Concern for Ants and Worms

Concern for Ants and Worms

Date of Advice:
July 2017
Date Posted:
May 2019

Rinpoche wrote this card to two Sangha members who were doing the Charity to Ants practice every week and were also liberating animals weekly.

Most dear ones,

I have been thinking that it may be difficult for the ants to carry the tsampa, even if it is in very small pieces, when it is made like pak, a Tibetan food, like when you make a torma, then you make small pieces for the fish, so [do it] like that. I don’t mean a big size, but very, very small pieces—flat or round or whatever, but very small—so the ants can carry the food to their blissful mandala.

Regarding the worms, if it is very dry where we liberate them, then they might die. What do you think? If it is dark earth, especially a little bit wet, then it’s very good. You may even need to water it again after the liberation or a few days later. You can check. I have seen on TV that where the worms come from originally, the ground is very wet. It is where ocean or swamp water has been and when the ocean or swamp water goes back, at that time people carrying buckets dig and find the worms. They don’t find them all the time.

What do you think about this? I don’t know, but you are doing it often, so what is your opinion on this?

Numberless thanks to both of you.