My idea is to build a black hole and destroy everything, but this idea may seem evil to many. I have no other idea, and many may say we should allow other beings to continue to suffer, I think this is an evil idea.
How can we end the suffering of all animals?
Are you sure a black hole will destroy everything? Do you understand the world enough to determine what is best for other beings? Why did the Buddha declare the cosmos to be one of the four imponderables? How can you free something or somebody other than yourself as long as you're in shackles?
I am sorry if this sounds harsh: Find the way of freedom from suffering for yourself first. I don't see how you can benefit another being other than being compassionate and searching for the path to the end of suffering for yourself. With gaining freedom for yourself you will more and more see how others can be freed.
It’s almost funny (in a darkly humoristic way) that we who call ourselves “wise humans” (Homo Sapiens) can never see the one guaranteed way to put an end to our troubled and selfish behaviors—change our way of being.
We always seem to take for granted that humans will always act in negative, selfish ways that harms everyone and everything around them. There is no way to change that, or so it seems that we as a species believe that to be the case. We cannot, so the thinking goes, improve ourselves because the human being is a fixed and determined bundle of ignorant and shitty behaviors. Yet when we find ourselves too weak to be in peak health, we change our diet, exercise regularly, and build up our muscles and immune system. But our behaviors are not something we think we can easily change. It’s absurd, and it’s deadly to others.
Yes, the Buddha gave humanity a way to end our individual suffering. But he gave us something more: he gave us an example of what a human being can accomplish when they actually try. I’m not even talking about enlightenment. Sure go for it, but follow the Buddha’s example while you are at it and benefit all along the way.
The answer you seek is called “mahakaruna” and it is a change in your ‘operating system’ that occurs when you follow the path of Avalokitasvara, Manjusri, and all the Buddhas, all of whom changed themselves into beings of Mahakaruna. That word means “Great Responsiveness.” It is a way to be in the world which is the opposite of our normal selfish and destructive way of being. It is the result of meditation using the support used by the Bodhisattvas I mentioned above, and all the Buddhas. Read the Surangama Sutra and pay close attention to the detailed account of how Avalokitasvara describes his path to enlightenment. That is the ultimate goal, but along the way, you are progressively changed into a being that manifests Mahakaruna in all your dealings in the world. It’s not, as some take it, a practice of compassion, although that is virtuous practice as well. Rather, it is an automatic (as we would say today) consideration of all beings in each moment of your life, rather than the focus that we are taught that only considers yourself and what you want.
And then get everyone around you to do it too. That is how you will end the suffering of animals—and what you inflict on others—by changing how you, and we all, operate in the world.
There is even a prophecy in Tibetan Buddhism that recommends this practice as a way of helping all beings survive this next decade and all the troubles coming during it (remember global warming?).
I hope this may change your mind, Achmed, about creating a black hole to end all things.
In maybe a billion years from now or more, Earth's oceans will be boiled away and all life on Earth will be destroyed due to the increase in energy output from the Sun as part of its lifecycle. Later, the Sun will expand and engulf the Earth.
If any other planet in any other star system or galaxy has life, it too will experience the same fate when its star approaches the end of its natural life.
However, somewhere out there, whenever the mind-body (namarupa) phenomena arises again due to evolution, suffering will emerge again. It cannot be avoided forever.
"Why is that? From an inconstruable beginning comes transmigration. A beginning point is not evident, though beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving are transmigrating & wandering on. Long have you thus experienced stress, experienced pain, experienced loss, swelling the cemeteries — enough to become disenchanted with all fabricated things, enough to become dispassionate, enough to be released."
SN 15
Destroying every living being, including all animals, in current world and epoch is not going to liberate them from sansara. If they have not reached liberation by their own merit, they will be reborn in a different world and epoch, in a realm corresponding to their carma. You follow the path and collect merit and dedicate it to the imminent liberation of all human being. Your merit eventually leads to your personal liberation and you can't accumulate merit for someone else, leave alone a whole realm of beings. However when you're a buddha or a boddhisattva, your capacity to help other beings to accumulate merit of their own is immense.
Animals such as dogs, cats etc. became that type of being by doing various misdeeds when they were humans a long time ago. These Asathpurusha — People who did bad things — became animals to repay for the bad things they did, so they can rebalance the world.
Animals are a result of that previous human who did bad things. Therefore, you cannot end the suffering of all the Animals in the world. Nothing you do will make them back Humans, not until they've paid their debt, not until they get a Human Type from the random pool for the next life at the death.
However, there are things you CAN do to prevent more Animals from coming to the world.
How exactly? By making more people aware about the nature of reality and making them aware about Buddhism.
If you do X, Y, Z things all the time, then your next life is crafted based on what you think, do and say. If you can turn more people to do stuff that gets a Human life, that's how you stop creating more Animals.
IF you can help 1 person to attain Sowan (Sotapanna), Sakrudagami (Sakadagami), Anagami or Arihath (Arahant), that's how you prevent 1 more Animal coming to the world for FOREVER.
You think your idea of "destroying all the animals in the world with a Black Hole" isn't evil, but it is not. Not sure why? Let me explain!
No one likes to be killed. No one likes to be hurt. As such you're doing an evil thing for the Animals by killing them to save them without their explicit permission. Even if you have the permission from the Animals, you're in fact doing a misdeed by killing them. That accumulates you sins or "factors" to be born as a potential animal in the next life, guaranteed death by such situations in future lives.
Even if you killed them, they will still be reborn as Animals or as an another being which still have suffering. Because it does not matter if it's an Animal, Human, Deva or a Brahma, suffering is still there. That's why attaining Arhat stage is important.
Then the "Black Hole" is actually a Hell where Pure Delusional people are reborn who perform Anantariya Sins such as killing their biological mother or father among 6 other things.
That hell does not get destroyed even at the biggest end of the worlds. Beings there live for a Trillions of Trillion years until their debt is paid.
If you're wondering why allowing animals to suffer isn't evil, here's why.
That "Animal" was born to pay its debt accumulated by its own misdeeds when it became a Human. By allowing them to continue their course of life, you're giving them the chance to pay that debt the only way that Animal can pay it.
By not trying to change the fate of that Animal through inefficient and illogical means, you're creating a ton more Raga (Lust), Dwesha (Anger), Moha (Delusion) thoughts, actions which pollute the world. How deep is that pollution? That spreads up to 10,000 Lokha Dhatus. That means you're causing a huge chain of Negative Energy and Sins not just for you & that animal, but trillions and trillions of beings in all 31 Realms.
So as a summary, you cannot end the suffering of anyone by killing them. The only way is attaining Nibbana which prevents being born as any type of being including the Animals. Right now, you won't see this as the only way, but as you dig deeper on WHY, you'll realize it.
Good luck on your journey!
buddha seems to have said according to the discourse:
"Monks, I can imagine no one group of beings more variegated than that of common animals. Common animals are created by mind."
I'm not sure exactly what that means.the second line doesn’t have much to do with the rest of the teaching therein. perhaps it alludes to the mind as that which divides the subject-object (me and not me)? if the mind didn't do that, then i guess there would be no animal at all.
based on the quote and my construing the meaning, it might suggest that if one fixes their mind, or clears it of delusion, or however the division is destroyed, then that might perhaps end the suffering of all animals.
