The first of the five precepts that all Buddhists should follow is "Avoid killing, or harming any living thing." However, this precept has been a big problem for a Hong Kong woman whose mother is a Buddhist, as she discouraged her from killing a cockroach at home.
The woman shared her “sob story” on an online forum earlier, saying that her Buddhist mom had insisted on not killing any living thing, even after she discovered a cockroach at home.
She said her mom spared the cockroach’s life and let the cockroach live for another day.
“Our home had not seen any cockroach for years, who knows if the cockroach will lay eggs and cause an infestation?” The woman said.
The woman added that her mom initially told her the cockroach was “tiny.”
“On the next day when I was doing household chores, I discovered the ‘huge’ cockroach hiding under the sofa. I could only man up and kill it myself,” she wrote.
The woman said she would never tell her mom that she had killed the cockroach or “she would definitely ask me to chant sutras to send off the cockroach - one of the most common pests.”
Netizens are leaving supportive comments under her post, showing their sympathy.
“It is ok to be religious, but when your religion affected others in a way that would affect their daily life, it is too much,” one netizen wrote.
She said her mom spared the cockroach’s life and let the cockroach live for another day.
“Our home had not seen any cockroach for years, who knows if the cockroach will lay eggs and cause an infestation?” The woman said.
The woman added that her mom initially told her the cockroach was “tiny.”
“On the next day when I was doing household chores, I discovered the ‘huge’ cockroach hiding under the sofa. I could only man up and kill it myself,” she wrote.
The woman said she would never tell her mom that she had killed the cockroach or “she would definitely ask me to chant sutras to send off the cockroach - one of the most common pests.”
Netizens are leaving supportive comments under her post, showing their sympathy.
“It is ok to be religious, but when your religion affected others in a way that would affect their daily life, it is too much,” one netizen wrote.