Fruits picked from trees where no pesticides have been used, and also wild mushrooms, have a reasonable chance that there will be fly eggs, or hatched larvae, inside of them. It is often not easy to tell if a fly has laid itās eggs inside of them either.
Would consuming foraged mushrooms or eating apples from the tree create negative kamma if one knows that they may very well have living beings inside of them?
This is my first post here, apologies if I have posted in the wrong category or made some other mistake.
Perhaps the pivotal word in your question is āmay.ā If we inspect a food item and actually see a living being, then gently removing them would be best, i.e. least harmful.
The key is our intention: āCetanÄ ahaį¹ bhikkhave kammaį¹ vadÄmiā, āIt is volition or intention, monks, that I call kamma,ā (AN 6.63).
We donāt always know, and unintentionally killing appears to be a different matter. Do we walk on the grass? If so, weāve probably inadvertently stepped on small bugs and other animals ā I know of no serious, or perhaps any, kammic consequences for this.
Same with driving in a car. Unfortunately, itās not unusual for bugs to hit the windshield. Did we intend for this to happen? No, so there doesnāt appear to be serious, if any, kammic consequences.
Although not an expert on the pÄtimokkha I donāt believe bhikkhus and bhikkhunis are forbidden to walk on the grass or to drive in cars.
Also, what about taking antibiotics? Should we die of pneumonia when treatment is available? If we do, zillions of microscopic beings will die. We took the medicine intentionally, so I suppose there are consequences to this ā but the same as deliberately killing zillions of people? The challenges of samsÄraā¦
So, intentionally killing a being and/or killing due to uncaring inattentiveness when attentiveness could prevent harm, create negative kammic effects. SamsÄra being what it is, there are always going to be challenges and some inadvertent killing of beings.
But if our heart is free of harmful intention and weāre cultivating wholesomeness, kindness, and wisdom then weāre not loading up on dark kamma.
Anyway, those are my reflections.
Hope theyāre of some help!
we breathe in and digest and filter in our bloodstream everything in our surroundings the dust n particles around us even ourselfves shedding skinā¦ breathing airā¦ intimacy situationsā¦ surrounding petsā¦odoursā¦water ect ect a vegan is not a true vegetarian or vegan as the fertiliser n water and air particles as it grows n breathes is a part of its filteration to the hands breathe and sweat of the animal or holder or containers that stores it so you are never free of anyone or anything personally even in our thoughts ā¦
What about if I scratch my face and kill some Demodex folliculorum? I know they are there, mating on my face, so, do I not scratch in fear that I may generate bad kamma?
If one consumes apple cider vinegar, and thus particulates of the āmother,ā are ingested, does one generate bad kamma? Bacteria is alive after all.
If eating honey is considered exploitative by some vegans ā¦ and one is vegan ā¦ but vegan one drinks almond milk ā¦ are they not still generating bad kamma since almond milk production kills a ton of bees?
The list of similar questions is essentially infinite, and quite possibly not the best use of oneās time. But, as usual, I could be wrong.
Well, if you take this line of reasoning far enough, you can use it to generate saį¹vega ā the sincere wish to escape from saį¹sÄra for the benefit and safety of other beings. Then such reflection wouldnāt be a waste of time at all!
