Sentient Beings Quotes

• I have from an early age abjured the use of meat, and the time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men.

  Leonardo da Vinci

  Time, Men, Compassion

  80 Copy quote

• If you want to help sentient beings, you have to get your hands dirty.

  Guo Jun

  Dirty, Hands, Want

  Guo Jun (2013). “Essential Chan Buddhism: The Character and Spirit of Chinese Zen”, p.25, Monkfish Book Publishing

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• Animals are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time.

  Henry Beston

  Animal, Vegetarian Diet, Vegetarianism

  Henry Beston, Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth (2001). “The Best of Beston: A Selection from the Natural World of Henry Beston from Cape Cod to the St. Lawrence”, p.18, David R. Godine Publisher

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• The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men.

  Alice Walker

  Meaningful, Nature, Men

  "The Dreaded Comparison: Animal Slavery and Human Slavery". Book by Marjorie Spiegel, Foreword, 1996.

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  The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.

  Charles Darwin

  Love, Life, Nature

  Charles Darwin (2015). “Darwin on Evolution: Words of Wisdom from the Father of Evolution”, p.25, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

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• There is a simple way to become buddha: When you refrain from unwholesome actions, are not attached to birth and death, and are compassionate toward all sentient beings, respectful to seniors and kind to juniors, not excluding or desiring anything, with no designing thoughts or worries, you will be called a buddha. Do not seek anything else.

  Dogen

  Senior, Simple, Worry

  134 Copy quote

• Compassion, in which all ethics must take root, can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind.

  Albert Schweitzer

  Freedom, Kindness, Compassion

  Albert Schweitzer (1958). “A Selection of Writings of and about Albert Schweitzer”, Boston : [s.n.], 1958 (Boston : H.N. Sawyer Company)

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• Not to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission - to be of service to them whenever they require it.

  Francis of Assisi

  Hurt, Humble, Animal

  392 Copy quote

• I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.

  Abraham Lincoln

  Meaningful, Nature, Compassion

  93 Copy quote

• Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight.

  Albert Schweitzer

  Philosophical, Animal, Thinking

  40 Copy quote

• May all that have life be delivered from suffering.

  Gautama Buddha

  Buddhist, Animal, Suffering

  45 Copy quote

• The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.

  Mahatma Gandhi

  Wisdom, Peace, Kindness

  519 Copy quote

• We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words.

  Anna Sewell

  Animal, Dumb, Pet

  Anna Sewell (2015). “Black Beauty”, p.141, Sheba Blake Publishing

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• All the arguments to prove man's superiority cannot shatter this hard fact: in suffering, the animals are our equals.

  Peter Singer

  Encouragement, Nature, Animal

  "Peter Singer" by Ed Vulliamy, www.theguardian.com. February 14, 2009.

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• Animals are sentient, intelligent, perceptive, funny and entertaining. We owe them a duty of care as we do to children.

  Michael Morpurgo

  Children, Animal, Intelligent

  "Michael Morpurgo answers your questions". The Guardian Interview, www.theguardian.com. March 2, 2011.

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• Music is intended and designed for sentient beings that have hopes and purposes and emotions.

  Jacques Barzun

  Music, Purpose, Emotion

  Jacques Barzun (1984). “Critical Questions: On Music and Letters, Culture and Biography, 1940-1980”, p.61, University of Chicago Press

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• The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that's the essence of inhumanity.

  George Bernard Shaw

  Peace, Soulmate, Honesty

  The Devil's Disciple (1901) act 2

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  If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspirational, Happiness, Happy

  Dalai Lama, Victor Chan (2012). “The Wisdom of Compassion: Stories of Remarkable Encounters and Timeless Insights”, p.11, Random House

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• We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.

  Immanuel Kant

  Dog, Heart, Animal

  "True animal instinct", www.theguardian.com. September 2, 2005.

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• Atrocities are not less atrocities when they occur in laboratories and are called medical research.

  George Bernard Shaw

  Animal, Vegetarianism, Abuse

  75 Copy quote

• If a man aspires towards a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals.

  Albert Einstein

  Zoos, Cat, Animal

  144 Copy quote

• The crucial task of old age is balance: keeping just well enough, just brave enough, just gay and interested and starkly honest enough to remain a sentient human being.

  Florida Scott-Maxwell

  Gay, Bravery, Balance

  Florida Scott-Maxwell (2013). “Measure of My Days”, p.23, Knopf

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• I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance.

  Dalai Lama

  Inspiring, Believe, Ignorance

  The 14th Dalai Lama's Acceptance Speech, on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, www.nobelprize.org. December 10, 1989.

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• All suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction.

  Dalai Lama

  Life, Spiritual, Pain

  The 14th Dalai Lama's Acceptance Speech, on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, www.nobelprize.org. December 10, 1989.

  84 Copy quote

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• The animal should not be measured by man. In a world older than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the sense we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear.

  Henry Beston

  Inspirational, Motivational, Moving

  Henry Beston (1956). “The Outermost House”

  71 Copy quote

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