A technical term within Buddhism, broadly denoting beings with consciousness, sentience, or in some contexts life itself.
Sentience in Buddhism is the state of having senses (sat + ta in Pali, or sat + tva in Sanskrit). In Buddhism, the senses are six in number, the sixth being the subjective experience of the mind. Sentience is simply awareness prior to the arising of Skandha. Thus, an animal qualifies as a sentient being. sentience. n. 1. the state or quality of being sentient; awareness. 2. sense perception not involving intelligence or mental perception; feeling. (ˈsɛn ʃəns). Less frequently, sentient beings as a class broadly encompasses all beings possessing consciousness, including Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Sentient beings is a technical term within Buddhism, broadly denoting beings with consciousness, sentience, or in some contexts life itself. Sentient beings are composed of the five aggregates, or skandhas: matter, sensation, perception, mental formations and consciousness. The term sentient beings refers to beings who are still in the cycle of existence and who haven't attained complete liberation yet. There are six classes of sentient beings: gods, demigods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts and hell beings. Defined as capable of feeling or perception; conscious, sentience in beings means a living being with consciousness. The phrase most commonly relates to the Mahayana Buddhist Bodhisattva Vow and Buddhism's basic teachings about compassion and rebirth. The basis of animal rights is the recognition that animals are sentient beings. This means they are capable of being aware of sensations and emotions, of feeling pain and suffering, and of experiencing a state of well being. Sentient beings are aware beings. Awareness can be seen, at it lowest level, as the ability to sense pain, hunger, warmth etc. Some would limit sentience to self awareness-this is condition mankind may hold for itself alone or perhaps share with mammals and birds.
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