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The Buddha, represented by the Bodhi tree, attended by animals, Sanchi vihara. The position and treatment of animals in Buddhism is important for the light it sheds on Buddhists' perception of their own relation to the natural world, on Buddhist humanitarian concerns in general, and on the relationship between Buddhist theory and Buddhist practice.
Slaughtering cow has been a taboo, with some texts suggesting that taking care of a cow is a means of taking care of "all living beings". Cattle are seen in some Buddhist sects as a form of reborn human beings in the endless rebirth cycles in samsara, protecting animal life and being kind to cattle and other animals is good karma.
According to Buddhist belief, humans do not deserve preferential treatment over other living beings. Thus, the world is not specifically meant for human use and should be shared equally amongst all creatures. [82] Buddhists recognize that all animals are sentient and are capable of feeling pain, grief, fear, happiness, and hunger. [83]
The respect for animal rights in Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism derives from the doctrine of ahimsa. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] In Hinduism, animals contain a soul just like humans; when sentient beings die, they can either be reincarnated as a human or as an animal.
Buddhism (/ ˈ b ʊ d ɪ z əm / BUUD-ih-zəm, US also / ˈ b uː d-/ BOOD-), [1] [2] [3] also known as Buddha Dharma, is an Indian religion [a] and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. [7]
Animal faith is the study of animal behaviours that suggest proto-religious faith. It is commonly believed that religion and faith are unique to humans, [1] [2] [3] largely due to the typical dictionary definition of the word religion (see e.g. Wiktionary or Dictionary.com) requiring belief in a deity, which has not been observed in non-human animals. [4]
The status of life as a human, at first is seen as very important. In the hierarchy of Buddhist cosmology it is low but not entirely at the bottom. It is not intrinsically marked by extremes of happiness or suffering, but all the states of consciousness in the universe, from hellish suffering to divine joy to serene tranquility can be experienced within the human world.
Sentient beings is a term used to designate the totality of living, conscious beings that constitute the object and audience of Buddhist teaching. Translating various Sanskrit terms ( jantu, bahu jana, jagat, sattva ), sentient beings conventionally refers to the mass of living things subject to illusion, suffering, and rebirth ( saṃsāra ).