Illusory Advice: Are animals enlightened?

Q: Are animals more enlightened than us? They don’t seem to separate themselves from reality and so I wondered therefore whether they exist in a nondual state, reacting instantly with events as they occur?

A: The directness of interaction with their environment that you perceive in animals is instinctive rather than realised. It may be useful to draw a distinction here between living in the physical form of an animal and living in the animal-realm. Having a physical animal form does not necessarily mean that such a being always dwells in the animal-realm. We have met horses—for example—who certainly possess a sense of humour, which would usually be regarded as a human characteristic. We have heard of animals and birds who create and manipulate tools, and of others who display acts of selflessness and kindness. Such characteristics might suggest that these animals may in fact dwell in the human-realm – at least in part.

p10, Illusory Advice, Ngakma Nor'dzin & Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin, Aro Books worldwide, 2016, 978-1-898185-37-6

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Ngakma Nor'dzin and Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin are the primary teachers at Aro Ling Cardiff.