What I know about Buddhism could be written on a Post-it-Note with room left over for a Christmas gifts shopping list. But one feature of the belief system that I think is true is the reverence adherents have for all life, not just human and not just animal.
There is a certain sect of monks, for example, who carry a brush with them and sweep the sidewalk in front of them as they walk so they don’t step on and kill any bugs. I thought of that the other day when I was sweeping the floor. I noticed that one of the pieces of dirt in the pile was moving so I watched it. It was a mid-sized spider and it soon extricated itself from the mess and took off. I kept sweeping and thought, “I really don’t need to kill that spider,” so I made a pact with it. If it could disappear by the time I finished sweeping, I wouldn’t bother it. (The truth is I haven’t purposely killed a spider in years).
Turning back to my job, I soon noticed something else. Three tiny spiders were scrambling across the floor in all directions. My sweeping had disturbed a nest, I guess. Momma was the big one and these were her babies. I carefully kept working and avoided the little kids and soon, like their Ma, they had safely crawled out of sight under a baseboard. The next time I see them they will probably be huge and will crawl into my bed and bite me on the nose, but for now, all is well.
As I round third base and head for home, I find myself feeling more connected to all living things and less superior to any. Like that Francis of Assisi guy. When the gigantic outer space aliens invade and are vacuuming us up for breakfast, maybe I’ll catch a break from one of them!
©2013 Jim Hagarty
