BUDDHISM, ANIMALS, LIVING THINGS AND HUMAN LIFE

BUDDHIST COMPASSION TOWARDS LIVING THINGS

Buddhist woman prays in front of an elephant in Kandy, Sri Lanka

The first of the Five Precepts is to abstain from taking life. "Life", according to Buddhism covers the entire spectrum of living beings, which the 'Karaneeya Mettha Sutta' says includes: 1) Tasa-Tava:- moving, unmoving; 2) Diga-long, Mahantha-large; 3) Majjima-medium; 4) Rassaka- short; 5) Anuka-minute, Thula- fat; 6) Ditta-that can be seen; 7) Additta-that cannot be seen; 8) Dure-which live far; 9) Avidure-which live near; 10) Bhuta-born; 11) Sambavesi- seeking birth. [Source: Major General Ananda Weerasekera, Virtual Library Sri Lanka lankalibrary.com ]

The member of Buddha's order ... should not intentionally destroy the life of any being, down even to a worm or an ant.—Mahavagga. [Source: “The Essence of Buddhism” Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius, 1922, Project Gutenberg]

He identified himself with all beings—Jatakamala.

My teaching is this, that the slightest act of charity, even in the lowest class of persons, such as saving the life of an insect out of pity, that this act ... shall bring to the doer of it consequent benefit.—T'sa-ho-hom-king.

He came to remove the sorrows of all living things.—Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king.

So imbued were they with lovingkindness that all the birds and animals loved them and harmed them not.—Sama Jataka (Burmese version).

Compassionate and kind to all creatures that have life.—Brahma-jala-sutta.

Be kind to all that lives.—Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king.

Filled with compassion for all creatures.—Saddharma-pundarika.

The birds and beasts and creeping things—'tis writ— Had sense of Buddha's vast embracing love, And took the promise of his piteous speech. —Sir Edwin Arnold.

He cherished the feeling of affection for all beings as if they were his only son.—Lalita Vistara.

Nor [shall one] lay Upon the brow of innocent bound beasts One hair's weight of that answer all must give For all things done amiss or wrongfully. —Sir Edwin Arnold.

Whosoever ... harms living beings, ... and in whom there is no compassion for them, let us know such as a "base-born."—Vasala-sutta. Living in the world, and doing no harm to aught that lives.—Fo-pen-hing-tsih-king.

To whom even the life of a serpent is sacred.—Lalita Vistara.

Tibetan wind horse

I love living things that have no feet, ... four-footed creatures, and things with many feet.... May all creatures, all things that live, all beings of whatever kind, may they all behold good fortune.—Cullavagga.

Whether of the higher class of beings, as ... a perfect man, ... or of the lower class of beings, as a grasshopper or the smallest insect—in one word, whatever hath life thou shalt not kill.—Sha-mi-lu-i-yao-lio.

The Scripture said: "Be kind and benevolent to every being, and spread peace in the world.... If it happen that thou see anything to be killed, thy soul shall be moved with pity and compassion. Ah, how watchful should we be over ourselves!"—Sha-mi-lu-i-yao-lio.

I desire to produce in myself a loving heart towards all living creatures. —Fo-pen-hing-tsih-king.

The whole world of sentient creatures enjoyed ... universal tranquility. —Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king.

Every variety of living creature I must ever defend from harm.—Ta-chwang-yan-king-lun.

To think no evil and do none: on the contrary, to benefit all creatures.—Fo-pen-hing-tsih-king.

A friend to all creatures in the world.—Saddharma-pundarika.

Bent on promoting the happiness of all created beings.—Lalita Vistara.

Websites and Resources on Buddhism: Buddha Net buddhanet.net/e-learning/basic-guide ; Internet Sacred Texts Archive sacred-texts.com/bud/index ; Introduction to Buddhism webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/buddhaintro ; Early Buddhist texts, translations, and parallels, SuttaCentral suttacentral.net ; East Asian Buddhist Studies: A Reference Guide, UCLA web.archive.org ; View on Buddhism viewonbuddhism.org ; Tricycle: The Buddhist Review tricycle.org ; BBC - Religion: Buddhism bbc.co.uk/religion

Buddhist Attitude Toward Killing of Animals

Most devout Buddhists are vegetarians who are opposed to killing any animals. Buddhists believe in reincarnation and they maintain that killing an animal is killing the soul of a being that may one day be a human being. Many Buddhists go as far as rescuing insects from their tea. Some Buddhists hold special ceremonies for dead chickens or dead fish. Tibetan Buddhists believe that dogs are the last reincarnation before rebirth as humans, and as a result the country is filled with mangy dogs.

Many Mongolians are Tibetan Buddhists but also big meat eaters, and particularly fond of boiled mutton pictured here

Many Buddhists believe that equal compassion must be extended to all living things. Some Buddhists believe that killing flies, mosquitos and even bacteria is wrong and walk softly so as not to trample insects and have special filters for their drinking cups and weak masks to prevent them from inadvertently consuming microorganisms. Despite this, there is a prevailing view that not are all living things are alike and equal and only humans are capable of reaching enlightenment

The are a number of stories in Buddhist literature about Bodhisattvas and Buddhas giving their life for animals. In one often-told tale, The Buddha, in his previous incarnation as the Prince of Benares, lashed his own throats with a piece of bamboo so an exhausted tigress could eat him and take care of her five newly-born cubs. In another famous story, a celebrated Bodhisattva who was a king freed a pigeon from a hawk by giving the hawk a pound of his own flesh.

However, Peter Garfinkle wrote in National Geographic, "Even though The Buddha voiced his opposition to killing animals either for food or ritualistic passages from early Buddhists texts suggest that not only did he sometimes eat meat he may have died from food poisoning from contaminated pork. (Other say he died from eating a poisonous mushroom)."

Buddhists That Eat Animals

Many Mongolians are Tibetan Buddhists but also big meat eaters, and particularly fond of boiled mutton pictured here

Buddhist are not supposed to slaughter or witness the slaughter of animals and technically they are not supposed to even break open eggs. They are also prohibited from wearing animal skins and riding on animals. Thais were outraged when well known monk was photographed sitting on a cow in Thailand and wearing a leather outfit in Mongolia.

Many Buddhists believe that eating an animal after it has died naturally is all right. Buddha himself ate boar meat. The Tibetans have a special caste of people that slaughters animals after they have died. In some places you can get eggs that have “accidently” broken open and rich people hire servants to break open their eggs for them.

In Tibet, Sri Lanka, Thailand and other Buddhist countries priests regularly eat meat and dairy products. Nearly all the Buddhists in Mongolia eat meat. A Mongolian monk told the religious scholar Edward Conze: “We Mongol monks always eat meat, because there is nothing else. Yes, we known that by habitually eating meat we act against the ordinance of Lord Buddha. As a result of our sin we may well be re-born in hell. But it is our duty to take the Dharma to the Mongol people, and so we just have to take the consequences as they come."

Some even eschew garlic and scallions because their smell is offensive to others.

Chart indicating good and bad bloodletting days and when to guard against demons. The chart also contains a sme ba, 9 figures symbolising the elements in geomancy, in the centre with the Chinese pa-kua, 8 trigrams, surrounded by 12 animals representing months and years. Below this, symbols of the 7 days of the week. 106 compartments containing an ornamental letter in each and written in dbu indicate bloodletting days. The protector deities, top, are Manjursri, the White Tara and Vajrapani, below them the 8 fortune signs and other symbols

Buddhist Views on the Treatment of Animals

According to the BBC: “Although Buddhism is an animal-friendly religion, some aspects of the tradition are surprisingly negative about animals. Buddhism requires us to treat animals kindly: 1) Buddhists try to do no harm (or as little harm as possible) to animals; 2) Buddhists try to show loving-kindness to all beings, including animals; 3) The doctrine of right livelihood teaches Buddhists to avoid any work connected with the killing of animals. The doctrine of karma teaches that any wrong behaviour will have to be paid for in a future life - so cruel acts to animals should be avoided. Buddhists treat the lives of human and non-human animals with equal respect. [Source: BBC |::|]

“Buddhists see human and non-human animals as closely related: 1) both have Buddha-nature both have the possibility of becoming perfectly enlightened; 2) a soul may be reborn either in a human body or in the body of a non-human animal. Buddhists believe that is wrong to hurt or kill animals, because all beings are afraid of injury and death:”
All living things fear being beaten with clubs.
All living things fear being put to death.
Putting oneself in the place of the other,
Let no one kill nor cause another to kill. — Dhammapada 129

“Buddhist behaviour towards and thinking about animals is not always positive. The doctrine of karma implies that souls are reborn as animals because of past misdeeds. Being reborn as an animal is a serious spiritual setback. Because non-human animals can't engage in conscious acts of self-improvement they can't improve their karmic status, and their souls must continue to be reborn as animals until their bad karma is exhausted. Only when they are reborn as human beings can they resume the quest for nirvana. This bad karma, and the animal's inability to do much to improve it, led Buddhists in the past to think that non-human animals were inferior to human beings and so were entitled to fewer rights than human beings. Early Buddhists (but not the Buddha himself) used the idea that animals were spiritually inferior as a justification for the exploitation and mistreatment of animals. |::|

“Buddhists say that this is morally wrong if the animal concerned might come to any harm. However, Buddhists also acknowledge the value that animal experiments may have for human health. So perhaps a Buddhist approach to experiments on animals might require the experimenter to: 1) accept the karma of carrying out the experiment; 2) the experimenter will acquire bad karma through experimenting on an animal; 3) experiment only for a good purpose experiment only on animals where there is no alternative; 4) design the experiment to do as little harm as possible; 5) avoid killing the animal unless it is absolutely necessary; 6) treat the animals concerned kindly and respectfully The bad karmic consequences for the experimenter seem to demand a high level of altruistic behaviour in research laboratories.” |::|

Refraining from Harming Living Things

Buddhism beliefs in sanctity of life and non-violence have their origins in Hinduism and Jainism. See Hinduism and Jainism.

Nor [shall one] lay Upon the brow of innocent bound beasts One hair's weight of that answer all must give For all things done amiss or wrongfully. —Sir Edwin Arnold.

Whosoever ... harms living beings, ... and in whom there is no compassion for them, let us know such as a "base-born."—Vasala-sutta.

Living in the world, and doing no harm to aught that lives.—Fo-pen-hing-tsih-king.

Every variety of living creature I must ever defend from harm.—Ta-chwang-yan-king-lun.

Buddhist Views on Capital Punishment

According to the BBC: “Because Buddhism exists in many forms, under many organisations, there is no unified Buddhist policy on capital punishment. In terms of doctrine the death penalty is clearly inconsistent with Buddhist teaching. Buddhists place great emphasis on non-violence and compassion for all life. The First Precept requires individuals to abstain from injuring or killing any living creature. The Buddha did not explicitly speak about capital punishment, but his teachings show no sympathy for physical punishment, no matter how bad the crime. An action, even if it brings benefit to oneself, cannot be considered a good action if it causes physical and mental pain to another being. If a person foolishly does me wrong, I will return to him the protection of my boundless love. The more evil that comes from him, the more good will go from me. [Source: “Mercy and Punishment: Buddhism and the Death Penalty.” Alarid and Wang, BBC |::|]

“Buddhism believes fundamentally in the cycle of birth and re-birth (Samsara) and teaches that if capital punishment is administered it will have compromising effects on the souls of both offender and the punisher in future incarnations. As far as punishment in this world is concerned, Buddhism has strong views: 1) inhumane treatment of an offender does not solve their misdeeds or those of humanity in general - the best approach to an offender is reformatory rather than punitive; 2) punishment should only be to the extent to which the offender needs to make amends, and his rehabilitation into society should be of paramount importance; 3) punishing an offender with excessive cruelty will injure not just the offender's mind, but also the mind of the person doing the punishing; 4) it is impossible to administer severe punishment with composure and compassion; 5) if the crime is particularly serious, the person may be banished from the community or country. |::|

“Despite these teachings several countries with substantial Buddhist populations retain the death penalty, and some of them, for example Thailand, continue to use it. These are no states that have Buddhism as their official religion. Alarid and Wang suggest that this apparent paradox partly stems from the difference between popular and monastic Buddhism. The majority of lay Buddhists in these countries follow Buddhist practices and are entirely sincere in their commitment, but "the genuine study of Buddhism, its rituals, and carryover to daily life is superficial for most Buddhist followers." Other reasons Buddhist countries retain the death penalty are: 1) belief by politicians that capital punishment is necessary for retribution, cultural customs, or for deterrence value; 2) a long tradition of capital punishment in a particular country keeping order in society is seen as more important than Buddha's teaching; and 3) reaction to long periods of political unrest or economic instability.” |::|

Buddhist Views on Abortion and Contraception

There is no doctrinal basis in Buddhism for Buddhists to oppose birth control. Generally, Buddhist laypeople may use any traditional or modern measures to prevent conception. Birth control simply prevents a potential being from coming into existence and does not harm any sentient beings.[Source: Jacob Kinnard, Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices, 2018, Encyclopedia.com]

Abortion presents a more difficult, more ambiguous issue than contraception. The precept that prohibits killing (and harming) beings stipulates that killing is governed by five conditions, the first of which is the presence of a living being, and so it very much depends on one's stance on this issue.

Damien Keown wrote in Science and Theology News: “There is no single Buddhist view on abortion. Buddhists believe that life should not be destroyed, but they regard causing death as morally wrong only if the death is caused deliberately or by negligence. Traditional Buddhism rejects abortion because it involves the deliberate destroying of a life. Buddhists regard life as starting at conception. Buddhism believes in rebirth and teaches that individual human life begins at conception. The new being, bearing the karmic identity of a recently deceased individual, is therefore as entitled to the same moral respect as an adult human being. [Source: Damien Keown, Science and Theology News, April 2004]

Buddhist Views on Euthanasia and Suicide

According to the BBC: “Buddhists are not unanimous in their view of euthanasia, and the teachings of the Buddha don't explicitly deal with it. Most Buddhists (like almost everyone else) are against involuntary euthanasia. Their position on voluntary euthanasia is less clear. The most common position is that voluntary euthanasia is wrong, because it demonstrates that one's mind is in a bad state and that one has allowed physical suffering to cause mental suffering. [Source: BBC |::|]

“Meditation and the proper use of pain killing drugs should enable a person to attain a state where they are not in mental pain, and so no longer contemplate euthanasia or suicide. Buddhists might also argue that helping to end someone's life is likely to put the helper into a bad mental state, and this too should be avoided. |::|

“Buddhism places great stress on non-harm, and on avoiding the ending of life. The reference is to life - any life - so the intentional ending of life seems against Buddhist teaching and voluntary euthanasia should be forbidden. Certain codes of Buddhist monastic law explicitly forbid it. Lay-people do not have a code of Buddhist law, so the strongest that can be said of a lay person who takes part in euthanasia is that they have made an error of judgement. |::|

“Buddhists regard death as a transition. The deceased person will be reborn to a new life, whose quality will be the result of their karma. This produces two problems. We don't know what the next life is going to be like. If the next life is going to be even worse than the life that the sick person is presently enduring it would clearly be wrong on a utilitarian basis to permit euthanasia, as that shortens the present bad state of affairs in favour of an even worse one. The second problem is that shortening life interferes with the working out of karma, and alters the karmic balance resulting from the shortened life. |::| “Another difficulty comes if we look at voluntary euthanasia as a form of suicide. The Buddha himself showed tolerance of suicide by monks in two cases. The Japanese Buddhist tradition includes many stories of suicide by monks, and suicide was used as a political weapon by Buddhist monks during the Vietnam war. But these were monks, and that makes a difference. In Buddhism, the way life ends has a profound impact on the way the new life will begin. So a person's state of mind at the time of death is important - their thoughts should be selfless and enlightened, free of anger, hate or fear. This suggests that suicide (and so euthanasia) is only approved for people who have achieved enlightenment and that the rest of us should avoid it.” |::|

Buddhist Views on Organ Donation

According to the BBC: “ There are no rules in Buddhism for or against organ donation, but central to Buddhism is a wish to relieve suffering. There may also be occasions when organ donation may be seen as an act of charity. In Buddhism the decision for or against organ donation relies very much on an individual's decision. People may decide for or against it, without one choice being seen as right, and the other wrong. The needs and wishes of a potential donor should not be compromised by the wish to save a life. [Source: BBC |::|]

“The death process of an individual is viewed as very important, and a body should be treated with respect. However, there are no beliefs that say the body should be preserved in its entirety, so removing organs is not an issue from this point of view. A dead body, however, should only be disturbed for appropriate reasons, and with special care. It is also important to consider the consciousness of the dead person, and whether this might be adversely affected by organ donation, as the surgery takes place immediately after the donor takes their last breath. |::|

“Some Buddhists, including those who are followers of Tibetan Buddhism, believe the consciousness may stay in the body for some time after the breath has stopped. Until the consciousness leaves the body it is important the body remains undisturbed, so Tibetan Buddhists may have some concerns that an operation so soon after death may damage their consciousness and cause harm to their future lives. But others may decide this final act of generosity can only have positive ramifications.” |::|

Text Sources: East Asia History Sourcebook sourcebooks.fordham.edu , “Topics in Japanese Cultural History” by Gregory Smits, Penn State University figal-sensei.org, Asia for Educators, Columbia University; Asia Society Museum “The Essence of Buddhism” Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius, 1922, Project Gutenberg, Virtual Library Sri Lanka; “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “Encyclopedia of the World's Religions” edited by R.C. Zaehner (Barnes & Noble Books, 1959); “Encyclopedia of the World Cultures: Volume 5 East and Southeast Asia” edited by Paul Hockings (G.K. Hall & Company, New York, 1993); BBC, Wikipedia, National Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Reuters, AP, AFP, and various books and other publications.

Last updated March 2024