I have to speak up for animals
because they can’t speak for themselves.
I have to speak up for animals
because they are mother sentient beings too.
I have to speak up for animals
because any one of us can be reborn as animals too.
First They Came…
They came first for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.Then they came for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.
From Wikipedia: ‘First they came…’ is a famous statement attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group. The text expresses, in a condensed form, the understanding of history presented by Niemöller in a January 6, 1946 speech before representatives of the Confessing Church in Frankfurt… His poem is well-known, frequently quoted, and is a popular model for describing the dangers of political apathy, as it often begins with specific and targeted fear and hatred which soon escalates out of control.
Yeah, apathy, a common illness…
Not realizing that if they suffer, we suffer too, that we are one and all, all and one. We do not realize that something is wrong, until when the problem comes knocking right on our door.
An illness which, upon reflection, seems to stem from lack of compassion and wisdom, that’s all.
Thank for speaking up for the animals because if I am suffering, I also hope that someone can help me or speak up for me. I guess all will feel that too.
Yes, any one of us can be reborn as animals even in this life we can do lots of very good things because we can’t see our past karma or fully understand or know how the complex the karma system work …
Even Buddha’s past lives, in some he is an animal …
Our past lives definitely has rebirth in these different realms too – including animal …
How sure are we that we would not go back to animal realms again and again?
Isn’t it a scary thought that the animals eaten might be a Bodhisattva? Then again, even if not, all beings are future Buddhas. Amituofo
😀