Tenodora sinensis – the Chinese mantis – is an invasive mantis species found in Rhode Island and up and down the East Coast of the United States.
These ambush predators eat just about anything they can get their hands on, including other mantises during copulation – a quirk of ecology that has captured the fascination and intrigue of people far beyond the conventional coven of entomology fun fact keepers.
The Chinese mantis has a native range spanning East Asia and has several claims to fame in the region. The Chinese mantis has been an integral part of folktales and even inspired its own form of martial art. That’s some serious cred in the bug world considering this species usually weighs about six grams.
Introduced in the late 1800s to North America, these small critters, yet undoubtedly massive insects, have become quite successful at adapting to the new continent, greatly changing food webs all over and outcompeting native mantis species.
I consider it quite odd that we gave such a vicious predator and… well… voracious lover such an introspective and spiritually common name. Across many cultures mantises represent balance, harmony and even wisdom.
Guys! Are we serious? Trust me, if you were bugged in size, you would not see this beast as reflective in prayer; you would be praying that one wasn’t around the corner.
Despite my personal reservations, I guess I can see where people are coming from. With their front legs clasped, motionless and immersed in foliage, a mantis’ posture offers a baseline on good meditation practice. But if they are praying, what are they praying for?
The obvious answer lies in their ecology. As ambush predators, they eat what comes their way. They do not prowl; they blend in, guerrilla style. In a sense, eating for them requires a blessing. They do not eat unless something crosses their sight. For them, eating requires outside forces to grant them their daily bread.
To many, and nearly all in a preindustrial society, food was something that could become scarce in a moment. Many times food limits were largely out of the hands of the farmers who would work their land, who dedicated their lives to the pursuit of subsistence. Even with preparation, the forces of biology and nature will tear everything you have down.
So many sought comfort and understanding in prayer. It is no accident how food-centric the world religions are. From fasting to offerings to iconography and even prayer itself, in the world of the hungry, food is sacred and divine.
But in order to eat, one must give up its carbon, something that very few organisms are willing to freely allow a predator to take. In the grand circle of life, offers require sacrifice; the continuation of one life ends the journey of another.
Can prayers be answered without the harm of another? Will one’s need for rain in the Indus Valley flood the Euphrates? The metaphysical will seek to destroy ideals you once took comfort in. You once believed morality to be absolute, that suffering can be eliminated. Do you believe it now? Do the laws of evolution seem moral to you? Can you find beauty in suffering? You were thrown into this world, without knowledge or any evidence of prior consent, and forced to make decisions day by day that have ramifications for everything you can and can’t see. Will you still be moral? Will you do no harm?
I think you can. I know you’ll try your best. Morality isn’t as clean as we like to think it is. People will say this is “a sign of the times,” but it’s always been this way. Our lives are dirty, and expecting bleaching perfection will drive you crazy. If you want grace, then allow yourself to clean up bit by bit. Reflect on what good you can do.
Entropy is dirty. We all need carbon somehow. Does mindfulness make up for murder? If I wanted an answer, I would ask a mantis. Maybe their wisdom and ability can be transferred to us all – to be content where we are, surrounded by biodiversity, waiting for the next blessing in our lives that allows us to carry on until our little light gives out.
