The Asian elephant (gaja, hatthin or nāga) is a large land animal with thick grey skin, large ears and an elongated, prehensile nose called a trunk. It would be wrong to say that the elephant is 'sacred' in Buddhism in the sense that the creature is believed to have any special spiritual or holy significance. However, the ancient Buddhists noticed and were impressed by the fact that elephants could be trained by humans, beings many times smaller than themselves, by their thoughtful, deliberate behaviour, their patience and their intelligence. Consequently, throughout the Tipiṭaka,the Buddha and other enlightened people are often compared with elephants.
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