An article was released recently by the NZ Herald, citing members of society, who have claimed to be visitors of Fo Guang Shan Buddhist temple, for ‘releasing life’ from restaurants back into the local environment. We would like to publicly clarify that such acts of releasing animals is not something that is propagated at the Fo Guang Shan temple and reinforce the message against animal release in NZ and urge society to apply wisdom when desiring to act on compassion. The following extract from Venerable Master Hsing Yun (Founder Of Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order) in his recent speech emphasises on this matter and is advocated by Fo Guang Shan:
“Compassion and tolerance alone are not enough. They need to be supplemented by wisdom. In this world, the meaning of compassion is often distorted, leading to excessive indulgence and turning a blind eye to what is wrong. When applied inappropriately, compassion can become the source of crimes and wrongdoings. For instance, the common practice of freeing live animals actually causes harm to more animal lives. Inappropriate and lavish giving of money only nurture greed and corruption. Therefore, true compassion and tolerance must be supplemented by prajna wisdom to prevent traveling down the wrong path, rendering the initial intentions futile.”
For further contact regarding this matter. Please contact Craig – craig@fgs.org.nz