Mind in Animals

Continuing the discussion of Tea Words Volume Two, Master Sheng Yen remarks: "We speak of consciousness in human beings but do we recognize such a faculty in animals? In Western thought this question is usually answered in terms of the species in question." (p.8). However, Master Sheng Yen goes on to relate that when we differentiate between animals with and without consciousness, we are usually referring to the discriminating consciousness rather than the fundamental consciousness. Hence, he further remarks:

In the Buddhist view, lower life forms may lack discriminating consciousness but they still have fundamental consciousness. In other words, all living beings have consciousness. For this reason Buddhist compassion is directed to all living beings—human or otherwise, that all can evolve to buddhahood. (ibid)

This is a very remarkable statement to reflect on, and it makes me wonder, do people normally view compassion in this way? I have a feeling that when people practice "compassion" toward animals, they are often looking at the ways that animals might behave similarly to humans. Apes are one example of a species which often appears to have human capabilities and gestures; in fact, humans have even tried to communicate with such species for this very reason. But Master Sheng Yen goes even further than this, suggesting that because all life forms have "fundamental" consciousness, they are therefore to be objects of compassion. It seems, however, that in order for a person to practice this kind of fundamental compassion, they would have to stop discriminating between animals "with" and "without" the ability to discriminate.

Today, I saw a cat who was in the mid-town area who frequently sits on the steps. This cat is very beautiful and likes to meow whenever he is pet by people. What do those communications mean? I can only tell from the wag of the cat's tail that perhaps he is happy to be pet. However, can I ever know how that cat thinks and feels from my own limited perspective as a person? Using my discriminating mind, I might try to infer that the cat has certain thoughts or feelings about things, but in fact, I am not able to know what this cat is conscious about. Does this mean that I cannot practice compassion on the cat? If I am only compassionate to those I deem as having the same consciousness as myself, then I am limiting the scope of what compassion can and does do. In fact, when petting a cat, perhaps the best thing to do is to meditate, and stop trying to figure out what the cat is thinking! In this way, just interacting with the cat, one can have some glimpse into a fundamental consciousness that is beyond the intellectual thoughts of discriminating consciousness.

Sheng Yen (2013) Tea Words Volume Two. Elmhurst, NY: Dharma Drum Publications