AMITUOFUO
My mother in law took my wife and I to a Taiwanese Buddhist Temple in Rockville, Maryland a few times over the past year. She likes to attend to remind us of the values we hold and to practice peace and serenity. Even though I am Cambodian and can’t understand a single word they are saying during the chants; their is a calming and tranquil feeling during the sessions. I feel it is good to attend to just be more at peace rather than any religious undertone.
This past Sunday, my mother in law invited us with a new addition, HENRY!, to come with them to release some animals. Last year, they released some turtles and now some frogs. Sounds dumb huh. Sounds ridiculous huh. Well its not. Its a very kind gesture to life and to remind you how precious it can be.
PLAN AND RESCUE
We drove up to Rockville to visit the Great Wall supermarket. A typical asian grocery store but one stark difference, they sell turtles and frogs. There was a moderately size container with a billion frogs it seems in it. Frogs were stuffed to the brim all squished one right on top of each other, shoulder to shoulder would be an understatement!
So along with other members from the temple, it was time to save! What did we all do, we bought the whole container full of frogs! It had to literally be over 100 frogs. Wow what some lucky frogs. Not save some but save them all!
It was really funny when another Chinese couple came up to try to buy a couple frogs. My mother in law said sorry, they are all bought. They said, we just want a couple. MIL said sorry all bought. We stepped away for a second to deal with the employee to get the frogs. The Chinese couple then AGAIN tried to buy some frogs. Then all as a group we had to step in and butt them out to say they are all TAKEN. They just aid why can’t we have a couple haha. Sorry, we out to save animals not kill them.
All 100+ frogs were transferred to 6 large buckets. They were hopping in and out. Constantly had to grab and place in a bucket. All the other Great Wall customers thought we were having a feast…sike.
RELEASE!
We drove to a Great Falls Park and trekked to a very secluded part of the river. We poured all the frogs into the water and let them go free. We watched them swim away, some looked confused, some wanted to explore, some stared at us. We prayed for them and wish them well from our hearts. We hope they go on to live a free life.
Whats to take away from this. It really showed how crazy life can be. In one sec, they are tonights dinner, but in another, they are saved and free. A simple thought and kind heart, can save so many lives. Its not so hard. It is sad to know they know very little what is going on, why they are in a bucket with 1000 others crammed. What is their purpose? What were they bred for? All for nothing? But now they are free to live and are given a fighting chance to survive. It shows us, they little do they know, live is so precious. That eating them and killing them is just sometimes so cruel. If all people could see an action like this and be more aware. They just might be touched in the heart and have a better understanding of live in general. Its not just some meal. There is a purpose. To enjoy and appreciate life as it is.
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