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Lama Zopa Rinpoche shopping for flower offerings, Singapore, March 2016. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche sent this letter to a family with whom he stayed. The letter contains advice on how to make this precious human life meaningful, suggesting a dedication for the worms and insects who are harmed when growing, picking, or offering flowers, and for any calves who are harmed in the production of milk for tea. Here’s an excerpt from Rinpoche’s letter:
I wanted to mention one thing. These days I have added in my prayers for the worms and insects harmed by growing, picking, and offering flowers. So many worms die or are killed for the flowers. Often where I go there are flowers in my room, therefore after lunch, if I do purification of pollutions received, I also normally try to do dedication, especially for the calves, because I drink so much tea. I dedicate like this:
Due to all the past, present, and future merits collected by me and all the three-time merits collected by numberless sentient beings and numberless buddhas, may all the calves who suffered so much, or who have died for this milk—the mothers and babies who are separated, with so much suffering and worrying—may they never be reborn in the lower realms and may they immediately be reborn in a pure land where they can get enlightened. May they receive a perfect human body, meet the Mahayana teachings and meet a perfectly qualified Mahayana guru revealing the unmistaken path to enlightenment, and by pleasing the holy mind of the virtuous friend, may they achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible.
These days I also include the worms that have died. I guess worms died for the flowers. I should also dedicate for the people who killed the animals, so I also started to dedicate for the people.
Anyway, of course, flowers are very beautiful. Of course when people own flowers, it’s not so easy, and they have to indirectly kill worms and insects for the flowers to grow.
For this enjoyment we can also collect so many causes of happiness, all the happiness, as I have mentioned, and especially the happiness of enlightenment, by offering these beautiful flowers to the Guru, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. All this is received by the kindness of sentient beings, the animals that died for this, the human beings who worked so hard.
Calves at Lawudo Gompa, Nepal, January 2017. Photo by Laura Miller.
What I wanted to say is this, if there are a lot of animals and worms that die, then I think it’s better not to dig for the plants in the garden. If you want flowers, you can buy them from the flower shop. You can put flowers there in pots, so you don’t have to dig.
Anyway, in case some worms get killed or something, maybe you can offer candles to the Buddha for those worms and dedicate like this:
I dedicate all the past, present and future merits collected by me, and all the three-time merits collected by numberless sentient beings and numberless buddhas, for that worm to never ever get reborn in the lower realms and to have a higher rebirth, and to generate bodhichitta and achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible.
At least do something like that, to pray for that worm, in case one gets killed.
Regarding flowers, maybe buy flowers which are in a pot from the garden shop. You can buy them and make offerings with them, and it is easy.
From the advice “How to Make This Life Most Beneficial,” given in October 2017 and published in December 2017 by Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive on “Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Online Advice Book”:
https://www.lamayeshe.com/advice/how-make-life-most-beneficial
More information, photos, and updates about FPMT spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche can be found on Rinpoche’s webpage on FPMT.org. If you’d like to receive news of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and FPMT via email, sign up to FPMT News.