Wow This Is One Amazing Ape

ThailandTom

suopohe

Amazing! This shows the similarity shared between human and animals.

Invincible_summer

Apes freak me out... they're like feral humans

ThailandTom

This is no ordinary ape though, or it is no ape that has been studied in such a way shall we say. To me it makes a few things crystal clear. One is that animals really should be treated just like us, they have a brain, consciousness and feelings. I also came to think that maybe this could have been a human who has been reborn as an ape lol, just a funny thought to play with.

Lookingformyway

Gotta love apes remember a lecture D.S did on their signing ability. Thanks for posting, loved it.

Lady_Alison

Apes freak me out... they're like feral humans

Bad People freak me out, they're like feral apes.

ThailandTom

Can you describe a 'bad' person or people to us Alison?

Lady_Alison

A bad person is someone who finds pleasure in hurting others through their actions and thoughts, even though they absolutely know what they are doing is wrong.

Lady_Alison

Hows that? And I'm not talking about ignorance. I'm talking about choosing to be bad...

ThailandTom

This is what I do not understand yet about the teaching of dualistic thinking in buddhism. How can you not impliment dualistic thinking into your daily life? It is pretty much impossible.

Ajahn Brahm however seems to think that there are no bad people, just ignorant people. People do bad things, but they are not bad, that is what he seems to think anyway.

Invincible_summer

Apes freak me out... they're like feral humans

Bad People freak me out, they're like feral apes.

A bad person is someone who finds pleasure in hurting others through their actions and thoughts, even though they absolutely know what they are doing is wrong.

1) I think most apes are feral...
2) Do we know that apes "absolutely know what they are doing is wrong" when they harm other apes or people? I've heard of animal species developing group norms, but I'm not sure it's the same as an underlying morality.
3) Do we know that apes take pleasure in harming others?

Lady_Alison

I guess it would depend if you believed that humans are basically innately good...

This is an old debate.

IMO...I believe humans are innately good and also have a great propensity for evil or bad or wrong action...that the mind is a space for them to choose...and that action produces good or bad fruit.

Or positive and negative.

Its a choice, though. Always a choice. I think remaining in ignorance or madness is a choice, specially when a way (reflection, spiritually,philosophy) is opened for them.

Lady_Alison

Apes are animals. They behave through instinct. We are animals too and have instinct but our ability to think, self awareness,reflection and emotions five us an advantage that animals do not have.

Not to mention self sacrificing deeds and compassion.

So,by apes (I use this symbolically) I mean our base instincts. We must not be ruled by them.

ThailandTom

It boils down to which parts of the brain are devolped more than other parts of the brain, obviously. But this ape seems to have some inate ability to communicate far beyond any other ape I have ever seen or heard of.