What's so special about humans?

[moralorel]

By animal-like deeds, a human becomes a match for an ox. By knowing goodness and feeling obligated, gratitude, an animal becomes a match for good householder.
Certain many pets, which are of course not common animal, are more human then most human. Don't one think that, for example, pets can live a virtuous life, if guided, while most many human are far from it, even having the ability to understand words.
That human could doesn't mean that they do. Most, in fact, lead an animal-like live.

That what is meant by deeds, not by (kind) of birth.



Who's "we", and then what's "clever", good householder. A virtuous human wouldn't be happy if being equaled with animal-behaviouring kind. Nor would one, virtues, be happy if compared with the cleverness of a snake. Even an common animal does like to be associated with all kinds of "clever human", doesn't feel well and endangered.

I'm just going to assume you haven't spent a lot of time around animals, especially wild animals. I grew up on a large farm. I also spent a lot of time in rainforests in Latin America. Many animals can be downright wicked.

How about dolphins? They are known for being intelligent and sweet. They are also known for being the rapists of the oceans. They also torture and kill porpoises for fun.
What about antelopes? Topi antelope males will convince female antelopes that a predator is nearby so that the female will stay and mate with them. If there is a predator nearby male antelopes will try to trick other male antelopes and lead them to predators so they can have the females for themselves.
Our closest relative, the chimpanzee? They will hunt down and murder other groups of chimpanzees just for the fun of it. Then they practice cannibalism by eating their enemies corpses. Chimps also like to eat baby chimps.
Ants enslave aphids.
Cute sea otters are known for beating and biting female otters who don't want to mate. They will even rape and beat animals of different species. Their favorite appears to be seals who they will rape and kill.
Penguins? They like to rape their children. They also often mate with dead corpses.
Gorillas love to beat their own children to death.
Tiger sharks eat their siblings in the womb.
Hyenas often kill their siblings shortly after birth.
Baboons? They eat young prey and like to eat them alive from the legs up. The screams of pain and torture actually arouse the baboon, and some have been known to masturbate during their meal.
Meerkat females, after giving birth to their litter, will kill another female's litter just so she can use that female as a wet nurse.

I think you might want to get to know animals and their behaviors a little bit better before you make your assessment. I have personally witnessed animals trying to kill animals and humans just for fun. I have even witnessed goats and sheep trying to do this. I almost was a victim, twice.

 

[Dhammañāṇa Bhikkhu]

Depok Chopra’s description of God as Pure Potential becomes human potential and allows for a positive self-fulfilling prophecy. To think otherwise is to put Ultimate Reality out of reach and creates a negative self fulfilling prophecy and is governed by a law/principle of deficit such as the “sinful nature of man.” True enough that our actual selves are flawed but our potential for spiritual growth is abundant. Tillich’s Ground of Being is also a useful way to view and approach God, because it lends itself to a gapless fountain flowing deep and wide in each human being.
The test of religion is how well it meets human needs. While arrogance and pride in human actuality is detrimental, it is even more detrimental to eclipse the vast domain of potential that flows from God into and through human beings. The key seems to acknowledge human sin and limitations as a secondary truth referring to the surface realm of unpacked actuality but give more weight to the underlying potential that qualifies us as being offshoots or by “Children” of God and in the image of God,

Good householder will not like to get informed, but neither are releasing moral and ethic democrazy nor are religions. No doubt that there are cheaters, promising fruits from wrong or no given causes.
And it's maybe useful to tell further, that nobody made good householder to become here.
Of course this "children of God" slogan serves perfect any kind of antisemitism (in the words meaning).
Be sure that neither Gods, nor religions are in the duty to serve yours, but actually give "just" possibility for benefical ob-serving, services (if not deluded ones).

And good householder can be sure that not even low deities approve, or even order harm and killing of beings.

So heavens can be very far if used to associate with fools.

Agree...I do that between coasting. Life is about enjoying watching it go by. We gotta pay the piper along the way, doing the things...but to miss the scenery and the ride is kudicrous

Be sure that joy, and enjoying, and reason for it is very limited and not sure. It's not wise to waste auspicious possibility.

Animal realms aren't funny. Not even if gaining a life as pet in a nice family... Special animal existence is gained by generosity, yet still lacking virtue and sense-restrain.

 

[Dhammañāṇa Bhikkhu]

I'm just going to assume you haven't spent a lot of time around animals, especially wild animals. I grew up on a large farm. I also spent a lot of time in rainforests in Latin America. Many animals can be downright wicked.

My person lives since 20 years in south asian forest. May good householder be sure that he knows personally "nothing" about wild animal and living day and night next to them. No, not like a camper or eco lover, but just with a set of robes and a bowl. Right next, yet far in regard of taking part.

That the animal realm is most fearful, if caught near there, is no question at all. One does, how ever, not need to go down there.

Aside of this particular unattractivity, he would do good if first investigating a topic and told more in detail.

Again, even an animal-minded being (lack of sense restrain, lack of keeping in mind, remember), if certain gifted, would be able to observe a virtuous life if guided, if dependency. That counts for animal like humans either.

 

[Bloodshot]

I'm just going to assume you haven't spent a lot of time around animals, especially wild animals. I grew up on a large farm. I also spent a lot of time in rainforests in Latin America. Many animals can be downright wicked.

How about dolphins? They are known for being intelligent and sweet. They are also known for being the rapists of the oceans. They also torture and kill porpoises for fun.
What about antelopes? Topi antelope males will convince female antelopes that a predator is nearby so that the female will stay and mate with them. If there is a predator nearby male antelopes will try to trick other male antelopes and lead them to predators so they can have the females for themselves.
Our closest relative, the chimpanzee? They will hunt down and murder other groups of chimpanzees just for the fun of it. Then they practice cannibalism by eating their enemies corpses. Chimps also like to eat baby chimps.
Ants enslave aphids.
Cute sea otters are known for beating and biting female otters who don't want to mate. They will even rape and beat animals of different species. Their favorite appears to be seals who they will rape and kill.
Penguins? They like to rape their children. They also often mate with dead corpses.
Gorillas love to beat their own children to death.
Tiger sharks eat their siblings in the womb.
Hyenas often kill their siblings shortly after birth.
Baboons? They eat young prey and like to eat them alive from the legs up. The screams of pain and torture actually arouse the baboon, and some have been known to masturbate during their meal.
Meerkat females, after giving birth to their litter, will kill another female's litter just so she can use that female as a wet nurse.

I think you might want to get to know animals and their behaviors a little bit better before you make your assessment. I have personally witnessed animals trying to kill animals and humans just for fun. I have even witnessed goats and sheep trying to do this. I almost was a victim, twice.

Maybe they worship gods that demand such deeds of them. Humans have.

 

[Dhammañāṇa Bhikkhu]

Maybe they worship gods that demand such deeds of them. Humans have.

Of course not. It's sense-desire, that leads beings to all bad and crimes. The more indebted toward senses, the more animal, in fear, and directed by craving, aversion and delusion.

The "God" for animals (even humanoid) uses sense pleasure promises to let them act. God eye, ear, nose, tongue, body. Gotten a human existence, not stupid, and meeting right advices, one could be able to leave future birth in animal womb or lower, forever behind. That's why human existence is most auspicious, excels most other kinds of arising: able not only for deeds leading to heavens, but also to chance ancestor ship to a Noble One, heading toward liberation.

 

[otherbrother]

I've heard that since elementary school...you could do better, not living upto your potential. .Not everyone likes that high a bar. I was taught to avoid peer pressure...that it is a form of bullying.

Didn’t mean a pressure to be perfect, just a mind open to positive potential and a willingness to be drawn towards it. More like receiving God’s grace than moral striving. You make a very good point, the openness to positive potential must be in an environment of nurturing love that is patient, not in a “straighten up and fly right” atmosphere nor a competitive individual achievement environment. If we have spirits let them (a deeper originating point within) guide us, not to be pushed into moral perfection by impatient and intolerant humans.

 

[moralorel]

Maybe they worship gods that demand such deeds of them. Humans have.

Actually your point might have countered my argument. Humans will sometimes try to use their religion as an excuse for their behavior. Animals don't need a religion for an excuse, they just do it.

 

[Bloodshot]

My point was that we can't pretend to know what goes through the minds of animals (unless perhaps you remember from a prior existence..). And there are examples of apparently spiritual behaviour in the animal kingdom.

If there's a hard cutoff between being animal and being human in your paradigm, where is the line? Where was it in the evolutionary past?

I see a spectrum, not a duality.

 

[talib-al-kalim]

Why do so many humans appear to think they're somehow qualitatively different from everything else?

We are for sure different from all other creatures. All creatures are different. Of course that's not your point.

Why do they assume they have the monopoly on sentience, consciousness, souls?

It's easy and pleasing to think so. You need a higher degree of sentience to see that all living beings have a link to other individuals of the same species and to other species. It's easy to observe it with mammals and birds that have also a consciousness and individual relationships like we have them.
But we are more intelligent and we can reflect on a much higher level than other species.
That's true.

Is it all just from the social constructs and dogma that inevitably grow around any true enlightment?

In my opinion, the key to enlightenment is to be one with God, with all around us.

Just to give us permission to be, basically, horrible to everything else?

This enlightenment must result in the contrary: the respect and the consciousness that we depend on All, comprising the smallest bacteria in an around us (they are all beneficial to us and our environment, at least if they are at the right place)

 

[otherbrother]

My point was that we can't pretend to know what goes through the minds of animals (unless perhaps you remember from a prior existence..). And there are examples of apparently spiritual behaviour in the animal kingdom.

If there's a hard cutoff between being animal and being human in your paradigm, where is the line? Where was it in the evolutionary past?

I see a spectrum, not a duality.

My grand children’s pet dog, Marshal, stayed with my wife and me for two days, one night, recently. He whined a lot, longing for my grandkids, hardly eating anything despite his normal veracious appetite. Lay lovingly on my lap even though normally a hyperactive fellow. Sure seems like and feels like the kind of love that we apparently higher beings strive to achieve in our spiritual growth. I can sometimes intentionally open up my heart chakra and love more fully but Marshal seems to do it more naturally, effortlessly. Seems man’s best friend has something he can teach his so-called master. Can I be loving like an innocent child or pet?

 

[TheLightWithin]

So because we're *clever* we have the *right* to treat everything else as inferior? That's your position?

Who said that?

 

[wil]

Why do so many humans appear to think they're somehow qualitatively different from everything else?

Why do they assume they have the monopoly on sentience, consciousness, souls?

Is it all just from the social constructs and dogma that inevitably grow around any true enlightment? Just to give us permission to be, basically, horrible to everything else?

You asked a bundle of questions in your OP.

I answered only the first one...and for that you lambasted me with...

So because we're *clever* we have the *right* to treat everything else as inferior? That's your position?

So it is now made apparent by you you did not want to know the answers to any question but your last one.

Which is a huge assumption...that we all treat everything as inferior? And we have permission to be basically horrible to everything else?

I'll need some clarification before I step into your traps again.

Before we start ill posit this is pretty much a dog eat dog world, magma turns our planet inside out and moves continents around with such force it creates mountain ranges and divides land over millenia. Everything from bacteria and fungi to lions and tigers and bears eat living things to survive....often fairly violently at that.

So what is it you feel man does that is significantly different than the norm?