Kilung ’s Guidance about Animals and Death (excerpted from the Pema Kilaya Death and Dying Project website, pkdeathanddying.org)

Animals and the “The same practices we use for humans in the bardo can be effective for animals. Whether your animal is in the process of dying or already dead, you can treat it in a loving way, at the very least by saying prayers. You and your animals may have been friends for decades–maybe for their whole lives.

When my teacher, Riglo, dedicated the of his teachings, he mentioned the names of his dogs, his own and those of his family; and he mentioned the names of his yaks that gave them the milk that they drank: “May they all be liberated from Samsara.” So every time we heard teachings from him, toward the end in the dedications, he always named the animals. (And he actually included Mao Zedong in his dedications, even when many people in didn’t have much patience for Chairman Mao, or didn’t him positively. He was showing how you have to sometimes give the greatest kindness to those from whom you have received the most unkindness, and that everything is, in a way, important to be included in dedication. That is very unique and special.) So in Tibet we do have that kind of feeling or thinking when someone‘s cat or dog has died. We do prayers, but it seems that it is less emotional than in the West.

There is the potential for animals to gain enlightenment in the bardo. That possibility very much depends on the prayers, who is saying them, the dedications, and who is doing them after the animal’s death–on how we communicate and send the prayers afterwards. There are many, many stories from the Buddha’s time in which people asked him about animals. The Buddha said that certain animals are led to liberation in this lifetime as the result of prayers. As an example, even without any intention, a dog would sometimes go to a and that helped it to find liberation. So animals have a chance to be liberated in the bardo also.

Phowa for Animals In Buddhist practice there are signs that we look for after a person dies. In the case of doing for another being, one of the signs that the practice has been successful is the appearance of a little bit of red and a little bit of white fluid that flows from the nostrils. That’s really one of the best signs of success. These are called the red and white nectars. That happened one time in Seattle when we did phowa for a dog. A person called me when their dog was dying and asked for phowa. I didn’t go to sit with the dog–I did phowa from a distance, and then afterwards we talked on the phone and said prayers, and one person there actually also did phowa next to the dog. I went to the cremation for the dog and when we looked at the body before cremation, white and red bodhicitta nectar was coming out of the nostrils. It was really amazing. So I think the prayers for animals will benefit them.

Euthanasia Sometimes people think about euthanasia for their animals, but it is not a really good idea, even though we may think of it because we want the animal to have less suffering. Remember that when the animal is close to death, there is so much longing in them for friendship, love, and affection from the people who have cared for them. Having the animal put to sleep is a killing action, and it doesn’t allow the animal to experience its own death. Think about it like this: if you were not the owner, and this animal were living its life in the wild, what would it do, what is the best for its nature? One day it is born, one day it will die, and in between it will enjoy life. So those are the three events that will happen in life. This happens to everyone.

Sometimes I feel that in the West people have a pure vision or pure wish to help animals so they do not have to suffer. But also I feel there is a little bit of selfishness involved because people also don’t want to spend so much time and energy looking after the dying animal. For instance, it may interfere with work or other activities in one’s life—many things are involved. So there are two things at play here. And the animals perceive that. After many years of lovingly caring for and comforting the pet, who has become almost like a family member, if in the last few days of their life you then choose the easy, short-cut way, then how does that feel to the animal? I think it is a kind of disappointment for them, experiencing that in the last moments of their life. So the best way to treat them, even if they are suffering, is natural death. Maybe a little bit of pain killers would be OK. It won’t take forever. When death comes, they will die.

But remember that being with a dying animal is a big commitment. In Tibet, except in rare cases, no one really has access to a veterinary hospital or money to take a dog for an operation. The best thing that people feel they can do is to let the animal die naturally. They care for the animal the best way they can. If there is some way they can help to heal it, they do, but taking it to the hospital is really beyond their capacity. In the West it is common for people to get medical treatment for their animal, and it is a nice thing in a way. But then what happens in the last moment of that animal’s life? Here you have made so much effort in the past, caring for the animal, and now, in just the short period of time that is left for that life, you go the easy way. Isn’t that an unrealistic and illogical way of looking at it? Also, if you euthanize an animal, not allowing the animal to have a natural death, you deprive that animal of a certain level of dying through suffering. This does not mean it is important for them to suffer, but that they should feel the reality of their situation and, by dying naturally, not lose contact with their innermost wisdom.

Of course, it is hard for us to see them suffering from illness and not be able to help them. But we can be there to pray for them, to speak kind words to them from the heart, and send warm, loving energy from our heart to theirs. Do if you know that practice. The time it takes for your animal friend to die may be longer than you have wished or imagined, but this is the time for you to open your heart-mind and give your generosity and support at this most critical moment in their journey. It may cost you money to go through this sometimes lengthy process, but they will benefit greatly from your generosity.”