Larry was caught in the waters of New England and sold to a restaurant in Waterford. It became the star attraction to local children.
When word got around town that someone had reserved the lobster for dinner, a good Samaritan, Don Mackenzie came to the rescue. He had purchased the lobster for an undisclosed sum.
"This lobster has seen World War I, World War II, seen the landing on the moon and the Red Sox win the World Series, he's made it this far in life," MacKenzie said. "He deserves to live."
Lucky Larry was sent off to sea with a group of children chanting "Let Larry live, let Larry live!". The Niantic River Bridge operator also had sounded the opening and closing siren for the crustacean's journey back home.
According to Buddhist belief, all living creatures have spirits, are capable of enlightenment and are related in one lifetime or another. By saving any living creature that is doomed to death like becoming a dinner dish or being euthanized, one may have saved his own relative, friend or foe of previous lifetimes who may become an animal in current lifetime.
The act of saving any life, be it the life of an ant, fish, bird, dog, cat and etc., will create blessing and good karma credits for the actor. Saving lives of any creatures are especially good for promoting longevity and extending the life expectancy of people with life-threatening sickness. Hence, releasing wild animals, birds, fishes, turtles, snakes and the likes back to the wild is a popular positive karma building practices among some Buddhists. They form "Releasing Society" and purchase living creatures destined to the kitchen and release them back to their natural habitat on a regular basis.
Below is a Youtube video showing the releasing of fishes. These fishes swam in formation to show their gratitude:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B02-ZPCIOlU&feature=player_detailpage
There are many stories of people battling cancer using a combination of dieting, meditation, exercise and releasing living creatures and won.
Ken Lai
http://www.kenlaifengshui.com
