Is Deploying Chickens and Ducks to Eliminate Locusts Considered Killing?

Instigating others to commit killing creates heavier karmic retribution than committing killing oneself. Why is this so? When killing by oneself, one alone creates negative karma and forms negative karmic connections with sentient beings. However, when inciting others to kill on one's behalf, the killing karma created by those others still includes one's own share. One's own intention to kill remains, while also causing others to form negative karmic connections and create negative karma, thereby defiling them. This constitutes dual negative karma.

Using chickens and ducks to kill locusts on behalf of humans means the locusts die because of humans; it is essentially humans who kill them. The chickens and ducks are merely tools employed by humans to kill the locusts. Simultaneously, the chickens and ducks form negative karmic connections with the locusts and will suffer negative retribution in future lives due to human actions. Therefore, deploying chickens and ducks to exterminate locusts creates greater negative karma than exterminating locusts oneself.

But should locusts be exterminated when faced with such a major locust disaster? If the locusts threaten human survival, extermination is certainly necessary, because human life is incomparably more valuable than that of locusts. When comparing the two, human survival must take precedence. Humans are vessels of the Way, capable of performing vast amounts of virtuous deeds that benefit beings in the three lower realms. As long as humans survive, other matters can be resolved. There may be some negative retribution in future lives, but this is far preferable to being killed by locusts now or being trapped by disaster.

Every sentient being has created immeasurably vast killing karma over beginningless kalpas—countless acts, large and small. Thus, every sentient being bears heavy karmic obstructions and has numerous negative karmic connections. No matter how virtuous you are, there will always be those who seek to kill you, those who beat and curse you, those who slander and frame you, those who disparage you, and many adversaries who view you unfavorably and speak ill of you.

Encountering adverse conditions and disasters that force one to commit killing is itself a manifestation of lack of merit, an indication of karmic obstructions, and the karmic retribution of negative actions. Without karmic obstructions, one would not encounter situations where killing is necessary to resolve survival issues. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, having eradicated negative karma, do not attract such adverse conditions and are never compelled to commit killing. Even when encountering negative conditions, they transform danger into safety, turn calamities into blessings, and use their immeasurable merit to remedy and deliver their adversaries.