On March 12, 2015, Lingyin Temple held the first large-scale animal release activity—liberation of living soouls--for the year of Yiwei （乙未）at the bank of the Qiantang River. This activity attracted about 200 people, including the Lingyin Sangha, lay disciples and Buddhist faithful. Abbot of Lingyin Temple Ven. Guangquan hosted the ceremony, providing ritual purification to empower all sentient beings and instructing them through solemn ritual procedures for animal release ceremony to take refuge in the Triple Gem so as to rid suffering, to set forth on path to end of suffering.
Animal release is a compassionate tradition reflecting Buddhist benevolence in protecting life as well as an important part of the Buddhist study and practice for many Buddhist disciples. In order to make the activity successful, the Lingyin Sangha and volunteers conducted numerous site surveys and consulted the fisheries department regarding the suitable species to be released in the Qiantang River Basin. They then got to know that silver carp, crucian carp and bream are fit for natural rivers, lakes and other waters. As the final choice of this animal release, the three kinds of fish mentioned above totaled about 120,000 in number and over 7,000 kilograms.
A reasonable animal release can not only provide Buddhist believers with the opportunity to cultivate their compassion, but also help improve both the water quality in the Qiantang River Basin and the ecological environment. It indeed plays a positive role in protecting biodiversity and maintaining ecological balance.
