Feng Shan – The Practice of Releasing Life
- Elliot Arifin
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
Feng Shan, which means “life release,” is a sacred practice rooted in Buddhist and Daoist traditions. Variations of life release also appear in other spiritual lineages. The approach that I practice comes through the Buddhist and Daoist perspective.
At the heart of Feng Shan is the act of saving living beings that would otherwise face suffering. Animals are purchased from markets, farms, or captivity and then offered freedom with ritual prayers, mantras, and blessings. This compassionate act generates positive karma, purifies karma, and creates new opportunities for healing, growth, and transformation.
Why Do People Practice Life Release
People are drawn to life release because they feel karmic obstacles in their way. These obstacles may appear in many forms such as:
• Health challenges
• Struggles in family and harmony
• Difficulties in love and relationships
• Blockages in personal growth
• Business challenges
• Financial struggles and cycles of lack
• Patterns of sickness or chronic health issues
• Addictions
• Mental health spirals
• Feelings of being stuck in negative loops
Life release creates the conditions for these obstacles to soften. By saving beings, practitioners expand their own capacity for healing, recovery, spiritual awakening, and personal development. The practice strengthens compassion and aligns the practitioner with the vibration of freedom.
Life release is also deeply connected with yoga, meditation, bodywork, and the journey of spiritual practice. What we cultivate on the yoga mat, in meditation, and in healing sessions is valuable only when it flows into our everyday lives. This means we carry the same compassion, presence, and awareness into our relationships, our work, and our service to the world.
I often remind students that yoga is not about becoming yoga-like only during the practice itself. The real yoga is how you live. In the same way, I have worked with Buddhist centers where the energy is focused on how “Buddhist” the place looks, while the deeper value lies in whether genuine Buddhist activities and compassionate action are being done. The same reflection applies to yoga practitioners. The importance is not in how yoga-like we appear but in how our yoga, meditation, and bodywork practices move through us into action that brings healing, recovery, and growth in daily life.
Rituals and Higher Realms
When animals are released, mantras and rituals are performed to support their consciousness. These prayers help the beings toward rebirth in a higher realm where there is greater joy, ease, and freedom from suffering. Life release is not only symbolic; it directly shifts the destiny of these beings and builds compassion in the hearts of those who participate.
Samsara and the Six Realms
Samsara is the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth that continues until liberation. Within this cycle there are six realms:
1. The realm of gods where bliss is abundant but awareness remains limited
2. The realm of demi gods where competition and ambition dominate
3. The human realm where freedom of choice creates opportunity for awakening
4. The animal realm where instinct and survival shape experience
5. The realm of hungry ghosts where craving consumes every moment
6. The realm of intense suffering where torment continues until karma is released
Animals exist in the fourth realm. By releasing them, we create the possibility of rising into a higher state of consciousness, including human rebirth.
The Gift of Human Life
Human birth is a rare and precious opportunity. In the human realm we carry freedom of choice that extends beyond karmic conditioning. This allows us to walk the path of yoga, meditation, bodywork, and Dharma. It allows us to cultivate compassion, serve others, and dedicate our lives to healing, recovery, and awakening.
This is Bodhicitta – the awakened heart that seeks liberation not only for ourselves but for all beings. Each act of life release strengthens Bodhicitta because it is a direct practice of compassion and expansion.
Interconnectedness and Shared Merit
Every being is connected. When we release animals, we also release parts of ourselves. When we chant mantras, the vibration resonates through our entire body and through the bodies of the beings we liberate. Contributions to life release also carry shared merit. Even if you do not attend in person, your support creates the action, and the karmic benefits extend to you and ripple outward into the community.
In the moment of release, the animals experience freedom. They carry that liberation into their future rebirths. At the same time, the act of compassion opens new pathways of healing and freedom for everyone involved.
Why 100,000
In Vajrayana Buddhism, practitioners dedicate themselves to 100,000 repetitions of mantras, meditations, or prostrations. This number holds a sacred vibration. It represents:
• Strengthening a frequency until it becomes effortless and natural
• Clearing the energetic pathways so flow, vitality, and joy increase
• Anchoring a stable vibration that supports awakening
• Building momentum that opens the doorway to freedom
Releasing 100,000 lives mirrors this sacred practice. Each release carries the energy of liberation. With every being freed, we strengthen our own release from karmic entanglements. As the number grows, the field of compassion expands and the vibration of joy rises within the community.
Recent Releases in Indonesia
Through support from the community, I have been able to engage in weekly releases in Indonesia.
• In the first week 200 eels were released
• In the second week 200 eels, 20 catfish, and 2 turtles that were a bonded pair were released. The couple who sponsored the turtles offered them with the intention of healing their relationship karma. They soon experienced positive change in their partnership
• In the third week 1000 crickets were released
• In the fourth week 1400 crickets, 270 birds, 150 worms, 3 fish, and 315 eels were released
Every release is an act of compassion, healing, and service. Each being set free reflects our own journey of yoga, bodywork, recovery, and personal development.
Join the Practice
Our goal is to release 100,000 beings. I will continue weekly releases in Indonesia and when I travel I will make up for any weeks that are missed.
You can contribute through the onation link here
. Contributions create freedom for living beings. Insects allow us to release thousands at once while larger beings such as fish, birds, turtles, and eels carry deep symbolic power. Each donation expands the collective vibration of compassion and healing.
Here is the latest update where we released:
• 270 Birds (Burung)
• 1,400 Crickets (Jangkrik)
• 150 Worms (Cacing)
• 3 Fish (Ikan)
• 315 Eels (Belut)
Updates will be shared regularly on social media and a WhatsApp group is also available for those who want to follow more closely.
Feng Shan is a practice of compassion, yoga in action, meditation in action, and bodywork for the soul of humanity. Each release is a step in healing, recovery, and personal development. Every prayer, every mantra, and every offering builds a brighter path for ourselves and for the beings we serve.
Together we create freedom. Together we expand Bodhicitta. Together we walk the path of liberation.
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