Excerpt from Living in Blue Sky Mind (Diedrichs): How We Act
How We Act As with speech, we can make the people around us happy or sad by the way we act. We pay attention to what we do and the way we do it. According to Buddha’s second step on the Eightfold Path, we try not to kill things. We want all beings, people, animals, and insects to live and be happy. I know this, and I try. Still, I kill rodents and insects such as rats, mice, cockroaches, centipedes, ants, and mosquitoes. I find it hard to live with these creatures: they bite, and their lifestyles make them unhealthy. Nonetheless, I do not like taking their lives. A centipede or any other hearty insect exerts a lot of life force, especially when scared. While I have my reasons for killing these creatures, I understand Buddha’s point about living my life free from trouble and misery by not killing. I heard a story about a realtor showing a couple around a house that was for sale. In the kitchen, the realtor opened a drawer, and a big cockroach skittered out. The man pic...