society. Nowadays, the release behavior is no longer just a simple individual behavior, moral behavior and belief behavior, but has more economic, social and ecological significance. Therefore, the release activities must take into account the possible economic, social and ecological impacts. This is exactly where the Buddhist release activities need to be guided and standardized.
At present, there are some universal problems in Buddhism interpretation. These problems have a lot to do with the form of release activities not keeping up with the changes of the times. The main questions are:
1, affecting people's lives
In ancient society, the primitive living space of animals was very broad. In modern society, the living space of animals has shrunk dramatically. If the release site is not chosen properly, the released animals will easily have an improper impact on the lives of local residents, leading to the contradiction between human beings and animals competing for living space and resources.
2, affect the ecological environment
The natural environment in ancient society was well preserved and the ecological balance was relatively stable. In modern society, the natural environment is overexploited and the ecological balance is fragile. Large-scale release can easily lead to the destruction of the ecological environment, and even cause population collapse and mass casualties. Moreover, the ancient traffic was underdeveloped, and hunting and release were all carried out nearby, which would not cause species invasion. In modern society, traffic is developed, and most of the animals sold go through long-distance transportation or even cross-border transportation. This kind of release from different places far away from the place of origin is easy to break the local ecological balance and lead to unpredictable consequences.
3. Inducing illegal activities
There was a strong atmosphere of Buddhist belief in ancient China, and many officials and celebrities supported the release of nursing students. Salvation is more of an educational act and means. The Buddhist belief atmosphere in modern society is relatively weak, and the releasers often regard releasing as a simple commercial act, which is mixed with a certain degree of personal utilitarian attempt and does not really understand the religious significance of releasing. Moreover, the commodity economy in ancient agricultural society was underdeveloped, and hunters and sellers mostly made a living from it, without organization and economies of scale. In modern society, the commodity economy is developed, and trafficking is often organized, large-scale and industrialized, with huge profit space, which is easy to form a soil that induces various illegal acts.
Third, some suggestions.
The fundamental interest in releasing animals is to inspire people to love and respect life. Love and respect for life is a positive value that should be positively affirmed in any era. At present, the country has formulated relatively perfect policies and regulations on wildlife protection, and people's awareness of wildlife protection in society is also increasing. The release activities of Buddhism should also keep pace with the times, better adapt to the requirements of the times and the needs of society, and stimulate people's goodwill and kindness in caring for life to the maximum extent in a more scientific and effective way.
1, standardize the scale of activities
In publishing, we should do our best in our personal life with a real sympathy and care for students, and should not deliberately pursue quantity and superficial effect. In daily life, we can pay more attention to and actively do the behaviors of nursing students, such as releasing birds that fly into the house and picking up earthworms that climb onto the road after rain. In addition, Buddhist associations and local monasteries can publicize the concept of abstaining from killing nursing students and healthy vegetarian diet through various forms to persuade the world to abstain from killing nursing students. Support qualified temples and individuals, participate in animal protection organizations and fund animal protection projects.
What the Buddhist community wants to advocate is that although Buddhists hope to achieve good health and avoid disasters through release, it is very important to be careful and compassionate here. Pure and broad-minded will have great merit, but more will not necessarily have great merit. If it does unnecessary harm to life, it will not only have no merit, but also be blind and ignorant, leading to the death of released animals. Therefore, the release must be cautious and not neglected.
2. Refuse to buy or sell animals
Business behavior reflects the social relationship between people, so it can bring more influence than personal behavior. If Buddhists enter the market to buy animals, it will involve further procurement and capture, so they must be treated cautiously and rationally and carefully considered. When releasing animals, try not to buy them in the animal market, and don't choose strange and unfamiliar species. Those who sell wild animals can report to animal protection organizations or public security departments, and they can help animals. The Buddhist community can consider giving appropriate economic compensation.
Respecting and protecting animals has become common sense all over the world. Buying and selling animals has brought about the killing of a large number of wild animals and even rare animals, which has greatly destroyed the natural ecological environment and seriously eroded human moral conscience. Therefore, putting an end to and prohibiting the sale of wild animals is a kind of "release" that can produce the greatest social benefits. Buddhists should actively cooperate with relevant state departments in various ways, unite with other animal protection organizations, start from themselves, influence people around them, and create a safe and comfortable living environment for all life on earth.
3. Popularize common sense of release.
Further strengthen guidance and education, broaden publicity channels, and help Buddhist believers establish the concept of scientific release. In these aspects, the participation and support of relevant departments, experts and scholars will provide useful help for the standardization of Buddhist release activities.
4. Strive for social support
Release activities should strive for the understanding and support of local people, be humanized, and avoid confrontation and disputes. In these aspects, we need the care and guidance of all localities, especially religious departments, and the understanding and support of all sectors of society.
To this end, the Chinese Buddhist Association will today issue a proposal to the Buddhist community, Buddhist groups and Buddhist temples across the country, calling on the four major Buddhist disciples in the country to attach great importance to it and release it according to the requirements of the proposal. I hope that * * * will work hard to release Buddhism, a public welfare activity with religious characteristics, according to the legal requirements, so that it will always play a positive and far-reaching social influence and role.