Killing for the Gods

Mideval Hindu priests in Kathmandu, Nepal; Mara, the Lord of Death, Los Angeles.

20,000 buffaloes sacrificed on 1st day at Gadhimai
Republica.com

GADHIMAI TEMPLE, Nepal (Nov. 24, 2009) -- Despite widespread criticism and repeated appeals by groups from home and abroad to stop a mass sacrifice of animals at Gadhimai temple, some 20,000 buffaloes were murdered as sacrifice on the first day of a two-day Hindu religious fair there Tuesday.

What must mass animal slaughter look like on a subtler dimension or spiritual plane?

The bloodbath began after the chief priest, Mangal Chaudhary, offered panchabali (five-fold sacrifice of a rat, a pig, a pigeon, a buffalo, and a goat) in the morning, thereby formally inaugurating the festival during which some 300,000 animals and birds are to be slaughtered over two days.

• Nepal: Hindu Festival (New York Times)

Worshipers, who thronged the temple from all over the country and from India also, have started offering the sacrifices to goddess Gadhimai.After the panchabali, some 300 men with heavy-duty swords were let loose among thousands of buffaloes spread over four parcels of land.

This is what the "sacrificial" killing looks like on the human/animal plane (Republica).

The scene was like a battlefield because of the screaming of the men. It was violent and chaotic with the men charging at the more than 15,000 animals with their khukuris and swords and the scared buffaloes starting to run helter-skelter.

The swordsmen, however, said that they enjoyed the sacrifices. “The more animals I kill, the more satisfied I feel,” Ramlal Mahato said. He added that he has taken to this practice to give continuity to an age-old tradition. While many of the men were found to be doing the slaughter for the money, many others were simply killing time. A large crowd had gathered around the site to watch the killings. More>>

What can be done?

• AHIMSA Center
  The Ahimsa Center was established in 2004 in the College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (csupomona.edu).
• People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
  PETA's animal rights campaigns include ending fur and leather use, meat and dairy consumption, [Nepalese sacrifices], fishing, hunting, trapping, factory farming... Contact - Action Center - Cruelty-Free Living - Shop - Media Center - About - Animals Used for Clothing - Jobs
• Buddhist Resources on Vegetarianism and Animal Welfare
  Includes both doctrinal and practical materials and links to sites with general resources (online.sfsu.edu).
• Francis Story "The Place of Animals in Buddhism"
  So in the Buddhist texts animals are always treated with great sympathy and understanding. Some animals, such as the elephant, the horse, and the Naga... (web.ukonline.co.uk).
• Dharma Realm Buddhist Association - Dharma
  Buddhism and Animals: A Buddhist Vision of Humanity's Rightful Relationship with... "Liberating Animals in Ming-Qing China: Buddhist Inspiration and Elite... (drba.org).
• Buddhist Prayer for Liberation of Brother and Sister Animals
  For the 1000's of elephants soon to be killed in South Africa and for the billions of non-humans... (animalliberationfront.com).