THE ALLURE OF FAST MERIT

A forum questions if the Thai practice of releasing purchased fish aligns with Buddhist values and its environmental impact

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aking merit by releasing fish is a popular activity among Thai people because it is believed that releasing fish will extend life, help them live a good life and prevent sickness. Since people nowadays do not have much time to buy fish at the market, some vendors prepare fish in plastic bags and sell them at temples or places of merit-making, so that people can conveniently buy and release them in a pond nearby.

Buying fish from vendors to make merit raises questions as to whether releasing fish in this manner is merit and if it is appropriate from an environmental perspective.

To discuss these questions, the Department of Humanities, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at Mahidol University organised the forum “How to Release Fish to Gain Merit” via zoom and Facebook MURESD (Mahidol Religion and Ethics for Sustainable Development).

Assoc Prof Pairin Katipommarat, a lecturer from the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the Faculty of Humanities at Kasetsart University, kicked off the forum by telling a story about releasing fish during the time of Lord Buddha.

“Sariputta, a disciple of Lord Buddha, predicted that novice monk Tissa, who was Sariputta’s student, would die in seven days. Sariputta told Tissa to return home to spend his remaining time with his family. While Tissa walked home, he happened to see a fish about to die in a dry pond. Out of compassion, Tissa scooped the fish up from the dry pond and released it into a river. After seven days, Tissa was still alive. Sariputta explained that Tissa did not die because he gained merit from releasing the fish.”

Assoc Prof Pairin explained that although the story of Tissa is often published in media, it does not appear in Tripitaka.

“The essence of making merit by releasing fish is saving lives through compassion. Additionally, another essence of releasing fish is to value the life of others. In this cycle of rebirth, we are not alone. We have fellow human