The Spiritual Nature of Animals Revealed

Welcome to our show titled “The Spiritual Nature of Animals Revealed.” Life can be full of ups and downs. Many people seek comfort and peace in spirituality by praying, meditating, doing yoga, or attending services at a house of worship. Have you ever wondered if animals also practice spiritually? There are many clips showing animals seemingly praying to God or Buddha. A pig in Qiaotou, a small town in southeastern China, was seen worshipping the Buddha in front of a temple. The pig kneeled on the ground for a long while and didn’t wish to leave. It wasn’t until the monks came out from the temple to recite sutras that the pig left. “Animals also have souls and they understand everything. They can also practice. They might not be, maybe, a saintly person who goes out preaching and things like that, but they can practice to liberate themselves out of the Three Worlds, or at least they come to the Third Level. Even the wild birds and animals outside, many of them are high level.”

Jixiang was sadly abandoned and became a stray dog. Fortunately, a kind old lady found him and brought him to the Dajue Temple in Hsinchu, Taiwan, also known as Formosa. When coming to the temple, the old lady said to him, “Here you must listen to monks’ words and practice vegetarianism!” He was then named Jixiang, which means auspicious in Chinese. Since being adopted by the temple, he eats only vegetarian food and attends the prayer rituals with the monks both day and night.

In southern Japan, a black-and-white chihuahua named Conan prays. Every day, Conan joins the Reverend Chief Priest Joei Yoshikuni in conducting the daily services at the Shuri Kannondo temple in Naha, the capital of Japan’s Okinawa prefecture.

“Do all animals know God?” “They know God more than we do, unfortunately. They know nothing but God, they rely on nothing but God, they love nothing more than God. They communicate with none but God, I mean inner, higher, deeper communication but with God.” We animals do have a spiritual nature and are quietly practicing throughout our world. I hope the stories in our show will inspire everyone to pursue spiritual practice and endeavor to find God within.