Multi-Coloured Rats

Source: The Internet

Recently there was a plague of rats at home. Initially, I was very surprised that such a high-rise building would have rats; however, I was relieved when I later read in the media that even the Empire State Building in New York, which was over a 100-storey high, had rampant infestations of rats.

It was of course such a nuisance having a rampage of rats. At night, they would always noisily run along the ceiling, food and fruit were often eaten and left with big holes or would disappear without a trace. The most upsetting thing that could not be prevented was, at times, kitchen units being chewed away and wires being chewed in half, even worrying that one day they would chew away the gas pipes.

What should one do?  I thought of the two ancients whom I admired: one was Su Dong Bo, who said, “Those who love rats often leave rice; those who pity moths won’t light candles.” The other was Master Hong Yi, who said, “If we feed rats with cat food, rats won’t destroy things when they’re full, the plague of rats can then be eliminated.”

Hence, after dinner, I would always leave some food on the dining table for the rats to enjoy. But soon I realised that ‘the modern rat is unlike the ancient rat’, for ‘In the current social climate, even the behaviour of rats is no longer ancient’. I did not know whether it was their cunning nature or particular appetite, for they would not eat the food particularly left out for them, but would deliberately take random bites from food that was forbidden.

It was not long before I lost the kindness of Su Dong Bo and the patience of Hong Yi. I could not help but take some action. I would not consider using rat poison or sticky mouse boards as it was so cruel that would be against my principle of compassion. Neither could I use a mousetrap as this would violate the precept against killing. Hence, the only method left was the use of rat cages.

My initial thought was to catch the rats using rat cages and then to release them deep into the mountains. In this way, not only could the plague of rats be eliminated, this also could allow the rats to disappear and hide in mountains and forests.
I once mentioned this to my friend who was a graduate in the Department of Drama at the Academy of Arts. He recalled having a ‘once and for all’ method to eliminate the plague of rats in his dormitory when he was a student.

“Once you catch a rat, brightly paint different colours all over its body: for example, bright red on its face with green, yellow and blue on its body and white on its tail. Then, release the rat and all the rats will disappear without a trace.”
“Why?”

My friend said, “It’s rat psychology, when the multi-coloured rat returns to the nest, his family and friends will be so frightened that they will flee in all directions and the multi-coloured rat will feel so guilty that it will run away too. It’s so simple. Not only will one rat disappear, but the whole den will also disappear without a trace.”

I thought my friend’s plan was nice. One day I caught a rat and adopted his plan by painting the rat with a Peking opera face mask and then released it. To my surprise, all the rats at home became extinct.

However, I have always had my doubts. Would that rat with painted face mask feel guilty or not?  Would the other rats really feel scared or not?  I could not find any proof. However, one point can be most certain that rats are also living creatures with delicate perception.

Postscript: Refrain from killing, all sentient beings have Buddha nature.