(Editor's Note: The following Op-Ed "opinion editorial" essay by Prof. Ron Epstein was recently published in the San Francisco Examiner and may be of interest to Vajra Bodhi Sea readers. This past spring animal rights groups tried to stop extreme cruelty to live animals that were being sold for food in markets in San Francisco's Chinatown. They went to court to stop the selling of live frogs, chickens and rabbits. The Chinatown merchants responded by claiming that live animal sales are an important part of the Chinese cultural heritage, and that any criticism of their inhumane treatment of the animals prior to sale is nothing but cultural prejudice. Professor Epstein's essay comments on the dispute.)

Almost daily the elderly Chinese-American lady hurried into the temple, bowed to the Buddhas, put her offering of food on the altar, lit incense, tidied up the temple, and rushed out the door. After watching this routine for many years and getting to know her a bit, I complimented her one day on her piety and sincerity.

"Oh, no, no," she replied, "you don't understand. My husband and I are in a terrible business. The monk here, who is my spiritual teacher, told me that we should sell it or we will face horrible karmic retribution, but we just can't seem to extricate ourselves. I just try to create a little merit to help us, but I know it is not enough." Then I learned that she and her husband owned a delicatessen in Chinatown that was famous for its barbecued poultry. They had struck it rich with a special recipe that called for killing the animals just before the moment of immersing them in the flames, making the meat especially fresh-tasting and succulent.

Only a few weeks after our conversation their fancy house in the Marina district caught fire during the night. The door-locks and window-bars that had been installed to protect them and their precious possessions slowed the firemen's entry. When they finally got to them, they found them huddled together in the back of the house, barbecued to death.

Buddhism, the largest religious denomination in China and well represented in San Francisco's Chinese-American community, has as its basic teaching respect for all life and an ethical system based on the causal relation between one's actions and later resultant experience. The true tale related above clearly illustrates this Buddhist system of cause and effect called karma.

Although the Chinatown merchants engaged in live-animal slaughter have tried to justify their practices on cultural grounds, they have presented a one-sided view. China has a long cultural tradition, primarily but not exclusively Buddhist, of animal rights. Thus the practice of slaughtering live animals is also abhorrent to many Chinese and Chinese-Americans. In fact, many have approached me privately and asked me to publicly present their views in writing.

The basic issue in live animal slaughter is how we can justify such extreme pain and suffering. Traditional Western arguments claim the animals don't really suffer because they have no souls. That stance so radically contradicts with our personal experience with animals that very few really believe that.

According to the Chinese Buddhist tradition, even primitive forms of animal life have awareness, feel pain, and have the potential for future enlightenment. If we torture them and do not respect their right to live out their natural lifespan, then we will suffer the karmic consequences. Multicultural understanding is essential for harmony in our community. Nonetheless, the live animal slaughterers in Chinatown need to acknowledge that a major element of their own cultural tradition rejects their practices.

A Chinese sage wrote, "All beings--human or beast--Iove life and hate to die. They fear most the butcher's knife, which slices and chops them piece-by-piece. Instead of being cruel and mean, why not stop killing and cherish life?"

Ron Epstein teaches "Chinese Spiritual Traditions" as part of the Philosophy and Religion Program at San Francisco State University.