Animals
Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia is now 14 years old
Our Encyclopedia recently received a wonderful opportunity for a major renewal on its 14th birthday . After many years of growing our Encyclopedia had become bit slow and sometimes even decided not to answer when people knocked on the door.
A very big thank you and blessings to Dmytro Rudiy (rudiy.nl) for his great work in upgrading the server, website and all of the infrastructure and helping make TBE fast and reliable again for everyone!
We kindly ask our readers to help us cover the cost of this important upgrade and also help with the ongoing costs of keeping the Encyclopedia alive and freely available.
or card
Every little donation helps and every one is deeply appreciated. 🙏🙏🙏
OM AH HUM VAJRA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM 🙏🙏🙏
May blessings shower down on all of yous 🙏🙏🙏
Click here to see other articles relating to word Animals
Animals (satta or tiracchāna) are sentient beings other than humans. The Buddha classified animals as being either born from eggs, from the womb, from water or spontaneously born (S.III,240).
At other times he classified them as many-legged, four-legged, two-legged or legless (Vin.II,110).
He said: ‘I know of no other class of things as diverse as the creatures of the animal world.’ (S.III,151; Sn.600).
He also said that more beings are reborn as animals than as humans (A.I,36).
Because animals have a limited capacity of comprehension and, thus, little chance to develop spiritually, and because the animal kingdom is dominated by the principle of ‘eat or be eaten,’ the Buddha considered it to be a distinct disadvantage to be reborn as an animal rather than as a human.
Nonetheless, he acknowledges that sometimes animals set an example that humans could do well to copy. Once when some monks were quarrelling with each other the Buddha said to them: ‘If animals can be courteous, deferential and polite towards each other, so should you be.’ (Vin.II,162).
Animals are sentient beings, capable of feeling pleasure and pain and, thus, worthy of sympathy and respect. Most religions say that we should love other humans.
Buddhism broadens and universalizes love by saying that it should be felt for and expressed to all beings, however humble.
The Buddhacarita says: ‘Empathy with all creatures is the true religion.’ (sarveṣu bhūteṣu dayā hi dharmaḥ). The earliest legislation to protect animals from cruelty and to provide reserves for wild animals was drawn up by the Buddhist monarch Aśoka in the 2nd century BCE. See Hunting.
The Great Compassion - Buddhism and Animal Rights, Norm Phelps, 2004.