With Respect for All Life
An Editorial

By Jennifer Bratton

(Page 2 of 4)

Many times, such giving provides people with justification for what they do. They can give reasons, build a case, in order to create the illusion that what they are doing is a service. For example, in the article it also mentions how hunters “have paid more than 700 million dollars for duck stamps, which have added 5.2 million acres to the National Wildlife Refuge System since 1934….They pay millions of dollars for licenses, tags, and permits each year, which helps finance state game agencies. [In addition], they contribute more than 250 million dollars annually in excise taxes on guns, ammunition, and other equipment, which largely pays for new public lands.” But again, logically, such giving cannot serve the whole because a part of the whole is being harmed in the process, and money cannot erase that fact or the karmic energy that is set in motion from such actions. It only provides hunters with an illusionary ‘foot to stand on.’ Deep down inside, if a hunter was truly honest, he or she would admit that killing does not feel correct. Instead of looking at that however, hunters convince themselves that what they are doing is acceptable, because they are attached to doing things in this manner. The Wisdom Master teaches that attachment is the most grievous offense against ourselves that we can possible play out. We are speaking of attachment to reasons for this and that, which truly blocks us from living logically. A logical life is balanced and fruitful for self and others.

For many, hunting is what they know. It is a large part of their community and culture. As a result, it feels right, because it is comfortable, in the sense that it is familiar. Alex Eagleton, a former hunter and HÜMÜH monk, grew up in such a community. “I first went hunting at the age of 5. I grew up on a farm, and hunting was big in our community. My family, friends, even my Mom, did some hunting. We hunted squirrels, rabbits, doves, quail, deer, and anything else that moved. We ate the stuff that was eatable, but we didn’t need the food. It was a sport. The whole nature of hunting was the skill required to find and kill your animal. Those who had the skill were greatly admired. During hunting season, we hunted pretty much everyday, and if we weren’t hunting, we were doing target practice or shooting in some form. It was very much the norm and very much expected, particularly for the guys. There was always a prize for who killed the most and who made the best shot. I never questioned it, and laughed at people who did. It was acceptable and expected. You were a wuss if you didn’t.”

Eagleton says that he got his first glimmer that killing animals wasn’t correct when he returned from the Vietnam War and killed a deer on a hunting trip. “I noticed I had some conflicted emotions about having done it. Then, maybe a year or two later, I just decided not to hunt anymore. I got rid of all my guns and turned my interest to other pursuits.” However, it was still another 20 years before Eagleton stopped fishing. “I caught a fish, was holding it in my hand, and I could see the eye of the fish looking back at me. That ended it.” Eagleton was no longer just doing things because they were familiar, because they resonated with his past experiences and what he had been taught as a child. He was beginning to wake up to the oneness of life. When asked how he saw other sentient life now, Eagleton said, “As part of the community, humans waiting to be.”

Even if someone doesn’t grow up in a community that emphasizes hunting, most people don’t know how to spend time in nature and just be. They have to do something, and many times that something is hunting or fishing. Instead, people could learn how to just be, or at least choose an activity that does not harm, such as photography, hiking, or kayaking. Logically, one can’t truly experience joy and peace being out in nature if it involves killing another sentient life.

Gerry Parent, also a monk and former hunter, talked about how his hunting experience wasn’t really about hunting. “Mostly, I hunted with my family. It was about working as one, working together for a common goal. The word hunting didn’t have to be there. It was just a way for that togetherness to happen in that kind of way. That was the main reason, whether we killed anything or not didn’t matter.” For many other people as well, hunting and fishing is more about the social aspect than the actual killing. However, relationships based around an activity that is detrimental to other sentient life, and thus the whole, cannot be genuinely uplifting to those involved. If the relationship is based on something more than that, then as one person involved becomes more aware of the oneness of life, all involved begin to become awakened to that because they are connected and not attached to the specific activity.

Previous  1 | 2 | 3 | 4  Next

© HÜMÜH 2008