Buddhists Free Thousands of Fish Into Lake for Ceremony, Locals Immediately Catch Them With Nets

July 20, 2018

A group of humanitarians released thousands of fish into a lake in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China in an act called fangsheng (放生) which means “releasing life.”

The religious practice, which involves saving animals from markets and then releasing them back into the wild, is often done by Buddhists to gain merits from the heavens.

However, the noble deed was quickly hijacked by another group of people who were already waiting on the other side of the lake.

Upon learning that around 10,000 fish were being released that day, locals armed with nets went over Dingxiang Lake and helped themselves for an easy catch.

Video footage circulating Chinese social media captured the argument between the two parties. But the pleas of the Buddhists fell on deaf ears as the locals proceeded to capture the recently released fish.

Fangsheng events in the past have also been raided by locals who took the opportunity.

According to Shanghaiist, local officials have explained that releasing too many fish at once into the water can also cause problems such as an incident in 2013 when 250 kilos of dead fish washed ashore in Shanghai.

Featured Image via YouTube / Netizen Watch

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