One who loves his own life loves all

I remember when we saw two people running through our backyard. We immediately thought they were hunters. We ran over to them and asked, “What are you doing in our backyard? You can’t hunt here.” They said they were chasing after a deer they shot a few miles away. We found the dead deer in our neighbor’s yard. As I walked back to my house I thought, “Those who run after another’s death do not know that their own death follows them as a shadow.”

When I was little, I have heard a story about two boys. One day a boy saw a swan suffering on the ground. This swan had been shot by somebody. The boy pulled the arrow out and gave the swan some water. Then another boy came there following the blood track. The second boy saw that shot swan on the other boy’s hand. The second boy said, “Give me my swan; I am the one who shot it.” The first boy said, “No, this one is mine because I am the one who saved him. If it is dead it is yours, since I saved it, it is mine.”

Who owns a life? We don’t have to go with any philosopher to understand that how much we each want to live. To protect our own life we would do anything. To understand this simple, uncomplicated truth we don’t need Buddha, Krishna or Jesus. Only we have to be honest.

We are humans; we can think. Thinkers become honest and open. An open honest person is rich with wisdom. One who has wisdom will not depend on anyone else’s idea.

Some immaturities hide the truth for the purpose of feeding the ego. We play with life, not knowing the value of life. We are ok when we are having fun, but we are not ok when the time comes around for us to die.

Once Buddha went to an animal sacrifice held by group of other priests. They believed this activity would bring power and prosperity to those who participated and that the animals would go to heaven directly. Buddha disagreed with this event. He was begged them to not to kill the animals but they were convinced that this was not bringing harm to those animal at all. They believed that they were freeing the animals from worldly suffering. Buddha asked if they were really sure the animals were going to heaven. The head priest confirmed yes, that they believed. Buddha asked them if they had children and they answered yes. Then he brought the question to them, “If you are that sure that you can send someone to heaven in this way, why don’t you sacrifice the life of your children for your god? If you are not sure if you would do that, then let these animals go.” They freed the animals.

No one can own another’s life. All living beings have the desire to live. Recently somebody asked me, “Do you eat meat?” I replied that I don’t. The person asked why. I said, “Because I don’t want anyone to eat me or kill me for their food. Since I don’t like it, I think nobody likes it.” To understand this very simple truth, we don’t need any religious master. It is simple. Those who don’t know the value of their own life will not understand the value of another’s life. One who destroys another life will destroy her own life.