The Dharma of Animal Liberation

Mainstream social justice movements often center human suffering while overlooking the systemic exploitation of non-human animals. This seminar explores how anthropocentrism—the assumption of human superiority—limits the scope and depth of justice-oriented activism.  Drawing on intersectional and decolonial frameworks, we’ll examine how hierarchies of species, race, and power reinforce one another, and how the animal liberation movement offers crucial insights for a more expansive vision of justice. Participants will be invited to consider what a truly non-anthropocentric approach to liberation might look like—one that honors the interdependence of all beings and challenges the boundaries of who is deemed worthy of care.

In this workshop, you’ll learn:

• The present reality for non-human animals, with particular attention to how capitalism fuels and expands the factory farm system
• The psychological and social conditioning that shapes our empathy—how we learn which animals “deserve” care, and how these schemas limit our moral imagination
• Buddhist perspectives on animals, examining where they challenge anthropocentrism and where they may unintentionally reinforce it
• The construction of “human superiority,” and how this concept is bound up with racial, gendered, and colonial hierarchies that continue to shape imperialism

This workshop is approximately 90-mins in length and encompasses both lecture and discussion components.