The Karma of the Innocent

Animals, Religion, and Divine Delusions

TheGentleLaw Community

Among the many religious absurdities that have shaped human history, few are as heartbreaking—and baffling—as the cruelty directed toward animals. Across different faiths, sacred texts and traditions have often turned animals into scapegoats, embodiments of evil, or symbols of impurity.

In Islam, the dog has often been treated as unclean. In Zoroastrianism, it’s the reptiles, frogs, lizards, and toads who bear the burden of being cursed. Medieval Christianity declared war on black cats and goats. And had ancient paganism fully triumphed, the cult of Isis—goddess of mercy and divine motherhood—would likely have given us the demonization of the donkey.

It’s a striking paradox. In The Metamorphoses by Apuleius, a young man named Lucius is transformed into a donkey through a misguided act of magic. What follows is a long, humiliating, and painful journey through the suffering of that animal body. His is a story of daily torment—the donkey’s lot in life laid bare. And who ultimately rescues him? Isis, the divine embodiment of mercy. Yet, in the very same text (Book XI, section 6), she tells Lucius how to shed the skin of that “detestable beast” (detestabilis beluae)—a form she openly despises.

Why would the goddess of compassion hate donkeys?

The answer lies in mythology. The donkey was linked to Set-Typhon, the god who killed and dismembered Isis’s husband, Osiris. Thus, the donkey became a symbolic enemy. Similarly, goats—often associated with Satan in medieval imagery—were despised and slaughtered for centuries.

This is the carousel of religious thought: symbols rise, fall, and drag real, sentient beings into the crossfire. And the result? Centuries of unimaginable suffering, justified by myth and made sacred by ritual.

Even today, the contradictions are staggering. Some Christians disdain seagulls, calling them "the rats of the sky" for scavenging through garbage. But sailors once considered them sacred—killing one was said to bring misfortune, as told in Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. And how quickly we forget the silver-feathered gull—una gaviola de plumas color plata—that landed on the Sistine Chapel’s chimney at the moment of Pope Francis's election, hailed as a holy omen. A divine messenger one day, a pest the next.

The innocent lamb, symbol of Christ's purity, is devoured on Easter Sunday by those same prelates and cardinals who praise its meaning in sermons.

Religion, too often, becomes a theater of projection: a prophet, perhaps sleepless after too much garlic-laden food, awakes to declare a divine command—some ridiculous edict that unleashes rivers of blood. That this could be inspired by the primal force behind the multiverse, the mystery preceding the Big Bang? That’s a thought fit for advanced psychiatric care.

In the face of all this, the Buddhist path offers a radical departure. Not in grand revelations or divine punishments—but in silence, mindfulness, and compassion. The Buddha’s teachings do not demonize the non-human. Instead, they remind us of mettā—loving-kindness toward all beings, human and non-human alike. In the Metta Sutta, we’re told to cherish all creatures "as a mother her only child."

We don’t need more myths that justify violence. We need stillness. We need the courage to look at a seagull, a donkey, or a frog, and see not a symbol of evil—but a fellow traveler in samsāra, equally subject to suffering, and equally deserving of kindness.

Because the real miracle isn’t the animal that delivers a divine message.

The real miracle is the moment we stop believing the message that says they deserve to suffer.

“Let none deceive another, nor despise any being in any state. Let none through anger or ill-will wish harm upon another.”
— Karaṇīya Mettā Sutta (Sn 1.8)

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Timeline:

• Islamic view on dogs as unclean
  Time: The early centuries of Islam, beginning in the 7th century (600s CE).
  Location: The Arabian Peninsula and regions influenced by Islamic teachings, such as the Middle East and North Africa.

• Zoroastrianism and the suffering of reptiles, frogs, and toads
  Time: Zoroastrianism's sacred texts, particularly the Avesta, date back to around the 5th century BCE.
  Location: Ancient Persia (modern-day Iran).

• Medieval Christianity's persecution of black cats and goats
  Time: From the 5th to 15th centuries CE, especially during the European Middle Ages.
  Location: Europe, with notable influence in regions like Italy, France, and England.

• Paganism and the potential demonization of donkeys by the cult of Isis
  Time: Ancient Egypt and the Greco-Roman period, around the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE.
  Location: Egypt (for the cult of Isis) and the Roman Empire.

• The transformation of Lucius into a donkey in The Metamorphoses by Apuleius
  Time: Around the 2nd century CE (the time of Apuleius).
  Location: Roman Empire (particularly in North Africa, where Apuleius was from).

• The myth of Set-Typhon and Isis's hatred for donkeys
  Time: Ancient Egyptian mythology, with significant cultural influence spanning from the 2nd millennium BCE to the 1st century CE.
  Location: Egypt.

• Seagull symbolism among sailors and Christians' dislike for seagulls
  Time: The symbolic reverence for seagulls can be traced to ancient and medieval sailors’ beliefs, continuing into modern times. Christian disdain for seagulls can be observed in the 16th-17th centuries CE.
  Location: Mediterranean Sea and the broader European coastline.

• The silver-feathered gull on the Sistine Chapel's chimney during the election of Pope Francis
  Time: March 13, 2013.
  Location: Vatican City, Rome, Italy.

• The lamb as a symbol of Jesus in Christianity, slaughtered during Easter
  Time: Celebrated annually, particularly on Easter Sunday, which falls between March and April.
  Location: Global Christian communities, with specific cultural practices varying by region.

• The story of the prophet's strange commands, invoking rivers of blood
  Time: The phrase likely refers to various mythological and religious edicts over the centuries, spanning from ancient history through medieval times.
  Location: Varied locations depending on the prophet or religious figure, often in regions of the Near East, Europe, and North Africa.

• Buddhist teachings on compassion for all beings
  Time: The Buddha’s teachings began around the 5th-4th centuries BCE.
  Location: Ancient India (modern-day Nepal and India).

• The Metta Sutta—Buddhist instructions on loving-kindness
  Time: The Metta Sutta is part of the Sutta Pitaka, dating to approximately the 5th century BCE.
  Location: Ancient India.