Is there any religion where life is considered so sacred that it is forbidden to kill bugs?
The Jains try to avoid killing insects.
I’m not sure if it’s explicitly a sin, or forbidden, but I recall reading that devout Jains wear masks over their mouths to prevent them from inadvertently inhaling and killing insects.
As I recall, some Bhuddists have sandals which are sorta “hollow” so they don’t crush bugs if they happen to step on them.
I know some Quakers don’t believe in killing anything that’s living.
I’d always thought this was a myth. Wikipedia’s only mention of Jains wearing masks is “to prevent spit droplets from landing on holy images or books.” Of course, Wikipedia is far from infallible…
Ever driven in Colorado? For that matter, ever been in any form of transportation faster than your own two feet in Colorado, driven by anyone, especially one with a windshield? Sometimes there’s not much you can do.
I saw a film on Jains years ago and a woman said it was hard to be a strict follower because of insects. She said she made an exception with flies. It sounded the same as many other religions, in that some followers bent the rules if it was an extreme hardship.
[nitpick]It’s hard to kill anything that isn’t.
(bolding added) :eek:
I’m a Quaker, and I’ve never heard of a prohibition on killing insects, or even animals. (I don’t think the proportion of vegetarians amongst Quakers is any higher than it is among the general public.) Nonviolence is about nonviolence towards one’s fellow human beings.
Well, the bolding would have been added if I knew how to code. :smack:
The Jain concept of ahimsa (non-violence) does indeed seem to apply to insects.
Apparently, they go so far as to avoid root vegetables like carrots because that kills the plant.
Here is another cite.
Sailboat
Judaism is against the killing of bugs without cause. If catching a bug and letting it go outside is possible, the talmud recommends it. If a bug is actually dangerous (this would include killing mosquito larva due to risk of West Nile), or if somebody is deeply disturbed by the bug (somebody with a phobia of spiders for example), then killing is permitted.
If however I find a grasshopper in my living room and kill it, I’ve committed a sin.
But I’m still cool killing those centipedes that crawl on my bedroom ceiling and wait to drop into my mouth while I’m asleep and they’re EVIL AND THEY COME FROM SATAN AND THEY’RE WATCHING ME AND THEY HAVE MORE LEGS THAN ANY RIGHTEOUS BEING?
Ahh, I stand corrected. Thanks for the interesting link.
Man I hope so. Those are the one thing that squick me out to the point where I have to run screaming from the room and lose all Ability to Deal with the Situation. So I guess that counts as a phobia.
Touche’
Fortunately one of my cats has taken to killing them. So when I find one, I don’t have to summon up the courage to deal with it myself. I just go grab the cat and point her at it.
Now if PETA would just come with methodology for dealing with Catholic priests…