How skilfully is it to cut of grass with lawnmover?

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villkorkarma
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How skilfully is it to cut of grass with lawnmover?

Post by villkorkarma »

How skilfully is it to cut of grass with lawnmover?
one suffer because one hasnt existed long : )
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LonesomeYogurt
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Re: How skilfully is it to cut of grass with lawnmover?

Post by LonesomeYogurt »

I don't think there's any problem with it! So long as you don't intentionally kill any living beings, it should be fine.
Gain and loss, status and disgrace,
censure and praise, pleasure and pain:
these conditions among human beings are inconstant,
impermanent, subject to change.

Knowing this, the wise person, mindful,
ponders these changing conditions.
Desirable things don’t charm the mind,
undesirable ones bring no resistance.

His welcoming and rebelling are scattered,
gone to their end,
do not exist.
- Lokavipatti Sutta

Stuff I write about things.
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tiltbillings
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Re: How skilfully is it to cut of grass with lawnmover?

Post by tiltbillings »

LonesomeYogurt wrote:I don't think there's any problem with it! So long as you don't intentionally kill any living beings, it should be fine.
But what if you know that there little peeper frogs and toads and countless insects living in the grass that will not fare well being run over by the cyclone of death machine?
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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manas
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Re: How skilfully is it to cut of grass with lawnmover?

Post by manas »

We could try going over the area beforehand with a rake, while raking up some of the bigger twigs and sticks, some of the creatures might get the message that something is about to happen, and clear off.

I don't like mowing because I'm aware that probably thousands of tiny insects lose their lives in the process, but if I let the grass grow too long, I could be held as breaking one of the conditions of my lease, and could end up being evicted. Right now, becoming homeless - literally - would not help in my dhamma practice, because then my kids could no longer stay over on weekends, etc -and they need their father in their lives, in an environment more secure than a cheap caravan park or rooming house...

As laypersons, sometimes we need to weigh things up, and sometimes either decision we make is imperfect, ime.
To the Buddha-refuge i go; to the Dhamma-refuge i go; to the Sangha-refuge i go.
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m0rl0ck
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Re: How skilfully is it to cut of grass with lawnmover?

Post by m0rl0ck »

If you cut the grass, thousands of living beings will die. A nap, on the other hand, harms no one.
“The truth knocks on the door and you say, "Go away, I'm looking for the truth," and so it goes away. Puzzling.” ― Robert M. Pirsig
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contemplating
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Re: How skilfully is it to cut of grass with lawnmover?

Post by contemplating »

so what then should one do? cut the grass with scissors to ensure that no sentient beings are harmed? Could it be equated to driving to work and not knowing that you ran over/into hundreds of bugs and insects, even though you most likely did?
SarathW
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Re: How skilfully is it to cut of grass with lawnmover?

Post by SarathW »

:goodpost:
Good question.
I always thought why bother cutting grass. It is noisy, environment pollution, costly, harm living beings etc.
Only reason I cut grass is as my neighbour cut his!
Why can't we see the beauty of grass without cutting it?
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
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manas
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Re: How skilfully is it to cut of grass with lawnmover?

Post by manas »

It's all well and good for those who own their own home. But those of us who rent could get evicted if we never cut the lawn. I would prefer not to cut it also. But I ask those who judge us unwilling yet obligated lawn-cutters, what would you do? Let it grow to chest height, creating a fire hazard for the neighbours? Tell the landlord "my religion prohibits the mowing of lawns, sorry". If I did that, I'd get a notice to vacate. And for persons on my income, it's VERY hard to get a flat or unit nowadays.
:shrug:
To the Buddha-refuge i go; to the Dhamma-refuge i go; to the Sangha-refuge i go.
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cooran
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Re: How skilfully is it to cut of grass with lawnmover?

Post by cooran »

Set the blades at a higher level. Most non-flying insects live right at ground level and would be missed by the blades. The flying ones leave the area. The noise of the mower will warn non-flyers to take cover in holes or dips.

In Australia, not cutting the grass would leave you and your neighbours open to deadly snakes and fires – as well as prosecution from council.

with metta
Chris
---The trouble is that you think you have time---
---Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe---
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Mr. Grimnasty
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Re: How skilfully is it to cut of grass with lawnmover?

Post by Mr. Grimnasty »

villkorkarma wrote:How skilfully is it to cut of grass with lawnmover?
With a sickle is more skilful. Most skilful is with a scythe. Use no fossil fuel and get some exercise.

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Ben
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Re: How skilfully is it to cut of grass with lawnmover?

Post by Ben »

It all depends on whether you can do something like this:
lucy_pringle_crop_circle.jpg
lucy_pringle_crop_circle.jpg (50.38 KiB) Viewed 2820 times
And remember, kamma is intention.
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

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alan
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Re: How skilfully is it to cut of grass with lawnmover?

Post by alan »

Hah! Good one Ben.
The answer to the original question:
Cutting grass has no effect whatsoever on your Kamma, and it is not a question of skill.
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manas
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Re: How skilfully is it to cut of grass with lawnmover?

Post by manas »

cooran wrote:Set the blades at a higher level. Most non-flying insects live right at ground level and would be missed by the blades. The flying ones leave the area. The noise of the mower will warn non-flyers to take cover in holes or dips.
...
Chris
Thanks Chris, that is a good idea

metta
To the Buddha-refuge i go; to the Dhamma-refuge i go; to the Sangha-refuge i go.
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