ahimsa, bedbugs, buddhismJeff Watt asks, “What’s Tricycle’s view on killing bugs in light of New York City’s bedbug infestation? It’s a question you should ask your readers.” Since Jeff’s starting to appear on this blog pretty frequently, I’ll stop telling you that he’s the director and chief curator at Himalayan Art Resources. But what I will tell you is that he has a very good reason for asking this question: He’s battling bedbugs and wants to know what everyone thinks about pulling out all the stops to get rid of them. I’ve never wielded a can of Raid (in college I did buy Roach Motels once, before I found boric acid) but I must admit, I wonder myself every time I swat a mosquito or kill a cockroach whether I’m accruing negative karma. I usually swat and squish nonetheless. But decide for yourself after reading about Jeff’s dilemma here.

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