Sometimes one may hit upon something dark on some parts of the body and there would suddenly be a splash of red there, blood from the squashed mosquito that has been feasting. Then, the persistent troubling question of is it right to kill the mosquito arise, that if the first Buddhist precept Panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami I undertake the precept to refrain from destroying living creatures has been broken. The question does not just trouble lay people but monks too, I presume. When asked if killing insects accidentally is bad, the famed Ajahn Chah said he sometimes worried about the monks' discipline. Some monks, he said, worry over petty rules that they can't sleep well. Rules, he said must not be clung to blindly. There is no need to wonder about how to act when we should just live simply by being mindful. According to Ajahn Chah, sila discipline and morality are essential to a Buddhist practice. I presume the Buddhist precepts are meant to cultivate discipline. Just live simply as Ajahn Chah advised, keeping to basic needs, refraining from evil, doing good and purifing the mind.
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