Dedicated Chinese Monk Rescues Thousands Of Dogs To Find Them From Homes All Over

India Times

Buddhism is about showing love to all forms of life. They believe that when you are kind in this life, then you will be rewarded in the next. That’s what they call good karma.

What better karma is there than showing love to stray dogs who need homes? That’s exactly what one Buddhist monk does. He has made it his life’s calling to rescue these wonderful strays.

One Buddhist monk can expect an elaborate karmic war chest when he passes from one life to the next. This reward will be waiting for him because he has spent decades of his life rescuing stray dogs scattered about in Shanghai. Once they’re in his care, he brings them to his monastery. His goal is to give these strays a love of peace and comfort. He also works hard at finding them a new home, one that will show them the love they badly deserve.


Zhi Xiang has been doing this since 1994, and to date, he has rescued over 8,000 homeless pooches from the streets of the Chinese mega-city. He doesn’t just bring them with him, he cares for all of them as well. He knows that it’s something that needs to be done.

The Buddhists believe that the highest goal is to reach the fourth stage of consciousness. This stage is where the trappings of reality just don’t matter any longer. The practitioner realizes how life is merely an illusion and that there are better things to focus on than just the material goods. Yet among the holiest of monks, the so-called Bodhisattvas, choose to stray from this path. Rather, like 51-year old Xiang, they had made the choice to remain in this world. They want to try and help people who are stuck in a vicious cycle of life. They must escape from it and transcend to a higher plane.

Xiang heads the rescue and he has commissioned the help of volunteers and his own Bao’en Temple workforce. Right now, he cares for hundreds of cats and dogs who are under him. His project costs him nearly $2.5 million every year just in labor and supplies. Nonetheless, he tries to get as many of the animals into family homes from all four corners of the globe. He makes use of social media to reach out to aspiring pet owners. So far, a total of 300 dogs have found homes in Canada, the United States, and Germany. They have encountered the family that would give them love.


While Xiang has no formal training in animal care, he loves and cares for the ones he saves the best way he can. Some of the pooches and cats he has are too sick, but the younger and healthier ones are brought to either the adoption shelters directly straight into the homes of their new owners.

Xiang spoke to BBC Australia and said, “I think they’re very happy so I feel it’s worthwhile, but of course I miss them.” He explained further, “I have a dream that one day, when I have some free time, I want to go abroad and visit them, take photos with every dog that I rescued,” he said. “So when I get old and can’t walk, I have these photos to look at.”

If Karma does reward those who sacrifice themselves, their time, and their money to help assuage the suffering of the helpful animals, then Xiang will be greatly rewarded and blessed in his afterlife. What awaits him is a life much better than all the trappings found in this plane.

 

What are your thoughts? Please comment below and share this news!

True Activist / Report a typo

Popular on True Activist