RP works cited list!!!

Works Cited

1.Chen, Yu-min. 陳玉敏. “Fang-sheng-niao bu-zhua, mai mai zhen-xiang” <放生鳥捕 抓、買賣真相> [The Truth behind the Practice of Releasing the Captured
Birds] Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST). 2 Nov. 2004.
http://www.east.org.tw/01/link3-32.htm.

2.Chiu, Yu-Tzu. “Freeing Captured Birds Criticized.” The Buddhist Channel. 3 Nov.
2004. http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=1,101,0,0,1,0.

3.Dhammananda, K. Sri. “Buddhist Morality and Practice.” What Buddhists Believe.
Taipei: The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation, 2000.

4.Harvey, Peter. Buddhism. New York: Printer Publishers, 2001.

5.The Association of Buddhism and Beneficence. Q&A for the practice of releasing the
captured animals. <<放生問答>>. Taiwan: 和裕出版社, 1998.

6.Woodbury, Angus M. “Introduction.” Principles of General Ecology. New York:
McGraw-Hill Book Company, 2000.

RP First hand data collection!!

About the 1st hand data collection for my RP, I plan to take part in the practice of releasing the captured animals, which is held by 蓮子放生團. I will take down the merits as well as the flaws in the activity. I will mainly focus on how do they treat the captured animals during the process, and I will also take notice of their time control and location choosing. I hope that by this experience I could find a even better way to release the captured animals. ^^ Besides, I have some Buddhist friends, who have a lot of experience of such practice, and I can turn to them as well if necessary.

RP Thesis and Outline (NEW)!!

Thesis: Buddhism encourages people to have kindness toward animals (for saving not only our family and friends in the previous lives but also the “Buddhas” in the future), and therefore Buddhists carry out the practice of releasing the captured animals out of pity. However, many people starts to oppose such practice because it might do harm to the animals, the ecological environment, and even human beings if we do it in an improper way. Thus, we need to know the proper way of performing such practice. We should bear the following suggestions in mind: 1. no beforehand order, 2. no fixed patterns, 3. the appropriate locations and environment, 4. time control. By releasing the animals properly, we could save even more lives. Finally, the intention is even more important for such practice. As long as one has a good intention, the trivial practice in daily lives such as to save a tiny insect or not to kill a mosquito will be infinitely significant.
I. The motif of releasing the captured animals:
A. All the living beings we can see now might our relatives or close friends in our
countless past lives.
B. People feel compassionate toward the captured animals.
C. If we save a being, we might save a Buddha in the future since every being has the
potential to become a Buddha.
II. Why do some people oppose such good-intended practice?
A. The practice has become too commercialized (even to be a cruel business).
B. It is apt to cause the death of those captured animals as well as other animals that are
inhabiting the releasing spots.
C. It is apt to destroy the ecological balance.
D. It is apt to bring health risk to human beings (e.g. bird flu).
III. The methods of releasing the captured animals properly:
A. No beforehand order.
B. No fixed patterns.
C. The appropriate locations and environment.
D. Time control.
Ⅳ. The importance of one’s attitude and intention:
A. “Karma is volition.”
B. To avoid killing in daily lives could be another good choice for one to cultivate
as well as carry out compassion.
C. The power of volition could turn a trivial practice into being infinitely significant.

RP Introduction!!

According to the Buddhist doctrine, every being will have a rebirth after death, and the next rebirth is decided by the karmas and actions one had done in the previous life. Before attaining (at least) arahatship (the lowest level in Buddhism, having no further possibility of rebirth), one will have endless rebirth as well as death. “Rebirth can be as a human, but also as an animal: land animal, fish, bird or insect.” Based on this concept, all the living beings we can see now might our relatives or close friends in our countless past lives; a mosquito might be your mother a long time ago, or you might be a cattle, which is going to be butchered and sold to a meat vendor. Besides, since all beings (both humans and animals) “are just like oneself in disliking pain and liking happiness,” the Buddhist ethical precept, “to abstain from injury to living beings,” “applies to the treatment of both humans and animals.” “Human beings may be superior to animals because of their spiritual potential, but they should show their superiority in good treatment of fellow sentient beings, not by exploiting them.” What is more, every being has the potential to become a Buddha, and based on this aspect, if we save a being, we might save a Buddha in the future (Harvey). As a result, Buddhism encourages people to have kindness toward animals (for saving not only our family and friends in the previous lives but also the “Buddhas” in the future), and therefore Buddhists carry out the practice of releasing the captured animals out of pity.