Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Anyone Agnostic here?

I really like this line of thinking.


I love this line of thinking too, always taking it to the next level.

I'm not an authority on this by any means. And I expect that different teachers would approach this differently, especially because I am not sure if we can call microbes "sentient beings." But in general the principal is that one should be mindful of what one is doing when one takes an antibiotic, which is slaughtering billions of organisms. It may be worth it, but it is still regretable and is should be done with that awareness and avoided when unnecessary (which is really what the medical community has come to as well, which is that we should not overuse antibiotics). Of course, our immune systems in the course of a normal day are also slaughtering millions of organisms, too, and this can help us remember that life, by its very nature, comes at the expense of other life.

Phylum Bigots!!!

If vegetarians knew what really lived in the soil, they would cry everytime a seed was thrust into the ground.

I am serious.

I met Dr Elaine Ingham 7 years ago and got a lecture on the soil food web. There are literally millions of undiscovered species of microscopic organisms in the soil and the ocean. ( I have seen jars of unidentified white eyeless arthropods pulled from the soil in Texas that have no match. )

Some of the Arthropods in their dormant state can withstand temps > 300 degrees F ( near absolute zero ) and thousands of atmospheres of pressure.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade

Tardigrades have been known to withstand the following extremes while in this state:

Temperature � tardigrades can survive being heated for a few minutes to 151�C or being chilled for days at -200�C, or for a few minutes at -272�C. (1� warmer than absolute zero).[11]

Pressure � they can withstand the extremely low pressure of a vacuum and also very high pressures, many times greater than atmospheric pressure. It has recently been demonstrated that tardigrades can survive the vacuum of open space and solar radiation combined for at least 10 days.[12]

Recent research has notched up another feat of endurance: they can withstand 6,000 atmospheres pressure, which is nearly six times the pressure of water in the deepest ocean trench. [13]

Dehydration - tardigrades have been shown to survive nearly one decade in a dry state.[14] Another researcher reported that a tardigrade survived over a period of 120 years in a dehydrated state, but soon died after 2 to 3 minutes.[15]

Subsequent research has cast doubt on its accuracy since it was only a small movement in the leg.[16]

Radiation � as shown by Raul M. May from the University of Paris, tardigrades can withstand 5,700 grays or 570,000 rads of x-ray radiation. (Ten to twenty grays or 1,000�2,000 rads could be fatal to a human). The only explanation thus far for this ability is that their lowered hydration state provides fewer reactants for the ionizing radiation.

Recent experiments conducted by Cai and Zabder have also shown that these tardigrades can undergo chemobiosis � a cryptobiotic response to high levels of environmental toxins. However, their results have yet to be verified.[17][18]

In September 2008, a space launch showed that tardigrades can survive the extreme environment of outer space for 10 days. After being rehydrated back on earth, over 68% of the subjects protected from high-energy UV radiation survived and many of these produced viable embryos, and a handful survived full exposure to the sun.[19]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_food_web

But the real question is....do they taste good?

LOL, SPG!

Tardigrades? They are on just about every piece of fresh vegetable.

I hear they taste like chicken. They go good with curry!

I certainly cannot speak for all vegetarians. But I think many Buddhists (regardless of whether vegetarian or not) are quite mindful of the lives of sacrificed so that we can eat. That is what I was getting at when I said



This certainly includes the insects, worms, and other organisms in the soil, as well as the plants themselves.

Shinran sent some beets with his servant on her day off to give her parents. When she returned she said that her parents thanked Shinran for the beets. Shinran was confused and said, "don't thank me; they should thank the beets!"

The Jainists are much more into avoiding taking life than the Buddhists. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism

And I think the big point for Buddhists is not even so much about the specific lives, but the overall attitude of gratitude, humility, mindfulness of others and the general nature of life--that some must suffer and die for life to exist for others. One way (only one of many) that Buddhists reinforce those goals and their awareness of those truths is through apologies to those who suffer and die for human nourishment.

I think of it as being something akin to saying a prayer of thanks before a meal. This is like that gratitude, with the addition of an apology for the suffering we necessarily cause.

I think getting bogged down in the apology part of it rather misses the spiritual point...

Disclaimer: I'm FAR from an expert!

I think you're right; the attitude that comes from recognizing the causes and conditions that make one's life possible is one of gratitude and a desire to make one's own life meaningful, a sense of responsibility (not guilt) to keep the gifts of life moving. To receive and to give.

There is perhaps a parallel in Christianity. I think for some Christians, at least, the attitude of communion is gratitude. If Christ died for me, for my sins, then I feel awe and a debt of gratitude for that sacrifice and I want to do all I can to repay that love by loving others. This is generalizable to awe at creation itself and a recognition that we are responsible for taking care, as best we can, of what God has given us.

Buddhism and Christianity are not the same, but I think they both have much to teach us about being grateful.

Regardless of what religion DS is or follows or does not follow, I still think that mindfulness and gratitude are attributes I hope to be able to help instill in him. He has been very fortunate--I would like him to feel grateful, but not guilty.

I guess I'm feeling some responsibility to bring this all back to our kids. One of the rituals we have in our home is simply to say something we are grateful for at the beginning of each meal. We call it the "Happiness Game." If there is a God, I figure then God must hear this and be happy that we are counting our blessings. If there is no God, then we are still creating a grateful spirit in our home and that must have some practical benefits. Grateful people are often happier! I guess I'm saying that for our family this is a ritual that works well regardless of belief system and I haven't met anyone who was offended by it!