Is This Dharma?

We recently sat with a well-known Buddhist teacher (whose name I will not share here) who gave a Dharma talk that included saying that it is more meritorious to feed a human than a dog, because a human is more intelligent.

When Parvati and I talked together later that night - each disgusted to hear this - Parvati pointed out that to believe what the teacher said would be like saying that it is better to give food to a physicist than to someone with a cognitive impairment, when actually, a stronger case could be made that the opposite is true.

I observed that "intelligence" ought not be the basis for why we have compassion for others, but rather their capacity to feel. If they feel pain or if they suffer, it is on that basis that we should help them if we can.

By saying that animals are less valuable than humans, she completely lost both of us.

Let's get clear:

Dharma isn't about compassion for others based upon their intelligence. It is about compassion for all beings with capacity for suffering, humans and animals alike.

May all beings everywhere - without exception - be well and happy, free of suffering and the causes of suffering, and may we refrain as best we can from causing suffering.