< Issue No. 4 (2008)Article
Mahāyāna Buddhist Attitudes Towards Animals
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Abstract
The purpose of the following article is not to put forward an argument in favor of a particular position on the question of Mahāyāna Buddhist practices towards animals. Rather, the aim is simply to present a broad portrait of the context within which any such argument should be framed. Towards this end I am providing a translation of a small section of the first Bhāvanākramaḥ (The Process of Meditation; Tib., bsgom pa'irim pa), a well-known Mahayana meditation manual written by Kamalaśīla (740-795 CE). This passage, appearing early in the text, allows us to gain a good sense of the context within which Mahāyāna concern for the well-being of animals arises.