This weekend the hubby and I got our hands dirty in the backyard, getting our patio ready for Ella's birthday party next weekend.
Backtrack - Being new parents, we were all freaked out about our little ones being injured while playing. So we had bought those rubber playmats to put underneath the little playground/slide/climbing thing we have for them. It's 2 years old and survived this long, but it's time to get rid of it. It's blue and now will turn anything blue that touches it.
We lifted these little sections up and there were a mass of worms and creepy crawlers. What made matters worse is we have a split in the concrete which had since filled with dirt from the side. That was a breeding ground for all kinds of weird looking bugs. I'm not scared of bugs, but I jump easily from the unknown. A bug landing on me will freak me out, but me walking up to the bug is cool. Well, with one lift of a little blue square, something rolled across my fingers and I screamed like a little girl.
This made Ella laugh. She looked down and there were worms on the concrete and thought that was what I was screaming at. No, it was actually the millipede looking creatures, but she didn't care for the explanation.
I follow one of The Five Precepts forming the moral code for Buddhists. "Do not kill anything living" is strong in me, which meant I had to get down and pick up each of those worms to find a good place for them. Although I wasn't going to kill the worms, taking away their protection would kill them, so I couldn't do it. As I had a nice big handful of worms, I offered the girls to touch a worm. Allison did it after protesting at first, but Ella would have nothing to do with them. She wanted ~me~ to save them all, but definitely did NOT want to touch them herself. Such a girlie girl.
The next day, her Papa (grandpa) came over to visit. She told him all about the worms. And what did she say about them? "Mommy's scared of worms. They make her SCREAM!". Nice.
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I looked up Buddhism to remember the phrase for "The Five Precepts" which forms the moral code. While I am not a practicing Buddhist, everything about it makes so much sense to me. I naturally live this way and I could, quite possibly, become Buddhist. Except for one little thing...
"Avoid Intoxicants"
I like my beer. And I like to get drunk every now and again. Damn. Is 4 out of 5 of the moral code still okay?
If anyone is interested, here is a little more:
The Five Precepts form the moral code for Buddhists. They are:
1. Do not to kill anything living
2. Do not to take anything that isn't freely given
3. Abstain from sexual misconduct
4. Refrain from lying
5. Avoid intoxicants.
Buddha taught personal enlightenment through the Four Noble Truths:
1. Suffering exists
2. Pain and suffering are caused by attachment to desires
3. Desires can be stopped when the longing for things to change is overcome
4. By following the Noble Eightfold Path (right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration) desires can be conquered
Buddhists also believe in Karma, the understanding that all actions have consequences, and reincarnation, the cycle of birth and rebirth.
So that is Buddhism in a nutshell.
Also, I saw this question and thought it was funny. From the above, the answer is already obvious, but I thought it was funny.
Can Buddhists kill ants?
In accordance with the first precept, Buddhists aim not to kill living things including ants or mice. A nest of poisonous ants in a monastery in Malaysia avoided annihilation because the monks refused to exterminate them and instead vacuumed them up, setting them free in a nearby forest.
That is SO something I would do.
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When I was younger (well actually I still think like this, but this story is from my childhood) I used to hate seeing sea creatures die on the beach. Two specific incidents come to mind:
1.) One time when I was 7ish I was walking across the beach and came across a group of boys poking a jellyfish that had washed ashore with a stick. I promptly walked up to them, picked up the jelly, threw it back into the ocean and walked away. My dad, who watched this whole scene take place, said the boys (older than me) were dumbfounded.
2.) The beach we go to in Carolina has a rock inlet unique to the East coast. Well I used to love to play on these rocks and one year a whole slew of starfish had washed up and taken shelter within the crevices of the rock. I liked to pick them up and look at them, but always put them back. However, the people beside me were picking them up and taking them home in a bucket. This infuriated me and I told them these were living creatures and deserved to stay in their home (I was probably 15 at the time).
I run from bugs,and I'm sorry to say I make my husband kill them...I feel so guilty now :(
I have a question for katie,was the jelly fish still alive?did you get stung?
Interesting. I recently told my husband we need to join a religion, but as I was raised Catholic and got detached after the whole molestation scams, I need a new religion. I told him I'd be anything he wants, since we have the same core values and I have no time to research religions. He picked Buddhism but hasn't done much more than dug a few books out of boxes and dusted them off. I didn't know about the drinking thing though...that will be an issue. As will the "getting rid of desires" thing. I don't really get that. I am obviously not properly enlightened. Maybe there's a slacker Buddhist sect.
Yup, still alive. The only part of a jellyfish that will sting you are the tentacles. So, if you pick up one only touching the top "jelly" part (more specifically known as mesoglea) you can easily return it to the water safely (however, it goes without saying they are slippery). I think that was actually the part that surprised the boys the most....the fact I actually touched it and didn't get hurt ;-)
I wonder if sweet tea is an intoxicant? You know, the caffeine.
We don't kill anything living either, EXCEPT mosquitoes. If one lands on me and starts biting, I'm going to slap it.
On the nice side of things, if I find a huge spider in my house, I will have DH catch and release it. He is so gentle with animals and I adore that about him. I've seen him set spiders free outside and say, "off you go!"
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