My Buddhist faith teaches that humans are the better of the two lives to live, if given the choice of animal or human. This is something I do not yet fully comprehend, and which continues to bring much contemplation as I attempt to grasp why a human life is supposed to be better than that of an animal or bird. It seems that we are far less natural, and surely nature is far more of a proper reality than coins, legislations, or war? I sometimes wonder if this is one of the reasonings that is now out of date, but that used to be a valid observance when we were a more natural species. Possibly viewing "our own kind" as the superior species also played a part in this viewpoint that we have the better life.
I understand that our minds are made of such that can adapt, grow, learn and further our course along the Buddhist pathway; however, I do not see that animals or birds are denied this progression. I have personally witnessed a pigeon who understood me far better than most of my fellow humans, and I am convinced that he had something inside his head that also learned and advanced him along this same road. Birds in general have taught me a lot, and I often feel closer with them, than I do to my own kind. I am pleased that Buddhism encourages one to investigate its belief, and not just to accept everything. I do not think that I could automatically accept that mankind has the better life, whilst viewing that of the animal or bird to be far more akin to nature, and our own species to be constantly degrading in activities.
I enjoy observing young birds growing up in our yard. Magpie young would play roly-poly on the lawn, snap at each other, roll about in the manure tub, or play with sticks and dead grass. Sometimes, they would lie on their backs squabbling with each other, feet wobbling in the air. As they aged, the children began to play fly-chase games above our yard.
I observed the parent magpies act like human parents, and these bird babies act like human babies. I was learning as much as these youngsters were, whilst observing them in our shared environment. It made me realize how unnatural humans are, how complicated we make our lives. I wonder why my own species makes such a fuss over complicating life with such as society expectations, ridiculous laws, ritualistic religions, traditional rigmarole, money, etc. Why don't we just live, as Magpies do, concentrating on important natural issues, such as feeding, making homes, bringing up our young? The human species seems to have added on so many extra and unnecessary pieces to the simple art of living life. It is a shame. It is as if we have used our advanced minds to create a confusion and chaos, rather than for any positive purpose. Maybe it would be better not to have minds capable of such doings. It appears that the one species with a little extra brainpower available has chosen to use it to the detriment of those species that have less. It is we humans that have polluted this planet, damaging and destroying so much of nature and throwing so much debris out into space, yet it is us who are supposedly the more intelligent. I wonder if the human mind is an aberration rather than a superiority. Maybe we are a malformation of nature, rather than a supremacy.
A Magpie's life is so simple and natural compared to that of a human, yet we do the same things really. We also make homes, rest, create babies, teach our young to look after themselves, and spend so much time placing food into our stomachs. Why do humans also drive pollution machines, throw manufactured junk all over the place, make creations that destroy and kill? These magpies have taught me a lesson. They have taught me what is important for life upon this planet, for every species.
I got to know a special show-pigeon, one of two that suddenly appeared in our yard one day and stayed with us after we offered them a little food. The original pair could appreciate music, recognize the names we gave to them, and knew a few other words, such as "cheese" and "out." There was a certain personality about that male bird which enabled me to term him my friend. It is the first instance where I understood and accepted the Buddhist belief that rebirth can occur in other realms than just human reincarnation. I had previously considered that humans were automatically reborn as humans again. I knew the bird had something inside him that reasoned, understood me, connected, and knew how I felt; he also wanted to learn and grow.
