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Although I am currently and quite regretably lacking a feline friend, I’m very glad to still have beautiful birds to keep me company here at the Monastery at the End of the World.
Here’s the lorikeets having a bath in what was meant to be their drinking dish. Joy!
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aawww, they’re clearly asking for a larger bowl of water 
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Oh my gosh @JimInBC, King George is simply… Majestic! What a wonderful menagerie you have.
I was thinking today that the opportunity for metta to arise in relation to pets and animals is often underrated. Much easier than towards humans at times and quite often, the metta is returned to us (in the case of dogs for sure, but in the case of cats, only if we deserve it… 
)
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Arjuna. A Hyderabadi street cat who now lives in Suffolk with his adopted family. Every moment with this cat is joy.
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@michael_p, Arjuna is the 150th Buddha Being! 
well, actually that’s probably not quite right since many posts on this thread have more than 1 critter and some posts are just chatter but anyway 150 posts is a nice number and what better way to celebrate than with that handsome ginger, Arjuna! 
This is secretly my favourite thread on D&D. May there be many more cats and countless other Buddha Beings… until the end of time and beyond! (But also may we reach all enlightenment too!)
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I realize that cats are the main focus here, but the two Buddha Beings that are in my care are really sweet too!
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I’ve been thinking about your comment since I read it a few days ago. The animals I live with do so much to keep me in a place of loving kindness. And I volunteer with the SPCA, socializing cats. It is so easy to stay in a state of loving kindness even when working with feral cats that will attack if you get too close. They so obviously are afraid and want to feel safe. Yes. The opportunity for metta to arise with animals is very profound. Thank you for calling explicit attention to this. 
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Made me laugh!
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Thanks @JimInBC. Its easier for people to express love with animals. There’s quite a few programs running here in prisons where trained dogs go and hang out with incarcerated people. My friend who did this for a few years talked very movingly of seeing big burly tough guys inside for who knows what being reduced to tears interacting with her dog. She said she could see the little boys inside them, and playing with a dog, holding it, cuddling it allows their vulnerability to come out. You can usually trust a dog isn’t going to hurt you and can show it love without fear.
Another thing happening is support animals used in court testimony forchildren and adults who have anxiety, PTSD, etc to help them stay calm and centred whilst giving harrowing evidence.
If the animals are treated well and enjoy this work, these simple types of actions really could radically change the way we handle things in the justice system, which is expensive and brutal and makes people worse off than when they entered it.
More Buddha Beings are clearly one answer!
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Mort aux Chats
There will be no more cats.
Cats spread infection,
Cats pollute the air,
Cats consume seven times
their own weight in food a week,
Cats were worshiped in
decadent societies (Egypt
and Ancient Rome); the Greeks
had no use for cats. Cats
sit down to pee (our scientists
have proved it). The copulation
of cats is harrowing; they
are unbearably fond of the moon.
Perhaps they are all right in
their own country but their
traditions are alien to ours.
Cats smell, they can’t help it,
you notice it going upstairs.
Cats watch too much television,
they can sleep through storms,
they stabbed us in the back
last time. There have never been
any great artists who were cats.
They don’t deserve a capital C
except at the beginning of a sentence.
I blame my headaches and my
plants dying on cats.
Our district is full of them,
property values are falling.
When I dream of God I see
a Massacre of Cats. Why
should they insist on their own
language and religion, who
needs to purr to make his point?
Death to all cats! The Rule
of Dogs shall last a thousand years!
– Peter Porter
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Peter Porter forgot to mention allergies. I had to give my cat away. After six weeks of de-hairing the house once he was safely rehoused I could breath easy again.
I’m contemplating counting the number of cat photos in this thread and balancing it off with an equal number of … not dogs … but grandchildren. 
I reckon that would really put the cat among the pigeons.
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Belly buddies!
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I’ve loved following this thread and meeting everyone’s Buddha beings.
I fall firmly into the dog camp. I think my dream life would be a little hut in the forest with a dog and a good pindapat route. Unfortunately I don’t live with my dearly loved doggos anymore but we did have a reunion today where I was covered in their fur and kisses.
They aren’t very good at staying still for photos, even though they are 13 years old, so I may have to dig into the archives for extra cute puppy pics.
!
Kevin is the dusty grey one. A total genius and overachiever who can pair shoes and pack the dishwasher. He is still the love of my life.
Alex is the spotted one and was a rescue from the RSPCA. The ultimate metta dog. We got him when he was all skin and bones and had been living on the streets a long time. The first time we went out to the shops without him he vomited when we came home because of anxiety, yet he welcomes every human he meets with such warmth and gratitude. He’s the dog I think of when Ajahn Brahm does his puppies and kittens metta.
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