Release a fish for good karma!

In Kangding we were introduced to a unique and interesting religious belief. On my trip to the market with Kris (owner of the Zhilam Hostel) where he pointed out all the Monks buying fish at the market. There were dozens of stalls selling buckets of fish, small and large to Monks and other Tibetan buddhists.

Kris explained that the Dalai Lama had made some sort of proclamation about releasing fish into the wild for good karma. In Kangding this has turned into quite the spectacle. Monks and Tibetans buy fish at the local market, saving them from being eaten by the Chinese, and then release them in this sacred pond (it's unclear why this pond is sacred). The more fish you save, the better karma you have. Kris and I jumped back on his motorcycle and followed the three wheelers pulling barrels of fish to the "sacred pond". We arrived to a couple of dozen monks who travelled from Litang, a six hour drive away, releasing buckets of fish into the pond. As I walked down to watch, I passed a man pulling a wheelbarrow filled with dead fish walking in the opposite direction. Turns out, the pond is overloaded with fish, frogs and turtles so everything just dies soon after! It was so littered with floating dead fish that it actually smells.

Once the fish are taken off the three wheelers, they are weighed to re confirm the amount purchased (and perhaps amount of karma?)

Then walked down to the pond and released!

We were there for about ten minutes and there was a constant flow of people releasing buckets of fish.

Kris asked one of the Monks why they don't release the fish into the river that runs right next to the pond, and the answer was that they would die!? There is obviously some kind of disconnect here which is very unfortunate. In my opinion there is a serious lack of education and understanding of what the Dalai Lama had probably intended. I wonder how long this will go on...