RP Introduction!!

According to the Buddhist doctrine, every being will have a rebirth after death, and the next rebirth is decided by the karmas and actions one had done in the previous life. Before attaining (at least) arahatship (the lowest level in Buddhism, having no further possibility of rebirth), one will have endless rebirth as well as death. “Rebirth can be as a human, but also as an animal: land animal, fish, bird or insect.” Based on this concept, all the living beings we can see now might our relatives or close friends in our countless past lives; a mosquito might be your mother a long time ago, or you might be a cattle, which is going to be butchered and sold to a meat vendor. Besides, since all beings (both humans and animals) “are just like oneself in disliking pain and liking happiness,” the Buddhist ethical precept, “to abstain from injury to living beings,” “applies to the treatment of both humans and animals.” “Human beings may be superior to animals because of their spiritual potential, but they should show their superiority in good treatment of fellow sentient beings, not by exploiting them.” What is more, every being has the potential to become a Buddha, and based on this aspect, if we save a being, we might save a Buddha in the future (Harvey). As a result, Buddhism encourages people to have kindness toward animals (for saving not only our family and friends in the previous lives but also the “Buddhas” in the future), and therefore Buddhists carry out the practice of releasing the captured animals out of pity.