According to zen buddhism, it’s useless to talk about good and bad, because they are relative to your particular circumstances. In day-to-day life, it is convenient to think about things as good and bad, but ultimately what matters is how we conduct ourselves towards others.
I would suggest that if there was no such thing as death, there would also be no such thing as life. If you look carefully at life, it depends on death. This is fundamental.You may also find that it’s not possible to stop causing violence, even in your own life. Your immune system destroys bacteria everyday. Animals, or at least plants, perish so that you can eat. Your biological waste, as well as the waste produced from your consumption of energy, makes life more difficult, and in some places impossible.
I don’t mean to paint a bleak picture, but a realistic one. We live in such a way that we kill by the very act of living. This should be revered for what it is: a perpetual cycle where life and death are two sides of the same coin. When we can find ourselves are part of an indefinite chain of life and death, then we can find meaning in our daily activities.
The real trick to living is not to look outside of this reality for truth. It’s all right there. In each breath we have an opportunity to recognize the great question of life and death, and to respond with compassion.
The question I ask myself is: am I doing something worthwhile with the life that I am living.