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Pāli textual sources occasionally mention the existence of unusual animals with an aptitude for the Buddha’s dharma. In the Jātaka, clever animals do good deeds and are thus reborn in better circumstances. In the Vinaya, the Buddha declares to a serpent that he should observe Buddhist holy days so he can achieve a human rebirth. But can animals develop spiritually? Can they move towards enlightenment? In this article I will be examining textual and ethnographic accounts of whether animals can hear and understand the dharma. Using ethnographic research conducted in Sri Lanka, I will show that although animals are thought to passively benefit from being in proximity to dharma institutions, there seems to be agreement amongst the monks interviewed that animals cannot truly understand the dharma and therefore cannot practice it. Animals are therefore severely hampered in their spiritual advancement. However, these ethnographic and textual findings do indicate that passively listening to dharma preaching, whether it is understood or not, has spiritually productive consequences.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	Sri Lanka, Buddhism, South Asia, Animal Studies, Religious Studies
Research Division:	Philosophy and Religious Studies
Research Group:	Philosophy
Research Field:	Philosophy of Religion
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding Knowledge in Philosophy and Religious Studies
UTAS Author:	Stewart, JJ (Dr James Stewart)
ID Code:	114661
Year Published:	2017
Deposited By:	Office of the School of Humanities
Deposited On:	2017-02-23
Last Modified:	2018-04-27
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