How do you make decisions?

[will]

Re: How do you make decisions?

George Carlin (not exact words): Animals go extinct that's what happens. When we try to prevent it we mess with nature.
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We're so self-important. So self-important. Everybody's going to save something now. "Save the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails." And the greatest arrogance of all: save the planet. What? Are these ______ people kidding me? Save the planet, we don't even know how to take care of ourselves yet. We haven't learned how to care for one another, we're gonna save the _______planet?
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Compared to the people, the planet is doing great. Been here four and a half billion years.

That being said, I don't think we should be running around killing any animals or polluting myself

G,W

[Jundo]

Re: How do you make decisions?

but killing that tiger to save the life of some one the tiger is trying to eat is right.

I don't know about that one. Hmmm... maybe we should just let the tiger eat us

And the baby tigers

Gassho

A variation of this story appears from time to time in traditional Buddhism, usually said to have happened in a previous incarnation of the Buddha during which he sacrificed himself ... bringing about his next incarnation, of course.

Khenpo Karthar, in Dharma Paths (Snow Lion, 1992/2006):

It was not possible to hear the teaching of the Buddha without having a past karmic connection with him. Accordingly, when the Buddha gave the teaching on the four noble truths, in the assembly receiving the teachings were five human beings and 80,000 beings of the god realm. If we go back to the previous lives of the Buddha, we can explain the karmic connections these beings had with him. In one of his previous lives, the Buddha was born as the youngest of three princes. When he was only five years old, the three princes were in a forest playing together at hide-and-seek and other games. As they were walking in the forest, they came to a cave where they saw a wounded female tiger with five cubs. The mother tiger was very weak and was unable to provide food for the baby tigers. The Buddha's older brothers went to search for some food, and they asked the young prince to stay near the cave to take care of the mother tiger and the five cubs.

While the Buddha was taking care of the wounded tiger and her five cubs, he began to think that it was not proper to kill other beings and give their flesh to the tiger. He found some large thorns and pressed them into neck, and as the blood came out, he let the cubs and their mother suck the blood. In fact, he gave his whole body to the five cubs and their mother as an act of generosity. As he did this, the Buddha prayed, "Right now I am only able to give temporary help to these starving beings, just removing their hunger. May these tigers who are enjoying my flesh, blood, and bones be reborn to a higher realm, and may I be able to teach them and lead them out of cyclic existence."

As a result of this karmic connection, the five cubs were reborn in the human realm where they attended that first teaching of the Buddha in the form of his first and only human students. They attained the level of arhat. (The others were 80,000 inhabitants of the god realm and they became first-level bodhisattvas.)

Also, I stumbled on this interesting film ...

Deep in the heart of the Kanchanaburi province in Western Thailand there lies a Buddhist temple with a difference. For not only is this temple home to monks who spend their time in prayer and meditation, over the last 7 years it has become a sanctuary for tigers.

http://www.revver.com/video/495352/budd ... -thailand/

GRRRRRRRRR Gassho, Jundo

[Dojin]

Re: How do you make decisions?

had no idea the tiger analogy will be so popular :shock:

maybe i should use it more often... :wink:

[Hans]

Re: How do you make decisions?

Hello Folks!


Just a very quick comment regarding the Thai-Tigers. Funnily enough I read a rather well researched article in a German weekly magazine (kinda the German equivalent of Newsweek) only yesterday that quoted a three year study that had been undertaken by a group of animal-activists or the like. Bottom line is that the monks at this now very famous Thai temple are constantly abusing the tigers in many different ways in order to attract more and more tourists....if only half of what the study claims turns out to be true, then our fellow buddhist brothers in that temple are not really doing the Dharma a great favour.

Gassho,

Hans

[will]

Re: How do you make decisions?

Actually Hans. The money accumulated is being used to build a Tiger Sanctuary, and training facility to release them back into the wild. The facility costs about 600,000-800,000 dollars.

This is their website:

http://www.tigertemple.org/Eng/

And another website from two people who worked there for a week:

http://www.tigertemple.co.uk/story.htm

Research on the internet showed that the temple not only takes in orphaned cubs found by villagers or rescued from poachers at border control, it has now become a conservation project with a breeding programme. Several cubs have been born at the temple and there are plans for future generations to be returned to the wild - although donations are needed to fund this project.

However, the research also revealed allegations that the tigers are drugged, have teeth and claws removed, are vegetarian and spend all of their time in cages that are too small. (Before you continue reading, you should know that all of these allegations proved to be completely unfounded and are obviously uninformed. Teeth and claws not removed and firmly in evidence, not vegetarian, caged some of the time in large spotless cages and absolutely NOT drugged.)

Not one for believing everything she reads, Karen decided to find out for herself. She emailed the temple to see if she and husband Alan could stay there for a week as volunteers. The answer was yes – it really was that easy!

And so begins the story of one amazing week.

They mentioned their might be pressure of the staff because the temple has many tourists.

Gassho Will

[Hans]

Re: How do you make decisions?

Hi Will!

I just reread the article online and found a link to the animal welfare charity that makes these claims.
Here's the link:

http://www.careforthewild.org/news.asp? ... atest+News

btw, I did write that I don't know for sure whether the scenario above applies....I only stated that the magazine that published the allegations is certainly not the national enquirer .... "if" these claims should turn out to be true however, than maybe the temple's motivation for "taking care" of those tigers is not necessarily 100% selfless (or they use rather unskillful means to reach their goals). For all I know there could be more than one tiger-temple.

Gassho,

Hans

[will]

Re: How do you make decisions?

btw, I did write that I don't know for sure whether the scenario above applies....I only stated that the magazine that published the allegations is certainly not the national enquirer

Sure, sure, of course

If you check the website you can see the progress of Tiger Island sanctuary, and what not.

I'll take a look at that link.

Gassho Will

[will]

Re: How do you make decisions?

Lot's of videos on Youtube I checked the other day if interested. Type Tiger Temple.

Can't post the link (using a proxy server)

There's also: http://www.openworldthailand.com

With 2008 updates

Zen and the Art of making friends with...Tigers

After I've completed the tiger-touching circuit, I sit on a stone bench with the temple's vet and spokesperson, Dr. Somchai Visasmongkolchai, watching the action.

Sitting slightly apart, at a seat by the canyon wall is the Abbot, who, despite ill health, still oversees these daily afternoon encounters.

With his shaved head, ochre-coloured robe and spectacles, he looks more like a scholar than a tiger tamer.

But his unique attitude towards tiger rearing (he believes the tigers are reincarnated monks or family members returning home) has worked thus far – the tigers have never attacked.

It seems unbelievable. So unbelievable that there are rampant rumours that the tigers are drugged – an accusation that Visasmongkolchai hotly denies.

"The only pills they take are calcium tablets from the King's Agricultural Project. The tigers like them because they are sweet."

He bids one of the staff to fetch an unopened package and hands it to me.

"Here try one."

"Oh, er, thanks."

While I don't normally take pills from strangers, I figure the King wouldn't lead me astray, so I pop one in my mouth, feeling only slightly disappointed when I don't get high.

A snarl draws my attention. One of the tigers is acting up, growling and pacing on his chain. The Abbot strolls over and points a shame-on-you finger. The tiger slinks away and lies down.

The Abbot may be a modern-day Dr. Doolittle, but does that mean it's 100 per cent safe?

"Of course not," says Visasmongkolchai. "Animals are unpredictable, and that means danger. But the staff can read the tigers' moods. What is important is to follow the regulations."

Such as don't wear bright colours or make loud noises.

Visitors to the temple must sign a waiver, yet they're still willing to pay a $10 entrance fee to experience this ultimate primal connection.

But what about the tigers? Is this an ideal life?

"It's not perfect," Visasmongkolchai says.

"But what is the alternative? The money for the animals' food has to come from somewhere. When the tigers first came here, they ate vegetable soup."

Ideally, of course, the tigers would be free in the wild, but until Kanchanaburi Province, sharing a long border with Burma (Myanmar), is rid of poachers, this won't happen.

According to the World Wildlife Fund there are as few as 5,000-7,000 wild tigers left worldwide. With pelts going for more than $6,000 and tiger parts prized ingredients in traditional Asian medicine (a penis alone can fetch $800), the population is dwindling.

At the temple, improvements are in the works.

While the existing resident tigers are too tame to be released into the wild, there are plans to create a Tiger Island on the monastery grounds, a five-hectare moated area where they will be able to roam more freely.

The Abbot's ultimate dream is to eventually release the tigers into a wildlife preserve, which well may happen given the government's recent agreement to provide 1,344 hectares of land surrounding the monastery.

Gassho