The Ants
I was living in a house with many ants; on the sink, on the floor, on the walls. Despite teachings I had received about how we should not kill any beings, I would act as if distracted and I would kill some of them, thinking that maybe they would be reborn in the human realm. I did not tell this to Rinpoche.
One day, after I went to the mall with him, I listened to his teachings and, during a break, Rinpoche called me and asked me how I was doing. There was a silence between us and, after that, he told me not to kill ants. I looked startled at him and said that, when I killed them, I made the aspiration that they would be reborn in the human realm. Rinpoche smiled and said I would only be allowed to take someone’s life when I was able to give it back.
[As told by Giovanna de Barros]