Buddhists Buy, Release Over 500 Live Lobsters Back To The Sea

Last week, 30 Tibetan Buddhists in Gloucester, Massachusetts purchased 534 lobsters (600 pounds) from a seafood wholesaler and then released them into the sea. The group "sprayed the lobsters with blessed water, clipped the bands binding their dangerous claws and released them one by one," reports Reuters.

The group was observing Chokhor Duchen, or Wheel Turning Day, the anniversary of Buddha's first sermon.

The Boston Globe originally reported that after the ceremony, lobsterman visited the site and re-hauled all the lobsters that were set free. The Globe got its information from the blog Good Morning Gloucester but the blog author admitted it was a joke. He explained:

I was wrong to assume that because I predominantly write our hyperlocal blog for our Cape Ann residents that people would understand how preposterous the notion that you could have time to move all the lobster gear even if they knew where the lobsters were released and to set it and for those lobsters which were probably miles away from that location would ever get caught.

This morning, Good Morning Gloucester posted an entry from an organizer in the "lobster liberation" event. The participant has no hard feelings, even if the lobstermen did actually re-catch the released lobsters:

Whether in good taste or not, there is no offense on our part from the joke the Degelyse crew members and others put out there with the YouTube video. We urge everyone to maintain hearts of compassion and love, and not harbor any ill will toward each other. Anger and similar negative minds are destructive, and don’t ever accomplish anything substantial or lasting. We offered the ceremony last week not just for the benefit of the lobsters involved, but also for the benefit of all beings. There is always a ripple effect to our actions, and when the intention is pure and good, small actions of putting kindness and love out into the world affect more than just those immediately involved. We want everyone to realize happiness, true, unending happiness… the lobsters and the lobstermen!

So now it seems like everyone is happy, though we don't know what actually became of the lobsters.

Comments

[Noble9]

05:37 PM on 10/07/2011

What a silly waste. Why not pull bugs out of a spider's web? Or dig up nuts that squirrels bury? Locating and capturing food expends energy. Releasing it just means that the hunter suffers instead of the hunted.

The one great truth of life is that there are no free rides...something must die for you to live. Making peace with that fact makes it easier to avoid such counter-productive activities.

[bob riversmith]

12:25 PM on 09/30/2011

Some bits of news just make me smile.

"So now it seems like everyone is happy, though we don't know what actually became of the lobsters."

Everything was recycled, the lobsters went back into the ocean and the lobster-men were paid.

I suppose that's why I like Buddhists.

[nixthetrix]

05:36 PM on 08/27/2011

Ironic that crusteations are predators who eat other living animals . And yet it is somehow a problem that they are also part of the food chain for omnivores like humans . Even humans are part of the food chain from time to time (and always since bacteria attack and consume humans on a regular basis) .

[bob riversmith]

12:26 PM on 09/30/2011

Compassion sets us apart.

[Ichor]

07:54 AM on 08/21/2011

Fishermen must love this practice. Increasing supply and demand all at the same time!

[annedyth]

03:13 PM on 08/24/2011

Maybe, but maybe also the lobsters get to breed before they get recaptured...

[bob riversmith]

12:29 PM on 09/30/2011

That's why the whole exercise is so charming ... I HOPE the lobster-men are laughing, and the Buddhists are smiling ... and that some of the lobsters, at least, got away ... and in their own small way, they are laughing too.

I know someone who'd definitely be laughing ... Lao Tsu.

[codersully]

10:47 PM on 08/19/2011

Send them here: http://www.overnightlobster.com if they want to release some more! LOL!

[cira23]

12:33 AM on 08/14/2011

It's always been one of my dreams to do that! This made my day.

[minunperhonen]

08:57 PM on 08/12/2011

At the Maine Lobster Festival (MLF), "lobsters get boiled alive, it’s that you do it yourself—or at least it’s done specifically for you, on-site. As mentioned, the World’s Largest Lobster Cooker, which is highlighted as an attraction in the Festival’s program, is right out there on the MLF’s north grounds for everyone to see. Try to imagine a Nebraska Beef Festival at which part of the festivities is watching trucks pull up and the live cattle get driven down the ramp and slaughtered right there on the World’s Largest Killing Floor or something...."

http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2004/08/consider_the_lobster

[Mishal Zeera]

04:16 PM on 08/12/2011

The "live release" is a popular Tibetan/Himalayan Buddhist practise, done with all kinds of creatures as well. Chatral Rinpoche in Nepal organises massive yearly fish releases - truckloads and truckloads of fish.

[unitycenter]

09:30 PM on 08/13/2011

I am a vegetarian, love animals and all living creatures. I also l also appreciate a reasoned approach to life. Education is the best way to help animals, by cutting demand. Buying and releasing does nothing to cut demand and it rewards the people who are significantly engaged in the practice Buddhists are against. They should spend the money on education.
I have seen Buddhists buying and releasing bait fish at a marina so asked the owner how he feels about it. He very likes the extra money. Of course, when the Buddhists leave, the bait tank is replenished with new fish. The net effect is less than neutral, it rewards the actions Buddhists are trying to end. Many of the fish are eaten by predatory fish that live near the bait tank. They are a well appreciated feast for the predators.
A worse practice is releasing birds, usually swallows, sold by vendors outside Pagodas. This is a cruel practice allowing, weak and thirsty birds to be released in the heat of day to a likely death. I have seen children pick up the birds that couldn’t fly and toss them into the air, only to fall back to the ground. I tried to give the birds water and, unsuccessful with that, put them in a tree. Now the Monks at the Pagoda know the results of this practice. Hopefully they wont allow the selling of birds in front of the Pagoda and will educate their parishioners to stop buying.

[Mishal Zeera]

01:03 AM on 08/15/2011

Thank you for your insight.

[nixthetrix]

05:27 PM on 08/27/2011

Apparently you do not extend this love of life to plants .... interesting .

[karen lyons kalmenson]

12:39 PM on 08/12/2011

way cool and works for me!!!!

but i bet it made a lotta seafood eaters crabby:-D

[we-r-stardust]

01:18 PM on 08/12/2011

Those seafood eaters probably think the Buddhists are a bunch of chowder heads...;-)

[karen lyons kalmenson]

01:22 PM on 08/12/2011

and would tell em to clam up

[mose joseph workman]

10:54 AM on 08/12/2011

here's one more reason why buddhism isn't faring well in the west: of all the urgent humanitarian concerns on this planet, from haiti to somalia, this group of well-intentioned sentient beings choose lobsters to squander their money and effort on, when, in the end, these same lobsters will end up in another trap and onto the dinner table; it's called Karma, and obviously these people skipped that chapter in the cookbook.

[Mishal Zeera]

04:20 PM on 08/12/2011

Buddhists have a less anthropocentric viewpoint than Christians. Muslims and Jews. Bear in mind they aren't vegetarians, too - popular misconception. The reasoning is very different from your understanding of Karma, from what I gather.

[Tenjikuronin]

02:45 PM on 08/15/2011

Tibetans aren't vegetarians, but many South Asian Buddhists are.

[Cindbird]

12:39 AM on 08/13/2011

Buddhism IS faring well in the West. The release was part of a celebration of the Buddha's First Sermon called The First Turning of the Wheel of Dharma. We release all kinds of creatures during this day. As to humanitarian needs, most Buddhists are very involved in humanitarian causes like Haiti and Somalia and many others. It's a part of what we do every day. From contributing money to organizations working in those areas to helping clean up after tornadoes to helping support schools and food programs in our local towns. It is simply a part of who we are. Many work in homeless shelters or help in food banks. There are many Buddhist charitable organizations that are working with poor communities in other countries. The release this article talks about was simply a part of a celebration of Buddha's First Sermon. It is NOT the total extent of what we Buddhists contribute to our communities.

[Dharma kate]

02:56 AM on 08/12/2011

The monastics at Gampo Abbey in Pleasant Bay, Cape Breton (Nova Scotia, Canada) have been doing this for years.

[whalepeace]

09:26 PM on 08/11/2011

Yay for the Tibetan Buddhists! May all the Lobster Liberators enjoy good karma, a happy life and take a most auspicious rebirth.

One of the ways of gaining merit by good deeds in Tibetan Buddhism is to save animals from slaughter by buying and releasing them. Way to go.

[cuoi]

07:29 PM on 08/11/2011

Help!! "Rock Lobster" song by B-52's has invaded my brain and won't get out! Somebody coat me in butter!
But seriously, now folks (that song is really staying in my head), lobsters can live 100 years. Shouldn't that afford them some sort of seniority for living on this planet?

[StopCensoringMe]

07:10 PM on 08/11/2011

Dharma. Does a heart good.

[Tulka2]

03:23 PM on 08/11/2011

Okay, if you feel like mocking this story?  I have a challenge for you.  Read this story and then re-read it after you have read Fredrick Douglas's autobiography.  It's a short little book.  An hour's read and it should be in your bucket list anyway.

[cuoi]

07:34 PM on 08/11/2011

I don't feel like mocking the story but read briefly an excerpt of his autobiography on Wiki. Don't know how I missed this one. In the bucket. Thanks.

[Tulka2]

08:48 PM on 08/11/2011

Hi, i went to Wiki and read the synopsis of the first book, which is the one i am referring to.  What Wiki's synopsis does not capture is the shock  of hearing it out of Douglas's mouth and in his own words.  Here is a copy of the book, free from Project Gutenberg.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23

I could not help but notice, the attitude of slave holders toward their slaves was just the same as their attitude toward their pigs, horses and probably lobsters too.... and it drew me up sharp to wonder about this attitude towards any living creature.  America was made for the white man in 1862 and everything in it was his to use and abuse just as he saw fit.  While we have made a dent in institutional racism, the attitudes of many on the religious right have not changed about the rest of creation even as they were forced to pry loose their hands from our fellow black citizens.  So....it gave me pause to read what the impressions of a young human being were while being treated like animals are still treated today. 

You will never forget this book.  It should be made into a graphic novel so kids will read it.