Abstract
Born Gautama Siddhārtha, the Buddha is one of the most animal-friendly founders of religions. Non-violence is the central moral imperative of Buddhism, while compassion is one of the most basic qualities a Buddhist has to strive for. Moreover, Buddhism takes animal sentience seriously and treats the happiness of humans and non-human animals as equally important. According to Buddhism, it is morally wrong to kill or hurt sentient beings. The teachings of Buddha have the power to enrich the lives of Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike.
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Kapleau, P. (1982). To cherish all life: A Buddhist case for becoming vegetarian. San Francisco: Harper & Row.
Page, T. (1999). Buddhism and animals: A Buddhist vision of humanity’s rightful relationship with the animal kingdom. London: UKAVIS Publications.
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Erdős, L. (2019). Do Not Kill – Buddha’s Compassion for Animals. In: Green Heroes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31806-2_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31806-2_2
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