法苑珠林 68.19

68.19

Second and third, explaining that in the destinies of hungry ghosts and animals, the ten unwholesome actions are fully present, yet they lack the unwholesome restraint (asaṃvara) of the seven branches of body and speech. Question: Among animals today who do not understand speech, although they have sounds, do they constitute vocal karma? Answer: When they give rise to anger, the sounds they emit are distinct; although not articulate speech, they still constitute vocal karma. Therefore the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra says: Do the sounds of animals constitute vocal karma? Answer: Although there is no distinction of spoken words, because they arise from the mind, they are also called karma. It may also be said that those possessing all ten are mostly nāga kings, who understand the thoughts of human beings and therefore possess the ten courses of karma. The remaining dull animals can only possess the three bodily and three mental—six kinds; the remaining four are not complete, because their mouths do not understand speech. If based on the beginning of the kalpa, when animals understood human speech, then they also could possess the ten unwholesome actions.