Buddhism stands for universal compassion for all living beings ( all species) and not for selective compassion for only one species i.e. human beings
Posted on November 8th, 2022
Senaka Weeraratna
The command ‘ Kill and Eat animals ‘ found and endorsed in all Abrahamic religions is a throwback to the primitive hunter-gatherer mindset that prevailed at the commencement of the life of the Homo Sapiens species. Basically, it means you live off other species. But this conduct is morally indefensible for a higher level of humanity in its evolutionary progress.
The Buddha saw the vile nature of the destruction of other lives resulting from the hunter-gatherer mindset still dwelling in the inner recesses of our minds.
He wanted to develop a mindset in humans that was free of killing, free of attachment, and free of lust.
Buddhism is the net result of the Buddha’s endeavours.
With a view to transforming humanity beset with a primitive consciousness of killing to survive as a part of natural selection, the Buddha raised the bar to transform the primitive mindset of killing to another level of consciousness of no killing which is enshrined in the First Precept.
The Buddha endeavoured to create a noble human being (Ariya) whose hands will not be stained with blood and made impure by harming other living beings.
In the Dhammapada (Verse 270) the Buddha says clearly ‘ Him that harms living beings I will not accept him as Ariya (a noble person)”
This is one of Buddhism’s greatest contributions to humanity. To transform the primitive hunter-gatherer mindset in us that drives us to kill into a mindset that refrains from killing for whatever reason and instead shows compassion to all sentient beings irrespective of species, race, colour, and religion.
Buddhism stands for universal compassion for all living beings ( all species) and not for selective compassion for only one species i.e. human beings, which is a distinctive characteristic of all Abrahamic religions.
If there is anything that unites sentient beings that is pain and suffering. It is common to all beings. It is our response to the suffering of others irrespective of the level of species that will determine our true humanity.
Senaka Weeraratna