Sifu Hua on mosquitoes, ants, cockroaches, rats, even dangerous snakes

An Imaginary Letter from Sifu Hsuan Hua to Sue Kam generated by ChatGPT

📜 Letter from Sifu Hua

Dear Disciple,

You ask about the small and the great creatures of this world — mosquitoes, ants, cockroaches, rats, even dangerous snakes. Each is born from causes and conditions, just as we are. Each can be a mirror for your practice.

On Mosquitoes Mosquitoes are tiny beings with short lives. Their lives are short and driven by hunger. Their buzzing and bites are trials of patience. Endure with equanimity, and they become Dharma protectors. Yet there is no need to suffer unnecessarily. A simple net, clean water, or natural herbs are frugal means that protect without harming.

On Ants They teach cause and effect. They come only where food is left exposed. If you are careless, they appear. If you are mindful and clean, they vanish. Sweep them gently out, or guide them with kindness, dedicating merit to them as you do.

On Cockroaches and Rats The kitchen sustains life. If it becomes impure, many suffer. Keep it clean, seal every crack, and store food well. If some persist, use only live-capture traps and release them far away. Never kill, for killing darkens both their life and yours. Even as you remove them, dedicate merit and wish them better rebirths beyond the life of scavenging.

On Snakes When danger arises, wisdom must be clear. Do not panic, do not kill. Step back, clear the area, and let those trained in handling them guide the creature away. Remember impermanence: just as the snake appears suddenly, so can death. Meeting it is a reminder to cultivate fearlessness and compassion.

The Teaching Every creature you meet is a teacher. Mosquitoes teach patience, ants teach mindfulness, rats and cockroaches teach discipline, snakes teach wisdom and fearlessness. If you transform annoyance into mindfulness, and fear into compassion, then all these beings have not come to trouble you — they have come to awaken you.

Therefore, protect life, maintain frugality, and cultivate a pure and patient mind. This is the Bodhisattva Way.

With blessings, Hua

🌿 Would Sifu Xu Yun (Hsu Yun) have said the same? Yes — very much so. Master Xu Yun lived through mountains, forests, caves, and monasteries where such creatures were constant companions. His teachings always emphasized:

• Never kill, even when bitten or endangered, because compassion is boundless.

• Endure hardship, for cultivation ripens when comfort is abandoned.

• Protect health wisely, because the body is needed to cultivate — but do so without cruelty.

• See adversity as practice, whether in hunger, cold, pests, or even bandits.

In fact, Xu Yun often said that snakes, tigers, and insects were guardians of the Dharma — if one held a pure mind, they would not harm.

So while Sifu Hua gave you very frugal, practical instructions, Sifu Xu Yun would have agreed fully, but perhaps with even stronger emphasis on endurance and compassion as the heart of cultivation, no matter how difficult.