On Thu, 13 Oct 2005 16:48:33 -0500, OmManiPadmeOmelet
wrote:

That was the entire point of this whole discussion!
I kill rats that over run my yard and do untold property damage.

I'm okay with ending this discussion if you want that, but let me
start again with the hopes you will understand what I said.

I am not going to quote myself, too lazy, but the actual truth is I am
always concerned when people boast or have bravado about killing
anything. It is mean spirited and the harm which is caused, is to the
person who is doing the boasting. You probably won't belive me, but I
said what I did out of compassion for the parties who were proud of
killing animals for whatever reason.

It's not just Buddhism, it's any religion. At the bottom of the
majoritiy of religions be they Wicca, Catholicism, Judaism or Buddhism
is an altruistic intention to do no harm. Intention is everything.
If I remember correctly, I said to please don't boast about killing
animals with snowmobiles because it is such bad karma. Believe in
karma or not, I had one intention, to bring to the subject a certain
element of compassion, not to start a huge fight. Actually, I don't
think we did have a fight, rather it was a debate. Some are skillful
at debate, some may not be. Either way, my intentions were in the
right place.