Rachel H. Pang
\nDavidson College<\/p>\n
Shabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol\u2019s (1781-1851) collected works present one of the most sustained treatments of vegetarianism and animal ethics in Tibetan literature. His arguments for vegetarianism adopt two main formats: philosophical prose and narrative. In this essay, I analyze Shabkar\u2019s implicit argument for vegetarianism and the ethical treatment of animals in the narrative passages of his autobiography that describe his interactions with animals. By including animals as significant interlocutors in his autobiography, Shabkar reframes the relationship between animals and humans to be less anthropocentric and more based on the ideal of impartiality (phyogs ris med pa<\/em>). In turn, this serves as an implicit narrative argument for the adoption of a vegetarian diet. This mode of argumentation differs from the majority of arguments for vegetarianism in Tibetan Buddhist literature which tend to be more philosophical in nature. Shabkar\u2019s narrative mode of argument is an example of the \u201cact of social imagination\u201d first identified by Charles Hallisey and Anne Hansen in South and Southeast Asian Buddhist narratives. These types of narratives cultivate an ethical ideal in an audience by prompting the audience into an \u201cact of social imagination\u201d that in turn forms the foundation for moral agency.<\/p>\n Read article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ISSN 1076-9005 Volume 29, 2022 Taking Animals Seriously: Shabkar\u2019s Narrative Argument for Vegetarianism and the Ethical Treatment of Animals Rachel H. Pang Davidson College Shabkar Tsokdruk Rangdrol\u2019s (1781-1851) collected works present one of the most sustained treatments of vegetarianism and animal ethics in Tibetan literature. His arguments for vegetarianism adopt two main formats: philosophical prose … Continue reading Shabkar\u2019s Narrative Argument for Vegetarianism and the Ethical Treatment of Animals<\/span>