The taming of Mala

Animal Liberation

Fur and Feathers and Other Sentient Beings

The personality of the household cat may vary from aloof, demanding, comfort loving, happy to be cuddled one minute, and then prone to raking your skin with sharp claws the next. Dogs may destroy gardens and furniture, lick away their owner's salty tears when they sense sadness, and fiercely guard their humans and their property. The one constant is that they are Dharma lessons in the making. Here are seven stories of precious pets and animal friends from Mandala readers .

Story 2: The taming of Mala

In 2004, I "liberated" a cat from the Pound. This large tabby (weight 7kgs) had been captured after four or so years as a feral animal. She was so violent that the vets at the Pound could not medicate her or treat her illnesses. It also meant that she could not be "adopted" out to a new owner.

So, for about six months, this cat was confined to her cage, spitting and attacking anyone who approached her. As time passed, and more cages were needed, she was the next on the list to be put down by lethal injection.

When I arrived at the Pound, I asked to see an older cat that nobody wanted. I was shown several cats, but I wanted to know more about this large tabby languishing in the corner of its cage. The staff told me about her violent nature.

I walked over, put my hand to the cage and began quietly reciting mantras. I'm sure the staff thought I was crazy - this bloke in a red dress (I did explain that I was a Buddhist monk) singing to a violent, feral cat. To everyone's amazement, including mine, she walked over, and began mewing and rubbing her side against my hand.

Despite the warnings, I "adopted" the cat whom I named "Mala." Since Mala has been living at our Chengawa Buddhist Centre [in Canberra, Australia], she is completely transformed. Mala almost always joins us in the gompa for meditation evenings, settling herself down in front of the altar, crossing her paws and purring quietly.

In 2005, we were fortunate to have a weekend visit from Geshe Thubten Dawa who kindly conferred the Vajrasattva Initiation. Mala just wouldn't leave Geshe-la's side. After we set up Geshe-la's teaching throne, Mala insisted on sitting at its base, then moving to its cushion. She insisted on sleeping at the foot of Geshe-la's bed, and took to following him through the house. During the weekend initiation, Mala sat at strict attention next to Geshe-la's teaching throne. Geshe-la just adored Mala, declaring her to be a "Gompa Cat."

These days, Mala faithfully attends every meditation and teaching session; making sure that she has a front row position. However, she still finds it difficult to control herself outside the house. So we go out into the backyard on supervised visits. Most of the time, Mala is content to leave the birds, butterflies, and insects alone and to sit with me in the sun listening to Dharma teachings on my MP3 player. She is a little treasure!

—Ven. Alex Bruce (Losang Tenpa)

This article is an excerpt of the full article printed in Mandala