Expert: Justin Choo - 4/1/2011

Question
Hi Justin,

Lately, there have been many dead and half-dead ants in my house.  It is very frustrating as I do not know what cause their deaths.  In the process of clearing the ants, I did kill many of them whether accidentally or "deliberately".  It makes me feel very uneasy as firstly, I fear that more ants will die and secondly, I feel that I have become more and more unfeeling and inhumane towards them.  I just feel like wiping them out to save all the trouble. Also, the reason why I feel uneasy is that I am afraid of the retribution brought on by my bad karma and not because the poor ants died which make me detest myself more.  I want to try to live according to what Buddha teaches us but it seems so difficult.  Everytime, I want to turn over a new leaf, I will meet with circumstances or people which cause me to create more bad karma.  It's like for every step that i manage to move forward, I will move nine steps backwards later on.  Kindly help and guide me.  Many thanks for providing the free service.

Answer
Hi ct,

Many Buddhists are troubled by this "not killing" precept.  And as you rightly admitted, most Buddhists also refrain from killing more on the fear of kammic retribution.  This is not a very wise attitude.  Let us consider these two points.

1. Not killing:  The precept does not force anyone not to commit killing.  The Buddha pointed out that killing is unwholesome.  It causes death to the victim, and it brings bad kammic ritribution to the killer.  In the real world we must ask ourselves whether we can refrain from killing even a mosquito at all times?  Even if we could, is it morally right to allow disease-bearing insects to spread their deadly toxins and germs to others, especially humans?  As such we should also consider the value and the lifespan of the victim.

2. Fear of bad kammic retribution:  A wise Buddhist refrains from killing because he realizes that no one likes to be killed.  So he should refrain from killing unnecessarily.  Just considering only the bad kammic action is not entirely correct.  It shows that the person is acting out of fear and selfishness.  

There are many instances that we may not have complete control, like the ants that you are encountering.  Of course, we can try our best to keep our area clean thereby reducing the incidence of ants.  Having done that, it is now up to you to decide what you want to do with the uninvited visitors.  The choice is yours.  Please remember, as the Buddha pointed out, the world is such that it is at times "difficult to bear", dukkha.  As normal human beings, we should just try our best to live a less unwholesome life.

Take care.

Justin Choo