Question asked by Ivy
Dear Rinpoche,
I have done something I feel horribly about out of negligence. I had a beautiful fish pond in my back yard which I had stocked with small "feeder" goldfish I had rescued from the fish store… It has been several years since we purchased these fish and they had grown large and beautiful, and had baby fish this year that were starting to grow as well… Along with the fish, we had frogs, and thousands of tadpoles etc.
Yesterday, I went to add a small amount of water to the pond due to evaporation, and became distracted and forgot to turn off the hose. I left it on all night, and found that everything in the pond had died this morning due to the addition of so much untreated water. I feel horrible!
I certainly had no intention to harm these creatures, nor do I rejoice in my actions, but I still feel as if this is a heavy negative karma for me. Also, I would like to do some practice to benefit those beings that lost their lives due to my carelessness. Please, will you advise. Thank you so much, Ivy
Dear Ivy,
Make a Medicine Buddha statue dedicated to all the fishes that passed. You can recite the 35 Confessional Buddha Sutra daily and dedicate to them with offerings to Medicine Buddha.
TR