Killing Mosquitoes
A Malaysian nun was living on the border between Singapore and Malaysia. She wrote to say that she was being bitten by many mosquitoes, and was having to kill them.
My dear Nena,
You should not kill mosquitoes at all. Your body is so big, and they are so tiny. What if their bodies were big and yours was tiny, and you came to bite them and drink a little of their blood, because you were hungry, and then they killed you? Even though all you need is a small amount of blood to eat and drink, instead they kill you. How does this look to you? This is exactly the same situation.
If you don’t purify yourself of these actions, you will have to suffer the result in future lives, and also in this life, especially because you are a nun. One of your vows is to abstain from killing. This is very basic. Even for lay people, it is a very basic practice, so it would be very, very sad if you killed, especially as a nun. Therefore, you need to perform these practices that I am sending you. (A list of practices was attached.)
You should do these practices gradually, to purify and to collect merit. You should also read the lamrim, the gradual path to enlightenment, not only for your own happiness, but also for the peace and happiness of all sentient beings, especially the mosquitoes.
I am requesting you on behalf of all mosquitoes, please don’t kill. I will be the voice for all the mosquitoes.
With much love and prayer...