In Search of Consistency: Ethics and Animals [Human–Animal Studies] Part 7 pdf

This message is heightened in the most famous portion of the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita, where Krishna one form of the god Vishnu reveals himself to a worthyand needy human being, sa

in peace with one another: “[H]ave no fear of any serpent but

think—Serpents of good fortune, live in peace here with our dear ones” (Mahabharata 14).

The Mahabharata also carries a spiritual message of oneness: all

that exists is God (Dwivedi 5) This message is heightened in the

most famous portion of the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita, where

Krishna (one form of the god Vishnu) reveals himself to a worthyand needy human being, saying “I am the life of all living beings .All beings have their rest in me In all living beings I am the

light of consciousness” (Bhagavad 74, 80, 86) The Bhagavad Gita reminds

Hindus: “I am not lost to one who sees me in all things and seesall things in me,” and those who love God must have “love for all

creation” (6.30, L Nelson 95) God is the life of all that exists—not

just the life of humanity, and Hindus are instructed to extend thesame love to a human being, or a cow, “or an elephant, or a dog”(L Nelson 67) A holy person (assumed to be a man in most reli-gious literature)

sees himself in the heart of all beings and he sees all beings in hisheart And when he sees me in all and he sees all in me, then Inever leave him and he never leaves me He who in this oneness oflove, loves me in whatever he sees, wherever this man may live, intruth this man lives in me And he is the greatest Yogi he whose vision

is ever one: when the pleasure and pain of others is his own pleasure

and pain (Bhagavad 71–72)

In the Bhagavad Gita, by definition, a pundit is one who “treats a

cow, an elephant, a dog, and an outcaste” with the same high regardbecause God is all, and those who are spiritually advanced, thosewho are true devotees, find “in all creation the presence of God”(Dwivedi 5)

The Hindu religious tradition contains much in its philosophy that

is protectionist, including the philosophies and spiritual teachings of

transmigration, karma, oneness, and ahimsa Additionally, Hindu sacred

literature provides a wealth of anymal characters that bring thesemany species to the forefront of spiritual consciousness—often as

equals Many stories exemplify ahimsa, encouraging Hindus to show

compassion for all living beings

3 Buddhism

The name of the organization People for the Ethical Treatment ofAnimals is most often identified by the acronym PETA A friendand colleague of mine, Dr Fred Porta, notes that the Pali word

“peta” means “souls of the dead.” Did the founders choose this nameknowing something of Pali? Not likely, but it does seem fitting thatthis group fights for the lives of those commonly slaughtered, thosefrequently viewed as expendable It is yet more significant that thisacknowledgment be through the language of Pali, the ancient Indiclanguage of Theravada Buddhism Porta commented, “[I]t is fittingthat an animal rights group, on behalf of the most defenseless beings

in society—the animals—use a Buddhist term

Buddhism emerged on the outskirts of the Hindu world, in

north-eastern India, in the sixth century BCE (Embree, Hindu 132) Buddhism

inherited key concepts from the dominant Hindu tradition, such as

karma , reincarnation, ahimsa, and oneness.

Buddhism, like Hinduism, associates wild places with spiritual ings and insights Practitioners from India to China often turn tothe wild places in search of a deeper, more spiritual vision of life,shunning places frequented by humanity (Yu-Lan 65) Traditionally,Buddhists wishing to gain spiritual wisdom lived simple lives far from population centers In the seventh century, the Buddhist poetShantideva wrote:

bless-Trees do not show disdain, and they demand no toilsome wooing;Fain would I now consort with them as my companions

Fain would I dwell in a deserted sanctuary, beneath a tree, or in acave

Fain would I dwell in spacious regions owned by no one,

And there, a homeless wanderer, follow my own mind (Conze 102)One of the most famous Tibetan Buddhist saints, Milarepa, is some-times depicted as an ascetic harboring a deer in the presence of apassing hunter, who pauses to show his respects to the great ascetic,honoring and respecting the deer’s protector Many lesser-knownBuddhists have also turned to wild places in search of enlighten-ment, and their writings reveal “delight in the wooded and moun-tain heights” and in the wild anymals who share their secludeddwellings (Burtt 73)

Those upland glades delightful to the soul,

Where kareri [tree] spreads its wildering wreaths,

Where sound the trumpet-calls of elephants:

Those are the braes wherein my soul delights

Those rocky heights with hue of dark blue clouds,

Where lies embosomed many a shining tarn

Of crystal-clear, cool waters

Free from the crowds of citizens below,

But thronged with flocks of many winged things,

The home of herding creatures of the wild

Crags where clear waters lie, a rocky world,

Haunted by black-faced apes and timid deer,

Where ’neath bright blossoms run the silver streams:

Such are the braes wherein my soul delights (Burtt 75–76)

Many contemporary Buddhists carry on this spiritual tradition ofretreating to the wilderness, or at least to secluded places, to prac-tice their religion

Buddhism arose “during a time and in a place where the aries between humans and animals were far more fluid than in con-temporary industrialized societies” (Chapple 143) Like the Hindutradition, the Buddhist religion does not envision a strict boundarybetween humans and anymals; “Buddhism recognizes no essential

bound-distinction between humans and animals” (Phelps, Great 33) Even

today Buddhists view species more as a semipermeable membrane,due at least in part, to the philosophy of reincarnation Eons oftransmigrating souls witness that today’s anymals are our relativesfrom former lives (D Williams 151) The Lankavatara Sutra states:

In the long course of samsara [the cyclical process of life, death, and

rebirth], there is not one among living beings with form who has notbeen mother, father, brother, sister, son, or daughter, or some otherrelative Being connected with the process of taking birth, one is kin

to all wild and domestic animals, birds, and beings born from thewomb Repeated birth generates an interconnected web of lifewhich, according to the Buddhist precept of harmlessness, must berespected (Chapple 143)

Buddhist philosophy holds that other species “are subject to the sameprocess” that human beings experience, living the effects of karmafrom one birth to the next (Waldau 140) Anymals, “like ourselves,make choices that govern both this immediate life and future expe-riences” (Chapple 144) Just as we wish for “peace, happiness, andjoy for ourselves, we know that all beings wish for these qualities”

(Phelps, Great 44) Karma can no more be avoided by a Persian cat than it can by an avahi (woolly lemur) The Sutta Pitaka notes that

one’s actions determine one’s future as surely as “the wheel followsthe foot of the ox that draws the carriage” (Burtt 52)

Some Buddhist schools teach of radical identification with all ing beings—with all other entities: “It is not just that ‘we are all in

liv-it’ together We all are it, rising and falling as one living body” (Cook

229) The words of a contemporary Buddhist monk, Thich NhatHanh, reflect this view of species and the Indian concept of “oneness”:

I am one with the wonderful pattern of life which radiates out in alldirections I am the frog swimming in the pond and I am alsothe snake who needs the body of the frog to nourish its own body

I am the forest which is being cut down I am the rivers and air whichare being polluted (Allendorf 43–44)

Oneness teaches that no entity is “other”; we are not separate fromanyone or anything else Thich Nhat Hanh writes of the intercon-nectedness of all beings, and encourages people to apply this under-standing in daily life

A human being is an animal, a part of nature But we single ourselvesout from the rest of nature We classify other animals and living beings

as nature, as if we ourselves are not part of it Then we pose the tion, “How should I deal with Nature?” We should deal with naturethe way we deal with ourselves ! Harming nature is harming our-selves, and vice versa (Hanh 41)

ques-Philosophical ideas that have their roots in the Hindu tradition, such

as reincarnation and oneness, led Buddhist philosophers to concludethat there really is no independent “self ” (Robinson 38) ManyBuddhists view individuals and species as mere name and form—outward vestiges wrapped around something less tangible but moreenduring, more fundamental, that transcends individual bodies andbiological categories In this view individual human existence is amirage: we are only matter in human form, soon to be disbandedand recreated according to our actions in this and past lives.The Buddhist concept of “codependent arising” also encourages

a view of radical interdependence Codependent arising holds that

no individual or action can be separated from any other individual

or action (Robinson 23–29) Radical Buddhist interdependence doesnot allow for an independent entity, action, word, or thought; allthings influence all other things—each being or act is critical to every

other The idea of radical interdependence led some Buddhists to

conclude that all things are one another in their very essence In the

words of a contemporary Thai Buddhist monk: “The entire cosmos

is a cooperative The sun, the moon and the stars live together as

a cooperative The same is true for humans and animals, trees andthe Earth [ T ]he world is a mutual, interdependent, coopera-tive enterprise” (Swearer 5)

When Buddhism traveled to China, it combined with Daoism toform some extraordinarily nature-friendly spiritual teachings One ofthe most nature-friendly extant religious philosophies, Hua-yen, is aschool of Chinese Buddhism formed around 600 CE Hua-yen car-ried “codependent arising” to its logical extreme In the Hua-yenworldview all things are reflected in all other things, as in an infinitelyregressing mirror that encompasses the entire universe in “simulta-

neous mutual identity and mutual intercausality” (Cook 214) Nothing is

independent in this “vast web of interdependencies in which if onestrand is disturbed, the whole web is shaken” (Cook 213) For exam-

ple, we know that without the sun we could not live as we currently live Similarly, but on a different scale, neither can we live as we now live if a small flea is knocked from the side of a kitten in a village

in northern Malaysia All is changed by any slight change; the

rip-ple effect is unending and all encompassing because all things areinterconnected If a roadrunner is squashed under the tires of a truckcarrying the breast milk of cattle to Phoenix, Arizona, this event

affects all other living entities Radical Buddhist interdependence cates that cruelty and exploitation are counterproductive becauseharming one entity harms all that exists, including oneself

indi-Also in China, the influential T’ien T’ai Buddhist school teachesthat all things are contained in one moment and one moment con-tains all things This combination of single and universal in one unityculminated in the concept of “Buddha-Nature” (deBary 156–57)

“Buddha-Nature” is nirvana in samsara—it is the mundane in fection, the Buddha in each of us and in every living thing “Buddha-

per-Nature” is the inherent perfection of each thing as it naturally is All

things have “Buddha-Nature,” and to acknowledge this quality in all

things is to realize that all things are perfect in their essence, just as they are The T’ien T’ai spiritual seeker is encouraged to understandthat each thing —everything —has inherent value, and that one canlearn spiritual truths from every aspect of the physical world, themighty Western red cedar and the little winter polypore, the exquis-

ite tamandua, and the now-extinct (but once-exquisite) tarpan (whohad the misfortune of depending on grazing lands that were muchcoveted by human beings).

When Chinese Buddhism reached Japan, anymal and friendly teachings were accepted, fostered, and enhanced The greatJapanese Buddhist philosopher, Dogen (1200–1253), taught that thesplendors of nature hold the essence of enlightenment, and that spir-itual ideas themselves are “the entire universe, mountains and rivers,and the great wide earth, plants and trees” (Curtin, “Dogen” 198;Swearer 15) The Buddhist tradition, as it traveled across cultures,viewed the entire physical world as holding spiritual significance.Teachings such as that of Buddha-Nature and radical interdepen-dence encourage people to view anymals as important rather than

nature-as lesser or “other.” Simultaneously, these teachings deflate humanpride by denying the existence of the individual self Buddhist phi-losophy elevated nature while diminishing the worldly importance ofthe individual Buddhist practitioner

Buddhism also teaches ahimsa, including uniquely Buddhist sions of this universal moral ideal, such as metta (loving-kindness) and karuna (compassion) Anymal rights activist and Buddhist Norm Phelpswrites, “Compassion becomes real when it becomes active in the

expres-world” (Great 162) Buddhist literature features prominent injunctions

not to kill anymals (Waldau 136) Given the Buddhist ing of oneness, no creature lies outside of Buddhist morality orbeyond the concern of a practicing Buddhist (Martin 99) Buddhistmoral conduct is “built on the vast conception of universal love andcompassion for all living beings” (Rahula 46) Nonviolence, loving-kindness, and compassion are applied to human beings and anymals

understand-alike (Kraft 277) The Bodhicharyavatara of Shantideva (circa 600 CE),

encourages Buddhist practitioners to recognize that “fellow-creaturesare the same as him[or her]self ‘All have the same sorrows, thesame joys as I, and I must guard them like myself ’” (Burtt 139)

“There is never a hint in Buddhist teachings that intellectual ity, a sophisticated sense of self, or any characteristic beyond theability to suffer is relevant to moral standing” (Phelps, Great 40) The Dhammapada, a popular and important text in the Buddhist canon,teaches that those who follow the Buddha will, “ever by night andday,” “find joy in love for all beings” (78) The practitioner doesnot just find joy for self, or love for other people but for “all beings.”For a Buddhist practitioner, compassion is a “feeling that suffers all

abil-the agonies and torments” of every sentient creature, and an standing that harm done to others is harm done to oneself, for we

under-are all one, and we under-are bound by karma (Kushner 148f ).

The Buddha instructed followers to exhibit “an unlimited giving compassion flowing freely toward all creatures that live” (Burtt46) “Indeed, Buddhists see this orientation to the suffering of oth-ers as a sine qua non of ethical life” (Waldau 138) The virtue ofcompassion is “one of the indispensable conditions for deliverance”(Kushner 148f ); the Dali Lama has often stated that loving-kind-

self-ness is his religion (Gyatso 8) The Dhammapada plainly states that it

is those who “hurt no living being” who will reach nirvana (Dhammapada

68), and that a truly great person is not one who succeeds in worldlymatters, but one who “hurts not any living being” (74) Similarly,

the Buddhist Sutta-Nipata includes the following, often translated as

the hymn of love:

may all

be blessed with peace always;

all creatures weak or strong,

all creatures great and small;

creatures unseen or seen

dwelling afar or near,

born or awaiting birth,

—may all be blessed with peace!

as with her own life

a mother shields from hurt

her own, her only, child,—

let all-embracing thoughts

for all that lives be thine,

—an all-embracing love

for all the universe (Burtt 46–47)

These high moral ideals are not expected only of monks and saints

“For Buddhists, ahimsa, or noninjury, is an ethical goal for monks

and laypersons alike” (Shinn 219) Buddhists are encouraged to choosetheir livelihood so as to avoid any harm to living beings (Rahula47) It would be unthinkable for most Buddhists to capitalize on fac-tory farming of any kind, as it would be unthinkable for them torun a business exploiting the cheap labor of poor children or to earntheir living as soldiers Even keeping anymals in captivity is recog-

nized in the Dhammapada as contrary to teachings of loving-kindness,

for the captive elephant “remembers the elephant grove” (81) Those

who successfully travel the Buddhist path will be filled with mercy,living a life that is “compassionate and kind to all creatures thathave life” (Burtt 104).

Buddhist writings also warn that “meat-eating in any form or ner and in any circumstances is prohibited, unconditionally and onceand for all” (deBary 91–92) While many contemporary Buddhistseat meat today, it is clear from Buddhist teachings that the moralideal is to reduce suffering—flesh eating (as well as drinking thenursing milk of factory-farmed anymals) fosters massive amounts ofmisery amongst millions of anymals “If we are fully and genuinelymindful in our eating, we will not allow our choice of foods to bringneedless suffering and death to living beings The correct ques-tion is not, ‘Should I be a vegetarian?’ but ‘Should I participate in

man-the unnecessary killing of sentient beings?’ It is not about us; it is about the animals. A vegan lifestyle is not a dogma, it is an essential

element of Buddhist compassion” (Phelps, Great 127, 137, 141) For

the Buddhist, good conduct requires “putting away the killing of ing things” and holding “aloof from the destruction of life” (Burtt

liv-104) In the Dhammapada it is written:

All beings tremble before danger, all fear death When a man siders this, he does not kill or cause to kill

All beings fear before danger, life is dear to all When a man siders this, he does not kill or cause to kill

con-He who for the sake of happiness hurts others who also want piness, shall not hereafter find happiness

hap-He who for the sake of happiness does not hurt others who alsowant happiness, shall hereafter find happiness (Dhammapada 54)

Those who take on the Buddhist life turn to love made infinite, ing, “With all am I a friend, comrade to all/And to all creatureskind and merciful” (Burtt 79) Amongst the important and early

vow-Buddhist writings that form the Sutta Pitaka, our moral

responsibil-ity not to cause anymals to be slaughtered is acknowledged by theBuddha He is said to have described a worthy and enlightenedhuman not by caste, but by actions, more specifically, one who doesnot hurt any creatures, “whether feeble or strong, does not kill norcause slaughter” (Burtt 71) To cause another to be harmed is spir-itually problematic in the Buddhist tradition It matters little whokills the turkey; the one who buys the dead bird causes another to

be raised and killed and has therefore caused unnecessary suffering.

Buddhist philosophy teaches that a flesh eater can no more avoid

the karma that results from such unnecessarily harmful actions than

one can escape the dirtying effects of dust they have thrown intothe wind Those who seek happiness in this life but cause misery toother beings “will not find happiness after death” (Burtt 59)

In a restaurant in Dharmsala, India, a Tibetan Buddhist rant owner carried a live-trapped rat from his restaurant, away to

restau-a new life in the thick forests of northern Indirestau-a while I wrestau-as erestau-ating

my breakfast The first, and most fundamental Buddhist preceptwarns followers “to refrain from killing living beings”—not just humanbeings, but all living beings (Robinson 77) This proscription againstharming anymals “is central to the Buddhist tradition Indeed, it is

in fact one of the few common features across the vast Buddhist dition and its many sects, strands, and branches” (Waldau 143) TheBuddhist moral obligation to show concern for other life forms is “asignificant, indeed a radical, message,” particularly given that Buddhistlands included anymals who posed a threat to human beings (Waldau123) Whether a cow or a viper, Buddhist morality teaches practi-tioners not to harm other sentient beings

tra-Buddhism is often divided into major schools of thought, ing Mahayana and Theravada traditions Practitioners and spiritualbeings of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, called bodhisattvas, com-

includ-mit themselves to the task of saving all creatures from the sufferingentailed in life, death, and rebirth (deBary 81–82)

[C]ompassion is given an especially prominent place in the Mahayanabranch of the Buddhist tradition by virtue of its association with thecentral ideal of the bodhisattva, although concern for living things isconceptually no less central in the Theravadin branch The bodhisattva

is known, and even defined, by his or her commitment to the tion of other beings (Waldau 138)

salva-Bodhisattvas vow to return to the earth again and again throughreincarnation, rather than disappear into nirvana They come back

to suffer the trials and tribulations of life in order to help every vidual of every species to escape from ongoing suffering and rebirth(deBary 81) As the sun illuminates the entire earth, while a glow-worm offers only a tiny spot of light, so the bodhisattva is able tolight the way to nirvana for “countless beings” (Burtt 130–31) Abodhisattva thinks: “As many beings as there are in the universe ofbeings,” with or without form, with or without perception, “all these

indi-I must lead to Nirvana” (Conze 164) Buddhist sutras explain a hisattva’s commitment:

bod-A Bodhisattva resolves: I take upon myself the burden of all suffering,

I am resolved to do so, I will endure it I do not turn or run away,

do not tremble, am not terrified, nor afraid, do not turn back ordespond

And why? At all costs I must bear the burdens of all beings In that

I do not follow my own inclinations I have made the vow to save allbeings All beings I must set free The whole world of living beings Imust rescue, from the terrors of birth, of old age, of sickness, of deathand rebirth, of all kinds of moral offence, of all states of woe, of thewhole cycle of birth-and-death from all these terrors I must rescueall beings I must rescue all these beings from the stream ofSamsara, which is so difficult to cross; I must pull them back fromthe great precipice, I must free them from all calamities, I must ferrythem across the stream of Samsara I myself must grapple with thewhole mass of suffering of all beings (Burtt 133)

Anymals have a high profile in the ancient and foundationalBuddhist Pali Canon, as well as in extracanonical writings (Waldau149) Buddhist animal tales “illustrate and underscore the positionthat life from one form to the next is continuous,” through rein-

carnation (Chapple 143) For example, the Buddhist Jataka is in many ways similar to the Hindu Pancatantra; both collections stem from the same ancient sources Jataka tales tell of the Buddha’s past incarna-

tions These entertaining stories feature animals of every kind,

includ-ing humans Anymals are not incidental to Jataka story lines; they

are primary, and are “presented with remarkable detail and racy” (Chapple 143) This menagerie of stories includes such diversecreatures as a crow, jackal, snake, swan, quail, horse, goose, tortoise,boar, cuckoo, pigeon, woodpecker, chameleon, chicken, mongoose,mosquito, otter, shrew, beetle, osprey, and many more Numerically,the most important anymals in these tales are monkeys, who appear

accu-in twenty-seven stories, followed by elephants (twenty-four), jackals(twenty), lions (nineteen), and crows (seventeen) In all there are sev-enty different anymals in the Jataka, many acting as central charac-ters in the stories in which they appear (Chapple 134, 145–46)

Jataka stories reveal “the essence of the Buddhist attitude brought

to life—the attitude of universal compassion flowing from the

knowledge of inner oneness” (Martin 98) In many Jataka tales

any-mals are cast as the Buddha in past lives, each one demonstrating

self-sacrificing generosity “for the benefit of all living beings” (Martin

98) For example, one Jataka reveals the Buddha in a former life as

Prince Mahasattva, who comes upon a hungry tigress that is tooweak to hunt for her offspring She and her little ones are on theedge of death, and the bodhisattva comments, “Holy men are born

of pity and compassion.” Prince Mahasattva then offers his own bodythat the tigress and her young might live (Conze 24–26) As in many

of the Jataka tales, the message is one of compassion, and readers

know that Prince Mahasattva is eventually reincarnated (due to good

karma ) as Siddhartha Gotama—the Buddha Jataka tales instruct

Buddhists to live mindfully—with an awareness of the likely effects

of each and every action

In many Jataka stories anymals “set an example” for humans and

also “deepen the threads of human experience” (Chapple 135, 144)

For example, Jataka anymals exhibit “compassionate and often heroic

self-giving” (Martin 97) One story tells of a monkey who saves hisfollowers and community by using his body as a bridge to form anescape route The monkey’s back is broken, but his companions aresafe An observer comments to the monkey: “It is not your swordwhich makes you a king; it is love alone” (Khan 18) In a thirdstory, the Buddha appears as a deer who offers his life to a hunterinstead of allowing the mother of a young fawn to be killed Thehunter, who happens to be king of the realm, impressed by the deer,spares his life, and then inquires after the lives of the other deerand all four-footed anymals, birds, and fish In each case the Buddha(in deer form) pleads for their lives, discouraging the king from eat-ing other creatures Because of the Buddha-deer’s efforts, “Love hadentered into the heart of the King,” and he ceased to hunt and killanymals so that “all the living creatures in his realm were happy

ever after” (Khan 33) In Jataka tales the Buddha offers his body

both as rabbit and elephant so that starving people might eat Therabbit flung himself into a fire to be cooked while the elephant ran

off a cliff to land at the feet of those who needed food Such ries remind readers that there is a difference between those who

sto-have nothing to eat except dead anymals, and those who choose to kill

for food Stories of self-sacrificing compassion, stories of the Buddha

in earlier lives, also remind readers and listeners that the Buddhahas been in many forms, as have all living beings, and that eachliving entity is capable of respectful and compassionate actions towardothers No anymal is too insignificant or “undesirable” to have housed

the karmic presence of the Buddha in his previous existences, or to

be morally considerable

Jataka tales remind listeners that anymals are an integral part ofour shared world, subject to the same moral laws (Waldau 150) As

noted, karma rules the lives of anymals and humans alike (Kraft 277):

Lassie and the Prince of Wales are both subject to the same moral

law Those who read stories of the Jataka are helped to envision a deeper, closer connection with other life-forms In the Jataka, “ani-

mals have their own lives, their own karma, tests, purposes, and rations And, as often brief and painful as their lives may be, theyare also graced with a purity and a clarity which we can only humblyrespect, and perhaps even occasionally envy” (Martin 100)

aspi-It is not surprising that anymal voices in the Jataka speak out

against harming other species, against anymal sacrifice, and againsthunting and eating anymals (Chapple 135–38) A contemporaryBuddhist, reflecting on the Jataka, noted:

Was not the Buddha a hare? a quail? a monkey, a lion, a deer orox? Who is to say that the dog guarding our porch or the cat twin-ing around our legs is not a Bodhisattva ? Entering the marketone sees live rabbits and chickens and turkeys for sale And one won-ders, “Why are they here?” and is torn “Should I buy them all? Howcan I save them?” For in the Jatakas one has seen that their innerlife is the same as our own One seeks to save them all, and they too,looking out at us with black or with golden shining eyes, yearn only

to liberate us (Martin 100)

Through the lives of anymals, Jataka tales encourage aspirants to

fol-low the compassionate path of the Buddha, to see anymals as viduals worthy of moral consideration

indi-A Tibetan folktale about a frog reveals the strong influence ofBuddhist morality permeating Tibetan Buddhist culture In this story

a frog begs an old widow to adopt him as her son After severaldays, she finally agrees and quickly comes to love the frog The frogproceeds to hop off to find himself the most beautiful young woman

in the area The young woman’s family is mortified at the thought

of their only child, their beloved daughter, marrying a frog Thefrog reminds the reticent people that “[h]uman beings, animals, birds,even frogs” are all “of the same spiritual force” (Hyde-Chambers177) But a frog as a son-in-law is a hard sell, and they offer the

frog anything else he might want He again offers a Buddhist rationale:

“Can you not see that all beings, human or animal, are the same?”

(Hyde-Chambers 180) He resorts to causing a series of disruptiveevents, revealing his powers, to finally convince the parents to letthem marry Once he wins the daughter from her parents, he mustwork to gain the young woman’s heart She is dreadfully disap-pointed in her marital match, and at her father’s instruction, tries

to kill the frog on their way to his home She makes three attempts

on the frog’s life, and the frog patiently returns her weapons, ing, “Remember that we are all one” (Hyde-Chambers 180) Eventuallythe frog does win her heart, and consistent with Western folklore,she discovers him to be a handsome young man wearing a magicfrog skin But the moral of the story bears no resemblance to that

say-of Western lore: “[A]ll things differ only in their ‘skin’ [A]ll arereally one nature” (Hyde-Chambers 186)

Like other major faiths, Buddhism is a practical religion aimedspecifically at salvation Buddhist teachings are to be enacted in dailylife if devotees are to avoid ill affects in future lives Thus KingAshoka, best known of Buddhist kings, was not only concerned withhis human subjects, but also with the welfare of anymals in his king-dom (Harris 386) He “famously attempted to integrate the FirstPrecept [not to kill (or harm)] into his rule”; texts “posted aroundhis large realm testify again and again to a respect for the lives ofother animals” (Waldau 143) His Buddhist compassion was not anisolated incident, but part of a larger Buddhist tendency to protectand nurture anymals China’s “Liang emperor, Wu Ti (502–550), issaid to have fed fish held in a monastery pond as part of his Buddhistdevotions, while, in 759, the T’ang emperor is reported to havedonated a substantial sum toward the construction of eighty-one suchponds for the preservation of animal life” (Harris 386) Nor is thisphenomenon merely part of Buddhism’s history, or a luxury of royalty

“[A]s late as the mid-1930s, the National Buddhist Association cast radio lectures on the need for animal protection” (Harris 386).Some Buddhists continue to honor “animal day” (Harris 386) In

broad-1280 in Japan, by order of the Shogun, the people of Japan wereprohibited from killing anymals for a two-week period prior to national

“animal day.” The core of this Buddhist holy day entails releasingcaptive anymals, such as fish or birds, back into the wild (D Williams149) Rooted in Buddhist texts, this annual celebration encouragespractitioners to “work for the liberation of living beings , practiceliberation of living beings , and cause others to do so” because

we are all related to every other being through the ongoing process

of birth, death, and rebirth (Bommyokyo 150) At this time of year,

if Buddhists witness anymals being harmed, they “must by proper

means save and protect them from misery and danger” (Bommyokyo

150) And they do It is recorded in 1017 that a courtier noted twomen fishing along the Kamo River, purchased and released the fishthat had been caught on the annual day of releasing captive any-mals (D Williams 156) For many Buddhists, practical acts of kind-ness and generosity are critical to salvation The Buddhist philosophy

of codependent arising and radical interdependence indicate thateach anymal was at some point one’s parent, and to harm one’sparent is a particularly base act for much of the world to whichBuddhism traveled, including China and Japan Because we arerelated to all creatures, on “anymal day” some Buddhists release liv-ing beings from the suffering we too often impose on other sentientcreatures

Buddhist philosophy holds that people are merely one small part

of an interconnected and interdependent universe This Buddhist look is reflected in Buddhist morality that teaches loving-kindnessand compassion, reinforced through lively anymal tales “[I]t can beforcefully argued” that Buddhists, perhaps even unanimously, agree

out-“on the significance that real, live individuals of other species have”(Waldau 153) The first Buddhist precept requires the faithful not tokill Buddhism thus reveals a protectionist philosophy that is notmerely peripheral, but belongs “to the core of the tradition” form-ing “the foundation of Buddhist morality” (Waldau 138)

4 Daoism and Other Chinese Religions

In recent times China and Japan have frequently been criticized foractions harmful to the natural world and anymals, but Chinese spir-itual traditions are rich with protectionist teachings

China has several important religious traditions, including Daoism(or Taoism), Buddhism, Philosophy of Change, Confucianism, andYin Yang Philosophy (Chinese Buddhism is discussed in the abovesection on Buddhism; this section focuses largely on the Daoist tra-dition.) In China, spiritual wisdom has long been associated withthose who live close to nature—whether Buddhist or Daoist Inroughly the tenth century Ssu-k’ung Tu wrote a poem titled “OxheadTemple”: “From my favorite place in the Chung-nan Mountains,/

The chanting of the monks emerges into the dark sky./Groves oftrees stand out clearly in the somber solitude,/thin mist floats in the

desolate void” (Mair, Columbia 241) The Taoist Meng Hao-jan (circa

700 CE) writes:

All my life I have respected true reclusion

For days on end sought spiritual mysteries

There are many pure notes in pines and streams;

These moss-grown walls are wrapped in a feeling of antiquity.How I would like to retire to this very mountain,

“Casting off both self and world alike.” (Mair, Columbia 194)

For many Chinese Buddhists and Daoists, nature is understood notonly as the appropriate place to seek spiritual growth and enlight-enment, but also as a medium through which the highest spiritualtruths might be learned The following Chinese Buddhist poem, per-haps written by a poet whose name means “Cold Mountain” (Han-shan, who lived sometime before the ninth century), relates a recluse’sview of nature as a metaphor for the spiritual path:

I climb up the Way to Cold Mountain,

But the Cold Mountain road is endless:

Long valleys of boulders stacked stone upon stone,

Broad streams thick with dense undergrowth

The mosses are slippery, though there’s been no rain;

Pines cry out, but it’s not the wind

Who can get beyond worldly attachments

And sit with me among the white clouds? (Sommer 167)

Mountains and rivers have long been sacred in China, as in India,and have even played an important role in official religion and the

governing of the nation (L Thompson, Chinese Way 29) In fact, Chinese mountains are divinities (L Thompson, Chinese Way 179).

Until recently, every Chinese village had “a temple dedicated to thelocal mountain god” (Bernbaum 24) Also as in India, Chinese spir-itual practitioners (Buddhist and Daoist)—especially those who arespiritually advanced—have often lived far from civilization (L Thomp-

son, Chinese Religion 81, 107) Of course, the wild places are where

the anymals live, and this has brought China’s spiritual people indirect contact with other species It is not surprising that popularimages such as the Chinese god of long life, Fukuokuju, are associ-ated with the crane, stag, and tortoise (Storm 231)

As is the case with many non-Western faiths, Chinese traditionsare not exclusive Many people are both Daoist and Confucian; they

accept the Philosophy of Change and Yin Yang Philosophy MostChinese people engage in a variety of religious practices from differentChinese religions and accept philosophical teachings from all Chinesereligious traditions Chuang Tzu, a great Daoist mystic, second only

to Lao Tzu in the Taoist world, goes so far as to indicate that egories of any kind, whether human and anymal or Christian andBuddhist, are best left aside “[W]hen the shoe fits/The foot is for-gotten,/When the belt fits/The belly is forgotten,/When the heart

cat-is right/‘For’ and ‘against’ are forgotten” (Merton 112) Outside of

the Judeo-Christian-Islamic faiths, notions of the one right way, the only

truth, are uncommon In China, most people subscribe to an tic mix of spiritual philosophies

eclec-Furthermore, “Chinese philosophy and culture tend to be ‘Taoist’

in a broad sense, since the idea of Tao is, in one form or another,central to traditional Chinese thinking” (Merton 20) The Chineseworldview does not admit of an independent humanity, but viewsthe universe as an ongoing process, where we are but a small part

of one unity The cosmos, and all parts of this great cosmos, act and participate in what the Chinese view as a spontaneous self-generating process of life (Tu 67) Everything that exists is part ofthis ongoing transformation, providing the Chinese people with asense of self as an intimate part of a larger whole to which theybelong, but in which they are not of any greater importance than

inter-any other entity (L Thompson, Chinese Religion 6) As with Indian

philosophy, the Daoist tradition acknowledges constant change asfundamental to existence Perpetual transformations bind each indi-vidual to all other things (Chan 177) Resultant Chinese philosophyshares much in common with Indian “oneness.”

The constant flux and transformation involved in this great, mic process “binds all things into one, equalizing all things and allopinions” (Chan 177) Nothing lies outside of this Daoist continuum,and so “the chain of being is never broken,” and a link can “always

cos-be found cos-between any given pair of things in the universe,” whethergaur and mongoose, or mongoose and human being (Tu 70).Furthermore, every link in the web of life is critical to one’s ownexistence; everything that exists in the universe is “intrinsically related

to and thus constitutive of ‘self ’” (Ames 120)

We can only exist as part of this larger whole In this view of theuniverse each anymal is necessary as part of the larger whole (Tu71) There is no God behind the functioning of the cosmos There

is no hierarchy, no superior race or species (Hall 109) Each being

has its special way of being, its te, and this te is to be honored both

in self and in others—all others—whether marsupial, monotreme, orprimate (Hall 110) In the words of Chuang Tzu, the “universe isvast, its transformation is uniform Although the myriad things aremany, their order is one” (Chan 204)

Chuang Tzu goes on to say, “The universe and I exist together,and all things and I are one” (Chan 186) Unlike Indian philosophy,Chuang Tzu’s view of interconnectedness and unity envisions thehuman body as bits and pieces of everything else He understandsdeath and decay as a physical mixing of matter He writes abouttwo people—one man lying on his deathbed receiving a visitor:

“Go away” he said, “Don’t disturb the transformation that is about

to take place.” Then, leaning against the door, he continued, “Great

is the Creator! What will he make of you now? Where will he takeyou? Will he make you into a rat’s liver? Will he make you into aninsect’s leg?” (Chan 197)

All matter—all beings—are viewed as an integral part of a greatand ongoing transformation (Parkes 91) Put clearly by Chuang Tzu:

“Now a dragon, now a snake,/You transform together with thetimes,/And never consent to be one thing alone” (Parkes 92).The Chinese worldview provides a vision of discord as shallow,like the waves that skim above a great ocean, while harmony is deep,reaching clear to the ocean floor Harmony pervades the cosmos,which entails union, integration, and synthesis, rather than exclusiv-ity Everything that exists benefits all else that exists, and no onespecies or mode of existence is favored in the impersonal process oftransformation (Tu 71–73) “Human beings are thus organically con-nected with rocks, trees, and animals”; we are not overlords or sep-arate, but an integral part of a larger whole, along with all otherbeings (Tu 74–75) In short, human beings “experience nature fromwithin” (Tu 77)

Daoists generally think it obvious that Dao exists, that it ates wisely and reliably, without human assistance,” and that “anyinterventional activity by humans will inevitably interfere” with theproper functioning of the Dao and will result in tragedy (Kirkland294) Dao, or “the Way,” is a concept sometimes difficult forWesterners to grasp In the Daoist view there is no definitive Creator,

“oper-no teleological goal, “oper-no design in the universe There is “oper-no deity to

punish or favor humanity Dao simply “abides in all things” ( Jochim8) According to Chuang Tzu, Dao is everywhere, in the ant, in theweeds, in “excrement and urine” (Chan 203) Yet he also admittedthat even he, a great sage, had only found the beginning of therealm of Dao and did not know where it might end (Waley 52–53).The universe is ordered in the Daoist view: Patterns of “alter-nating forces and phases” shape “rhythms of life” (Kleeman 67).Dao is

the final source and ground of the universe Dao runs throughthe whole universe and human life and is both the transcendent andthe immanent Therefore, as the model for human behavior and asthe object of the ultimate concern of human beings, Dao is similar toGod The difference is that Dao has nothing to do with will, feelings,and purposes (Xiaogan 322–23)

The Dao is similar to a divine being in that it represents that which

we cannot know, that which maintains the order of the universe(Xiaogan 323) Dao is the Infinite, the eternally changeless, non-being (Wu 26–27) Dao is ultimate reality (Henricks xviii) The Dao,

or the Way, is

that reality, or that level of reality, that exists prior to and gave rise

to all other things, the physical universe (Heaven and Earth), and allthings in it The Way in a sense is like a great womb: it is emptyand devoid in itself of differentiation, one in essence; yet somehow itcontains all things in seed-like or embryo form, and all things “emerge”from the Tao in creation as babies emerge from their mothers .But the Way does not simply give birth to all things Having done

so, it continues in some way to be present in each individual thing as

an energy or power, a power that is not static but constantly on themove, inwardly pushing each thing to develop and grow in a certainway, in a way that is in accord with its true nature (Henricks xviii–xix)Perhaps most important for our purposes, the Dao is “an abstract,universal principle in the realm of ethics” (Merton 21) Dao is beyondhuman understanding, as expressed in the first lines of the Daode jing:

“The Tao that can be told of is not the eternal Tao;/The namethat can be named is not the eternal name” (Chan 139)

The Chinese view of the cosmos—their understanding of Tao—directs how people are to live (Parkes 81) Daoist moral teachings

laid out in the One Hundred and Eighty Precepts (Yibaibashijie), like the

precepts of most faiths, encourage people to live simply and gentlywith the natural world and to be compassionate toward other creatures

(Schipper 81–85) There is an emphasis in Daoist philosophy on

“weakness and humility,” on “openness and emptiness,” on ways ofbeing that cause no harm (Chan 137) Those who would be moralexemplars are to love the earth (Chan 143) We are not to foul theair or water or seal off pools or wells; we must use discretion if weburn, fell trees, or create water reservoirs A Daoist is to live as acompanion to nature, never interfering or imposing personal will(Chan 177)

Nor are anymals neglected in the One Hundred and Eighty Precepts.

Daoist moral teachings are very clear about killing anymals, evenfor food: “You should not fish or hunt and thereby harm and killliving beings You should not in winter dig up hibernating ani-mals and insects You should not use cages to trap birds and[other] animals” (Schipper 81) Likewise, we must not abuse or over-work domestic anymals

People are specifically discouraged from killing living beings, even for consumption (Schipper 84–85) Through the influence ofboth Buddhism and Daoism, many Chinese people are vegetarian

(L Thompson, Chinese Religion 116) The Daoist Ko Hung wrote that

those traveling the spiritual path ought to extend their “love to thecreeping worm and do no harm” to any living beings; at the table,

he instructed the Daoist to “entirely abstain from flesh” (L Thompson,

Chinese Religions 85) Along with the Buddhist and Hindu traditions,Daoism speaks clearly against killing, providing a “universalistic ethic”that extends “not only to all humanity, but to the wider domain ofall living things” (Kirkland 284)

“Fostering life” is also a recurring theme in Daoist teachings Thesecond to the last sentence in the most important Taoist work, the

Daode jing, states simply, “The Way of Heaven is to benefit othersand not to injure” (Chan 176) The virtue of compassion is promi-

nent in other writings as well, such as in the novel, Monkey At one

point in this tale of adventure, a man releases a fish back into theriver, and his aging mother comments, “To release living things is

an act of piety I am very glad you did it” (Monkey 87) Daoist

lit-erature “abounds in stories of exemplary men and women who earnedrecognition—and even ‘transcendence’—by secretly performing com-passionate acts, particularly for creatures disdained by others” (Kirk-

land 293) The three moral treasures of Daoism include ci (compassion

or deep love), jian (restraint or frugality), and “not daring to be at

the forefront of the world” (Kirkland 294; Xiaogan 330) They work

together to protect the natural world Ci might also be translated as

“gentleness, motherly love, commiseration, pity, or love [W]hile

the basic meaning is love, ci is deeper, gentler, and broader than love” (Xiaogan 330) Ci does not admit of aggression (Xiaogan 330).

Ci, deep love, for nature and anymals requires restraint or gality and “not daring to be at the forefront of the world.” Peopleneed to live simply so that all species can live on our crowded planet

fru-Wu wei, often translated as nonstriving, acting without acting, action, or perhaps most appropriately, “action as non-action”exemplifies this Chinese ideal (Xiaogan 316) Wei is best understood

non-as “human action intending to achieve results,” and more specificallyresults thought to be “superior to what would result if nature were

simply allowed to take its own course” (Kirkland 295) The Daode jing notes that we are “to keep our hands off the processes at work

in the world” because the world is a “spiritual vessel, and one not act upon it; one who acts upon it destroys it” (Kirkland 296).The only “wise and beneficent behavior” for humans is “humbleand enlightened self-restraint”—self-restraint that is essential to thenatural and proper functioning of the Dao (Kirkland 296)

can-Dao represents forever the unknown final reason of the world rounding us, reminding human beings of their limitations As averagemembers of the universe, humans have no power to do what theywish without facing unexpected consequences Therefore, prudent behav-

sur-ior and action, namely [wu wei ] are important and beneficial (Xiaogan232–34)

Dao reminds us of our limitations and instructs us to be mindful (ifnot leery) of directive actions (Xiaogan 232)

Dao functions by wu wei; to practice wu wei is therefore to behave according to the Dao (Xiaogan 323) Wu wei discourages “move-

ments exercised intensively, coercively, dramatically, and on a large

scale” (Xiaogan 217) Wu wei does not support the massive

devel-opments of nature into city or the intrusive manipulating of wildspecies to benefit human interests, such as those of hunters TheDaoist practitioner is not to strive; “everything develops or is accom-plished naturally” (Xiaogan 321) This does not leave us helpless, in

disorder, without recourse The Daode jing notes: “Tao invariably takes no action, and yet there is nothing left undone” (Tao #37).

The greatest accomplishment is no accomplishment:

[ T ]he sage desires to have no desire.

He does not value rare treasures

He learns to be unlearned, and returns to what the multitude has

missed (Tao).

Thus he supports all things in their natural state but does not take

any action (Tao #64)

Wu wei “refers to a higher standard of human actions and theirresults,” instructing practitioners to live “in accordance with nature”rather than to control or change the world around us—to live a nat-

ural life (Xiaogan 315–316; Po-Keung, “Taoism” 334) Wu wei

there-fore embodies “the spirit of naturalness” and is “directed toward therealization of natural harmony both among human societies andbetween humans and nature” (Xiaogan 321) This unique Chineseconcept reminds people that the world is exactly as it should be,that we are best to celebrate the world that we have, rather than try

to improve or develop the world around us There are no changes

or refinements that humans ought to make with regard to nature,

and any such attempts will only lead to ruin (Kinsley, Ecology 80).

Ci, or deep love, when directed outward to other living beings,

requires wu wei, which supports and helps the harmonious ships between all creatures (Xiaogan 328) Wu wei requires human

relation-beings to leave other creatures alone so that they can live out their

lives undisturbed (Kinsley, Ecology 79) Wu wei “entails acting in mony with all other creatures” (Kinsley, Ecology 79).

har-In Daoist philosophy anything that humans do should be nious with what is natural (Marshall 19) The natural state is theideal state; adherents are discouraged from striving or grasping atmaterial wealth and encouraged to live gently on the earth, causinglittle disturbance to the world around us, taking our example fromnature

harmo-Nature says few words

For the same reason a whirlwind does not last a whole morning,Nor does a rainstorm last a whole day

If even Heaven and Earth cannot make

them last long,

How much less can man? (Tao #23)

Nature functions in harmony; those few surface waves that appear

to offer discord, such as storms and whirlwinds, are short lived Weare best to go along harmoniously, rather than spend our energiestrying to bring a whirlwind of change to the cosmos, for we will

surely not even have as much success as a small whirlwind directed

by nature

Daoism teaches that “living things do not live in an uncaringworld (Kirkland 296) Dao is “a feminine reality and a maternalreality” (Henricks xix) Nature is guided by “a natural force that isnot only utterly benign but continuously at work in all the processesand events of the world” (Kirkland 296) Living by the Dao requirespeople to see this benign force in the world, and to both accept andrely on this natural way, rather than rely on ourselves, “for thefulfillment of the health and harmony of all living things” (Kirkland296) Daoism does not permit people to dam the rivers where thefish swim, manipulate wildlife for hunters’ sport, breed farmed any-mals for economic gain, or manipulate genetics to increase produc-

tivity To be a Daoist is not to manipulate at all, but to live by wu wei, allowing nature to takes its own course, with the understandingthat nature operates exactly as it should because it is controlled “by

a force that is like a loving mother (Kirkland 298) “Because thereactually is a benign natural force at work in the world, any extra-neous action on the part of humans can logically only cause furtherdisturbance” (Kirkland 297)

Daoist philosophy represents all things as part of one great fluctuatingwhole in which Daoists are encouraged to live lives of tranquilityand harmony, and to regard nature, and what is natural, as ideal:Attain complete vacuity,

Maintain steadfast quietude

All things come into being,

And I see thereby their return

This return to its root means tranquility

To return to destiny is called the eternal (Tao)

Being one with Nature he is in accord with Tao (Tao #16)

Human contrivances may seem worthwhile but the natural way is

preferred Technology may block far more important advances, such

as one’s spiritual progress (Marshall 18) Daoist writings encouragepeople to live in small communities and work the land gently LaoTzu taught: “A small country has fewer people Though there aremachines that can work ten to a hundred times faster than man,

they are not needed” (Tao) Letting nature be, and living simply, are

Daoist ideals: “Manifest plainness,/Embrace simplicity,/Reduceselfishness,/Have few desires” (Tao #19)

In ancient China extrapolation seems to have led people to believethat imbalance, particularly human domination, caused natural dis-asters Because the excessive wealth of a few contributed to the mis-ery of the masses, it was assumed that other undesirable effects fromhuman greed might also be expected, even in the natural world(Marshall 20) Because Daoists did not see human beings and theiractions as separate from the rest of the world, they concluded thathuman greed and cruelty could cause natural disasters.

In China, anymals are thought to share the vital energy that flowsthrough all living beings and are viewed as similar enough to humanbeings for philosophers to draw meaningful parallels (E Anderson165–66) Chuang Tzu includes such anymals as a tortoise, fish,butterfly, rat, fly, gibbon, yak, and frog in his writings (E Anderson165) He “constantly used nature not just as metaphor, but as realdynamic analogy,” presenting anymals as equivalent to human beings

“based on real relationships (E Anderson 165) He likens himself to

a turtle, relates personally to a minnow, and finds himself guishable from a butterfly (Teachings 66, 67, 26): One of ChuangTzu’s most famous passages regards a butterfly:

indistin-Once I dreamed that I was a butterfly and was happy as a butterfly

I was conscious that I was quite pleased with myself, but I did notknow that I was Chou [ Tzu] Suddenly I awoke, and there I was, vis-ibly Chou I do not know whether it was Chou dreaming that he was

a butterfly or the butterfly dreaming that it was Chou (Chan 190)Chuang Tzu’s references to other species are intended to push us

to see the world from a different perspective, and abandon our lated, separatist, anthropocentric vision (Parkes 91) He provides cryp-tic stories teaching his followers that to

iso-insist that one’s view of things is universally valid and true for all ers and all species is simply wrongheaded His writings mock ourtendency to view reality as if it were constructed especially for humanbeings [ T ]here is more to the world than can be imagined Oneshould not try to conform the world to one’s limited perspective

oth-(Kinsley, Ecology 81)

Chuang Tzu soundly rejects species as an important demarcation

In the Chinese worldview, human beings are “one of the myriadkinds of beings” (Wu 37) In the first century CE, Wang Ch’ungwrote regarding “Taoist Truths,” that “Man is a creature His rankmay be ever so high, even princely or royal, but his nature cannot

be different from that of other creatures” (Mair, Columbia 65–66).

We may consider ourselves royal, or educated, but at the end of theday, we are anymals To rise above our common, humanocentricvision of the universe is the Taoist ideal Chuang Tzu writes:

If a man sleeps in a damp place, he will have a pain in his loins andwill dry up and die Is that true of eels? If a man lives up in a tree

he will be frightened and tremble Is that true of monkeys? Which ofthe three knows the right place to live? Men eat vegetables and flesh,and deer eat tender grass Centipedes enjoy snakes, and owls and crowslike mice Which of the four knows the right taste? (Chan 187)Not only are people and anymals of one kind, but anymals (like peo-ple) are best when in their natural state Chuang Tzu writes:

“What do you mean by Nature and what do you mean by man?”The spirit of the North Sea replied, “A horse or a cow has fourfeet That is Nature Put a halter around the horse’s head and put astring through the cow’s nose, that is man Therefore it is said, “Donot let man destroy Nature.” (Chan 207)

Chuang Tzu instructs that training an animal is inherently harmfuland cruel; human interference harms other creatures In his view,

training horses turns happy equines into “brigands” (Mair, Wandering

82) Even when we imagine that we improve the lives of anymals,

our interference is harmful The Daode jing also notes: “Racing and

hunting cause one’s mind to be mad” (#12); “Fish should not betaken away from the water” (#36) (Chan 145, 157) Chuang Tzuwrites a poignant tale of a seabird, blown ashore, for which peopleoffered a “solemn reception,” including fine dining and musical per-formances, but the bird is “[d]azed with symphonies” and conse-quently “[d]ied of despair” (Merton 103) Chuang Tzu asks,How should you treat a bird?

As yourself

Or as a bird?

Ought not a bird to nest in deep woodland

Or fly over meadow and marsh?

Ought not it to swim on river and pond,

Feed on eels and fish,

Fly in formation with other waterfowl,

And rest in the reeds?

Bad enough for a sea bird

To be surrounded by men

And frightened by their voices!

That was not enough!

They killed it with music!

Play all the music you like

On the marshlands of Thung-Ting

The birds will fly away

In all directions;

The animals will hide;

The fish will dive to the bottom;

But men

Will gather around to listen

Water is for fish

And air for men

Natures differ, and needs with them (Merton 103–04)

Chuang Tzu teaches people to leave anymals in the wilds and notcage or tame them He writes that the “marsh pheasant has to taketen steps before it finds something to pick at and has to take a hun-dred steps before it gets a drink But the pheasant would prefer not

to be raised in a cage where, though you treat it like a king, its

spirit would not thrive” (Mair, Wandering 27) Harmony is the Chinese

ideal, and Chuang Tzu notes: “Left to their own devises, humanbeings and animals would form harmonious natural communities”

(Mair, Wandering 80) In the Taoist world, if people would leave

any-mals alone, as we ought to, we would live in a golden age of mate integrity”—side by side, together yet firmly separate

“ulti-In such an age there would be no paths and tunnels through themountains, no boats or bridges to cross the swamps The myriad thingswould live in groups, their settlements lined up next to each other.Birds and beasts would form groups, the grasses and trees would thrive.Thus birds and beasts could be tamed but still wander about; onecould climb up to the nests of magpies and peep in without disturb-ing them

In a world of ultimate integrity, men would dwell together with the

birds and beasts (Mair, Wandering 81)

Chinese stories, like those of other lands, prominently feature mals that teach spiritual lessons One of the most famous is a novel

any-called Monkey, or Journey to the West, which incorporates aspects of

Taoism, Buddhism, and Chinese folklore (Sommer 240) In one sense

it is a true story about a monk in the early seventh century whotraveled all the way across China to India in order to transport

Buddhist scriptures, a journey that took seventeen years (Mair, Columbia

966) His travels became a folk legend sprinkled with religious satire

as well as spiritual insights (Sommer 239)

The main characters in Monkey are the monk himself, a monkey,

a pig, and a horse Pigsy, the pig, represents “physical appetites,

brute strength, and a kind of cumbrous patience” (Monkey 8) Sandy,

the white horse, was transformed into a fierce dragon (from a dragon

prince) for causing problems in the realms of heaven (Monkey 80; Mair, Columbia 966) He then added “sin to sin, slaying living crea-

tures,” making it difficult for him to gain the good merit necessary

in order that he might achieve his former status (Monkey 80) Monkey

“represents the human mind and, as such, is resourceful and ligent, but at the same time is unbridled and wild unless controlled”

intel-(Mair, Columbia 967) He combines “beauty with absurdity” and

“pro-fundity with nonsense,” and exemplifies “the restless instability of

genius” (Monkey 7–8) Each character is critical to the journey, and

no character is either perfect, or perfectly awful Even the humanbeing, ostensibly the main character, teaches readers to see humanbeings exactly as we are Though he is a monk on a great pil-grimage, he exemplifies “the ordinary man, blundering anxiouslythrough the difficulties of life” (Monkey 8)

One cannot help but compare this boisterous monkey with Hanuman

in the Hindu Ramayana (Mair, Columbia 967) Both are powerful,

like-able characters, though the Chinese monkey is of a more able character Monkey, in many ways, steals the show, acting asthe main character; chapters that focus on this out-of-control pri-

question-mate can easily stand on their own (Mair, Columbia 966) Monkey

causes so much trouble in the Halls of Heaven that, as punishment,

he is trapped in a stone for five hundred years in the side of amountain He is only released to help the hero of the story, themonk, in his journey to India, and promises to do so faithfully ifreleased But soon after release he kills a handful of thieves, forwhich the monk scolds him; the undisciplined primate readily aban-dons his charge, and his promise, in the face of criticism With helpfrom the Bodhisattva Kuan-yin, the monk secures a cap and jacket

to keep Monkey under control Monkey quickly dons the cap, notknowing of its powers (and always ready to act without thinking),and is vexed when he cannot remove it When the monk recites acertain spell, the cap gives Monkey a terrible headache that brings

him to his knees (Monkey 133–37) Monkey is thereby forced to focus

on accomplishing the spiritual task at hand

Also central to this great novel is the virtue of compassion

Kuan-yin (previously mentioned) is another prominent character in Monkey,

and can be seen as a Taoist goddess and/or as the Buddhist hisattva of compassion (Graham 21) She is the most worshipped

bod-and popular of all Chinese deities even today (Kinsley, Goddesses’ 26) Kuan-yin gathers the various characters in the novel Monkey, makes

them ready for the journey, and watches over them on their way

She is their “guardian and protector” (Kinsley, Goddesses’ 37)

Kuan-yin embodies wisdom and love (Graham 21); she is the “essence of

mercy and compassion” (Kinsley, Goddesses’ 26) Her name means

“She Who Listens to the World’s Sounds,” revealing her role as the

compassionate helper of those in distress (Kinsley, Goddesses’ 35) She

listens to the sounds of the world and responds to those who cry

for help Like all bodhisattvas, her goal is to free all sentient beings

from suffering, to help “all beings on earth to attain enlightenment”(Sommer 127; Storm 194)

Other stories featuring Kuan-yin involve an array of anymals Inone story she is aided by a gigantic tiger; in another she relates thatshe has more than once been a “noble horse” (Blofeld 69, 75) In

a third, tigers bring her firewood and birds collect vegetables, while

“gods summoned to her service” toil in the kitchen (Palmer 70) Inyet another Kuan-yin story, the bodhisattva saves a cicada, fallingfrom a wall in the process When she alights, she has a bleedingwound, but remarks that a scar is “a small price to pay for the life

of a cicada” (Palmer 67) Kuan-yin also releases a carp, caught byfishers, back into the river The carp happens to be the son of a

dragon king dwelling deep in the waters (Kinsley, Goddesses’ 48) (In

the Chinese worldview, one never knows what special spiritual tance a small fish or a troublesome monkey might have.)

impor-Always, in all forms, Kuan-yin shows mercy and compassion for

“people and animals in distress” (Blofeld 80) However, she is notjust an abstract concept of love, a helpful bodhisattva, nor merely

an extremely popular and beneficial goddess She is what each of us is meant to be—what we are to strive for Practitioners are not just tocry out for Kuan-yin’s assistance when in need, but to cultivate thosequalities exemplified in this great goddess (or bodhisattva), those ofcompassion, mercy, and selflessness (Kinsley, Goddesses’ 51) “Kuan-

yin is a state of perfection”; perfection in Chinese spirituality isembodied in the figure of a woman who will assist any living being

(Kinsley, Goddesses’ 51).

Chinese religious traditions, especially Daoism and Buddhism, teach

of interconnections shared by all life, and the importance of

har-mony with the world around People are to love deeply (ci ) but not

to dominate or disturb Toward this end, spiritual practitioners are

to exemplify simplicity and wu wei, action as nonaction What is

nat-ural is what is ideal in the Taoist vision, and compassion is a dational moral virtue With so many protectionist teachings at thecore of Chinese religions, it is not surprising that the bodhisattva ofcompassion, Kuan Yin, is the most popular of Chinese deities

foun-5 Islam

Islam is a sister religion to Judaism and Christianity “Islam accepts,and incorporates into itself, all antecedent prophets of Abrahamiclineage, up to and including Jesus and Mary” (Stoddart 34) Theword “Allah” simply means “God”; when Arabic-speaking Christianspray to God, they pray to “Allah” (Kimball) Much scripture andfundamental theology, such as an insistence on monotheism, is sim-ilar in each of these three Western faiths Therefore, much of whatLinzey asserts regarding Christianity is also true of Islam; there aremany nature and anymal-friendly moral teachings to be found.Islam inherited the Judeo-Christian hierarchy wherein a benevo-lent, all-powerful Creator rules, with people placed “in dominion on

the earth” (Qur "an 7:10) People are at the top of the hierarchy but

are also assigned greater responsibilities: Humans are “ecologicallydominant,” but we are also “an instrument of Allah’s Will to whomeverything belongs” (Zaid 46–47) People must look after all of cre-ation because we are accountable to the deity (Dutton 329) The

Qur"an places people as vice-regents over creation: “[T]he proper

human role is that of conscientious steward and not exploiter” (Foltz,

Animals 15) That with which human beings are endowed requires

“commensurate humility and sensitivity, predicated upon respect andreverence for the divine purpose in every created thing” (Said 164)

We are Allah’s caretakers, servants amidst divine creation Muslimsare to tend rather than exploit, to assist rather than dominate Inthe Islamic faith, privileges “follow and do not precede responsibil-ities” (Nasr 97) The word “Islam” literally means to “surrender toGod’s law” in day-to-day life (Esposito 69) Many Muslims assertthat “humankind has no rights, only duties”; the correct relationship