By Annabelle Zinser

A central practice of Buddhist ethics is to treat with respect the other beings with whom we share this planet. By taking care in what we eat and how we consume, and by recognizing and honor­ing our connection to animals, we can lead a more peaceful and loving life that embraces all sentient beings.

For many of us, learning to treat animal life as precious be­gins with establishing friendship with a dog or cat. A walk in the country, a trip to nature where children and adults can spend time with animals, or even books and films can help us to develop love and understanding for animals. In her book, Unlikely Friendships, Jennifer Holland describes the unexpectedly tender friendships that can develop between different species.1 These friendships between animals that would normally see each other as prey remind me that we are only one species of animals living on this planet.

Although human beliefs tend to place human existence above animals, when we examine the basic building blocks of our human existence, our DNA, we discover a close connection to animals. As I learned in the Berlin Museum of Natural History, we share 60% of our DNA structure with that of an earthworm, 92% with that of a mouse, 98% with that of a chimpanzee, and 90% with that of a pig. As much as we like to believe we are separate, human beings truly are closely connected to animals.

In the first of the Five Mindfulness Trainings, which is about reverence for all life, it is said:

Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating the insight of interbeing and compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, or in my way of life.

When we practice this training in our everyday life, we cul­tivate inner peace and happiness. The more I respect and care for both humans and animals, trying as much as possible not to injure them, the more I nurture feelings of stability and security. Fears and feelings of insecurity or isolation lessen or dissolve when I suc­ceed in having respectful, positive connections with other beings.

Here’s a beautiful example that shows how positive and re­spectful interactions with animals foster mutual caring and respect between humans and animals. While building Deer Park Monas­tery in southern California, the monks and nuns discovered many snakes. Especially in spring, they emerged everywhere from their burrows. The monks and nuns carefully transported them into the wilderness and asked them to stay away from the monastery. They also told the construction workers not to kill any of the snakes. A nun told me that one day, Thay was resting in a hammock as this nun sat close by. She saw a large snake under the hammock and said to Thay, “There is a snake under your hammock.” Thay asked the nun to sing a few songs, and miraculously, the snake crawled away. Thay said, “Maybe she went to tell the other snakes that we are peaceful and don’t want to harm them.”

CULTIVATING CONNECTION THROUGH NONVIOLENCE

Today, through the insights of deep ecology, we can come to another view of the world, one that sees humans as only one of many species existing on our planet. Author Joanna Macy and Australian environmentalist John Seed have developed a ritual, the “Conference of Life,” which allows us to expand our sense of self so that other forms of life are held within it. In this confer­ence, humans leave their own identity, and within the circle they become another voice representing another species.

“I am Woompoo Pigeon. I live in the last pockets of rainforest. I call my song between the giant trees and the cool green light. But I no longer get a reply. Where are my kind? Where have they gone? All that I hear is the echo of my own call.” 2

When we humans understand that animals are sentient be­ings like ourselves, we stop seeing them as a commodity. We stop breeding them for use as food and clothing, to abuse as labora­tory animals for testing cosmetics, or for researching behavioral science. Of course, animals hunt and kill each other in order to survive, but only in very few cases would they kill more animals or humans than they need to fill their bellies.

Thich Nhat Hanh says, “Other species hunt for prey, but never in such an unscrupulous manner as humans. Looking deeply in the human species, we can recognize the non-human elements. And when we look deeply in the species of animals, plants and miner­als, we discover the human elements in them. When we become aware of the signless nature of external appearances, we will live in harmony with all species.” 3

If we could observe human behavior and human consumption with the eyes and ears of the planet, we would see the devastat­ing effects of our behavior and our habits. Through our habits of consumption, we cause pain and suffering for other species and for the environment itself. A study by the World Watch Institute in 2009 showed that industrial animal production and the consump­tion of meat, eggs, and milk products contribute more than 51% to the emission of harmful greenhouse gases (methane and CO2).4 Not only are we causing unspeakable suffering to the animals we consume, but also we are endangering the whole planet! We are endangering ourselves as well, since we need clean air and water and fruit and vegetables to survive.

THE CHOICE FOR MINDFUL CONSUMPTION

Each one of us decides, with each purchase and every meal, if we contribute to the destruction of the planet by consuming animal products. We decide if we add to the suffering of animals and the suffering of the whole planet through global warming and the climate crisis.

We can raise awareness about the global network of exploita­tion of animals by protesting against industrial farms, like the ones being built in Brandenburg and Niedersachsen and other parts of Germany, through demonstrations, online petitions, and letters to the businesspeople and politicians responsible for the construction of these factories. One way we can raise awareness is through the organization of Mindfulness Days near these animal factories. At one Mindfulness Day on a beautiful Sunday in September, 2011, members of several German Sanghas gathered near a newly con­structed chicken factory in Wietze/Niedersachsen. Sister Annabel and two other sisters from the European Institute of Applied Bud­dhism helped us with a guided meditation, a talk, a mindful meal,  deep relaxation, and walking meditation in front of the factory to bring our practice to this place of suffering.

Our protests should be clear about the suffering that animals endure, but should be presented in a friendly way, so that those responsible feel touched in their own humanity. One good example for me is a letter Thay wrote in 2008 to the president of Kentucky Fried Chicken, one of the largest global chicken fast food chains.5

David C. Novak, CEO and President
Yum! Brands, Inc.

Dear Mr. Novak,

I hope that this letter finds you in good health.

I have heard reports that KFC’s suppliers cut the throats of conscious chickens, that many birds are still conscious when they are sent through scalding water, and that KFC refuses to persuade its suppliers to use methods that are more humane both for the chickens and for the humans who handle them. It has also been reported to me that chickens raised for KFC are genetically and pharmacologically manipulated to grow so un­naturally large, so quickly, that they are crippled by their own body weight. These are very distressing things to contemplate.

I have offered retreats for business leaders such as yourself; many of my friends are businesspeople too, and I understand the pressures you must be under. I am also certain that you do have a heart of compassion. If these reports are true, please, stop and reconsider. No feeling creature should be treated so cruelly. Treating chickens with brutality not only hurts every one of those birds; it hurts every one of us, including you yourself, and even your loved ones. If you look deeply, I am sure you will see this clearly and you will be determined to find another way. I believe you know already in your heart that our success in life cannot be measured in dollars and cents alone.

Please, reflect on this and do your best, at least to imple­ment the recommendations of your own animal welfare advi­sors. I am here for you, as well, and would be glad to hear from you. You may write to me in care of my assistant: ubcadmin@earthlink.net.

Thank you dear friend, for taking the time to read this letter.

Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Master

THE MIRACLE OF INTERBEING

This planet is pulsing with life of uncountable variety. We all drink the same water, which falls from the same sky. We breathe the same air as all other creatures. The sun and earth make everything grow and blossom for the nourishment of all beings. Our planet is one vast miracle, in all its workings. Our bodies and spirits are part of this miracle, and we can be in touch with the untold wonders around us and in us every day. Each act of seeing, of hearing, of touching, tasting, smelling, and of thinking, is a miracle. These are all processes, energies, so finely attuned that they can never be reproduced in any human scientific experiment. Each individual animal and each human being is a miracle in its wholly unique way of being.

With each meal we can experience interbeing with the whole universe. Think of a meal with potatoes, vegetables, and tofu or lentils, and you can see the myriad of energies that contribute to our own bodies and nourishment. The potato was planted in the earth and watered, needing sun and air to grow and flourish. Were only one of these basic elements missing, the potato or carrot or soybean would fail to grow and be harvested.

THE VALUE OF A VEGAN LIFESTYLE

Our feelings of predominance as humans over the other spe­cies who live on this planet are expressed through our habits of eating. We think we have a right to kill animals or terrorize them by holding them in industrial farming, because we have been told that we need animal protein to be healthy and to lead a good life. Yet in his book, The China Study, the American dietary scientist Professor T. Colin Campbell has proven that the opposite is true. Most of our “lifestyle diseases” are a direct consequence of a diet full of animal protein, including meat and fish as well as milk products. “The people who ate the most animal protein were most likely to suffer from heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.” 6

Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn convinced former US president Bill Clinton to adopt a vegan lifestyle and reminds us in his book, Pre­vent and Reverse Heart Disease, that by the age of twelve, 70% of American children have considerable fat deposits in their arteries, which are direct precursors of heart disease. 7 Many of my own health problems have been solved through a predominantly vegan diet. In 2007, I suffered from terrible joint pain, especially in my wrists and knee joints. When I transitioned from a vegetarian to a vegan diet, the pain disappeared.

RAISING AWARENESS OF ANIMAL SUFFERING

Unfortunately, the sterile packaging of animal products, showing bucolic landscapes of farms and peacefully grazing cows, does not tell the story of the animals who suffer in their cramped stalls, never able to see daylight. They do not tell how calves are separated from their mothers so that the mother cows can be returned to producing milk as soon as possible. The mother cows bray for their calves and the calves cry back. “On the first day after weaning, when the calf is taken away, the calf may bray as many as five hundred times.” 8 The milk packages tell nothing of the pain a cow goes through with her swollen and heavy udders. They say nothing of the cries of the animals and of their fear of death when they are driven to slaughter.

Former Beatles member and animal rights activist Paul Mc­Cartney has written, “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian.” Hilal Sezgin has expanded this thought: “If all the stalls had glass walls, everyone would be vegan.” The narrowness of the stalls, the lack of natural surroundings in which the animals can live as they were meant to, and the poverty of a life without these simple things is harrowing. 9

Every cell in our body has consciousness, and we ingest the fear and desperation of animals when we eat them. Buddhist monk Ajahn Brahm tells this moving story of a prisoner forced to work in a slaughterhouse:

He said they would always scream, each in its own way, and try to escape. They could smell death, hear death, feel death. When an animal was alongside his platform, it would be writhing and wriggling and moaning in full voice. Even though his gun could kill a large bull with a single high-voltage charge, the animal would never stand still long enough for him to aim properly. So it was one shot to stun, next shot to kill. One shot to stun, next shot to kill. Animal after animal. Day after day.

… That day they needed beef for the prisons around Perth. They were slaughtering cows. One shot to stun, next shot to kill. He was well into a normal day’s killing when a cow came up like he had never seen before. This cow was silent. There wasn’t even a whimper. Its head was down as it walked purposely, voluntarily, slowly into position next to the platform. It did not writhe or wriggle or try to escape.

Once in position, the cow lifted her head and stared at her executioner, absolutely still.

The Irishman hadn’t seen anything even close to this before. His mind went numb with confusion.

He couldn’t lift his gun; nor could he take his eyes away from the eyes of the cow. The cow was looking right inside him. He slipped into timeless spaces. He couldn’t tell me how long it took, but as the cow held him in eye contact, he noticed something that shook him even more. Cows have very big eyes. He saw in the left eye of the cow, above the lower eyelid, water begin to gather. The amount of water grew and grew, until it was too much for the eyelid to hold. It began to trickle slowly all the way down her cheek, forming a glistening line of tears. Long-closed doors were opening slowly to his heart. As he looked in disbelief, he saw in the right eye of the cow, above the lower eyelid, more water gathering, growing by the moment, until it too, was more than the eyelid could contain. A second stream of water trickled slowly down her face. And the man broke down.

The cow was crying.

He told me that he threw down his gun, swore to the full extent of his considerable capacity to the prison officers that they could do whatever they liked to him, “but that cow ain’t dying!”

He ended by telling me he was a vegetarian now.

That story was true. Other inmates of the prison farm con­firmed it for me. The cow that cried taught one of the most violent of men what it means to care. 10

Only when we are ready to come into contact with animals’ suffering do we begin to understand our denial. We stop hiding behind our “ignorance.” We develop a willingness to do everything possible so that the animals suffer less. We begin to change our old eating habits.

Some years ago, I told a friend of mine that I was looking through a few magazines from animal rights groups in order to write an article about animal research. She said to me: “I can’t read those articles. I can’t stand it.” Often I feel the same way. I have to be very stable inside in order to read the stories of these animals’ suffering. At the same time, these articles strengthen my motivation to follow a vegan lifestyle to the extent that it is pos­sible. I wrote this gatha about it:

Suddenly I see the face of this pig.

Late in the evening I sit at my desk and read the animal rights pamphlets.

I think I am stable enough to touch the suffering of the animals in the factories and laboratories.

Then I see the face of this pig.

I feel her fear and her vulnerability.

A huge wave of tenderness for all the suffering animals

floods my whole being.

In my own practice of mindfulness, I’ve learned over the years that the more I open to and embrace my own suffering with compassion, the more open I am for the suffering of all other creatures on this planet. The practice of mindfulness and of deep understanding in our daily life can make this change possible. We just have to ask ourselves, “Who or what am I eating right now?” “Whose skin am I wearing today?” “What is it that I am using to moisturize my face or my body?”

The Five Contemplations help us to develop deep understand­ing while eating, and to learn how we can avoid creating suffering through the way we eat.

The Five Contemplations

This food is a gift of the earth, the sky, numerous living beings, and much hard and loving work.

May we eat with mindfulness and gratitude so as to be worthy to receive this food.

May we recognize and transform our unwholesome mental formations, especially our greed, and learn to eat with moderation.

May we keep our compassion alive by eating in such a way that reduces the suffering of living beings, stops contributing to climate change, and heals and preserves our precious planet.

We accept this food so that we may nurture our brotherhood and sisterhood, build our Sangha, and nourish our ideal of serv­ing all living beings.

The vegan movement has grown quickly in the past few years in Germany, mainly among young people. It is possible, today, to inform ourselves comprehensively and broadly. There is an abundance of resources available, including vegan cookbooks, educational materials, and organizations to help us head in the direction we want to go, toward a life that doesn’t hurt animals or our environment. 11

In the magazine, Die Zeit, dedicated to the question, “What is a good life?”, Martha Nussbaum, a philosophy professor from the University of Chicago, addresses the question, “What is justice?” At the end of her article, she states that the most difficult question is justice in our relationship to animals and to the natural world. “Which creatures are subject to justice, and according to which basis? All feeling creatures? Or all creatures? The environment itself? All ecosystems?” 12 This fascinating and pressing discus­sion will continue to become more and more important, for in one respect we can be sure: we live in a world of blatant injustice toward other species and toward nature.

Maybe we can begin by seeing ourselves clearly as just one of many species on the planet. Once we understand that animals, too, are sentient beings deserving of justice and compassion, then we will be carried by the deep wish to stop suffering and to add to the health of our fellow creatures.

I am always inspired by the stories of people who are ready to come into contact with the pain of animals and who have changed their lives in order to stop contributing to animal suffering. A friend whose daughter is vegan recently told me that her daughter was traveling the world, and even in the far corners of the planet, she insisted on eating only food without animal products. Even when she didn’t speak the language, she was able to make clear that she wouldn’t eat anything with animal products in it, and she must have communicated this in such a friendly manner that everyone helped her and only gave her food that did not come from animals.

Philip Wollen, the former president of Citibank in Australia, changed his life after visiting a slaughterhouse and being touched by the immense suffering of the animals. Today he is an animal rights and social justice activist who has founded an NGO and started more than 450 projects to help children, animals, and the sick. For Wollen, the most beautiful word ever written is the Sanskrit word, ahimsa. It means “the absence of violence toward living creatures.” Wollen’s goal is that ahimsa becomes a reality across the globe.

When we begin to understand that our self includes all other forms of life, and is in fact dependent on them and interwoven with them, we no longer live lives of separation but lives of connection, of interbeing. We rejoice in the vibrancy of the countless forms of sentient beings and vow to injure them as little as possible.

Translated from German into English by Mica Morse-Hofman.

1     Jennifer Holland, Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom (New York, NY: Workman Publishing, 2011). In the book’s photos, we see a white dove being petted by a small monkey, a cheetah walking peacefully with a Shepherd dog, and a dachshund nursing a small pink piglet, which she has “adopted.” A gorilla carries a small kitten on his shoulder, and tomcat “Jonathan” tenderly licks the face of his iguana friend, cuddling up next to him. Finally, two photos from India show a leopard walking beside and cuddling with a cow.

2     Joanna Macy, Widening Circles: A Memoir (British Columbia: New Society Publishers, 2007).

3     Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation (Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press, 1998).

4     Dr. med. E.W. Henrich, “Vegan – The Healthiest Diet” (Dr. med. Henrich ProVegan Stiftung, 2013). Retrieved from: www.provegan.info.

5     Retrieved from: http://plumvillage.org/letters-from-thay/letter-to-the-ceo-of-kfc/

6     Dr. med. E.W. Henrich, “Vegan – The Healthiest Diet.”

7     Ibid. 

8     Hilal Sezgin, Artgerecht ist nur die Freiheit (Only Freedom is Species-appropriate) (Munich: C.H. Beck Verlag, 2014).

9     Ibid.

10    Ajahn Brahm, Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung? Inspiring Stories for Welcoming Life’s Difficulties (Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2005).

11    albert-schweizer-stiftung.de

12    Martha Nussbaum, “Was ist [soziale] Gerechtigkeit?” (“What is [social] justice?”).  Die Zeit. June 2013.