Is the Buddha an Environmentalist?

Barbara Yen

Introduction Modern man has become alienated from

himself & nature Industrial Revolution & acquisition of

wealth - mechanical exploitation of natural resources

Man - more materialistic in attitudes & values

Greed for more possessions – leads to violent & aggressive attitude towards nature

Forgets he/she is a part of nature Is interdependent & interconnected like a web To abuse natural laws or try to conquer nature is to

do so at his own risk Survival of certain species is in danger Losing such creatures diminishes the earth (Dr.Chatsumarn Kabilsingh – Rev. Dhammananda)

EcologyNew discipline to study

environmental conditions eg. climate, wind, light, soil, etc.

Deals with 5 basic principles: That everything is in state of

change Everything is interconnected &

interdependent That no wisdom exceeds that of

nature That nothing exists without

meaning That fundamentally, there is no

such thing as waste matterGrowth & development - related &

dynamicDeforestation & desertificationcause imbalance

Buddhist Attitude Towards Nature World's growing human population -

changed many of the earth's gardens of delight into poisoned fields, sterile, incapable of sustaining nature's rich diversity

Imbalance & negligence of nature results in deterioration of man's physical & mental health

His Holiness the Dalai Lama: “Today more than ever before, life must be characterised by a sense of Universal Responsibility, not only nation to nation & human to human,but also human to other forms

of life."

Buddha’s Teaching & Practice in Nature Conservation

The Buddha emphasises: Practical aspect of His teachingApply the knowledge to lifeLook into life & not merely at itBritish author H.G. Wells:

"The fundamental teaching ofthe Buddha is clear & inclosest harmony withmodern ideas”

Purity of Mind

Buddhism teaches that mind is the forerunner of all things

If one acts with an impure mind, i.e. a mind affected with greed, hatred & delusion, suffering is inevitable result

Man needs to understand that polluting the environment happens because of psychological pollution within himself

If he wants clean environment,he has to purify his mind & adopt a moral & spiritual lifestyle

Celebrations of Nature Buddhism has always celebrated

richness, diversity & abundance of the earth

Many teachings used poetry, similes & examples from nature to convey important messages

Jataka Tales - inspired some of world's most beautiful art & are abundant with poetic appreciations of beauty of nature

Laws show that man & nature are bound together in a reciprocal causal relationship (Sn, Vasettha Sutta)

Changes in one will bringing about changes in the other

(D.N III, Agganna Sutta, AN, Adhammika Sutta)

Morality & Nature Buddhists know consequences of improper attitudes &

actions regarding the earth Live in harmony, coexistence rather than conquering it Utilize resources for basic needs in a non-exploitative,

non-aggressive attitude Conduct oneself with self-control, wisdom & self-

awareness in all activities & social roles (The Buddhist Attitude Towards Nature - Lily de Silva)

Open spaceChief events in Buddha’s life took place in open air

under trees: Born in forest, under grove of Sala trees As a child meditated under Jambu tree Studied under Banyan trees Achieved Enlightenment under Bodhi tree Preached in open air under trees, in parks, groves,

glades, fields, woodlands, river banks & ponds Slept under trees when He was travelling Parinibbana under two Sala trees

Buddha’s Teaching & Practice in Nature Conservation

5 Precepts (pañca sila) - ethical & social conduct of a Buddhist

1st Precept refrain from injury to life &

protection of all lifeNoble 8 Fold Path Right Action – Refrain from killing, Right Livelihood – Refrain from

trading in humans, arms, poisons,intoxicants, breeding of animalsfor slaughter

Metta Sutta (S.N, Loving Kindness) Cultivation of unconditional loving-kindness towards

all creatures timid & steady, long & short, big & small, minute & great, visible & invisible, near & far, born & awaiting birth

Just as our life is preciousto ourselves, so is life of the otherprecious to himself

Nurture nature just asmother does to her child

Respect for & tolerance of every living being sharingthe earth

Desiring little, contented, frugal,eat moderately

Moral shame & moral fearif commits an offence

(D.N, Samannaphala Sutta)

Climatic Change

A Brahmin askedBuddha about cause of humandecrease. The Buddha answered:

"Since folks are ablaze with unlawful lusts, overwhelmed bydepraved longings, depressedby wrong doctrines, on such asthese the sky rains down notsteadily. It is hard to get ameal. The crops are bad,afflicted with mildew & grown to mere stubs. Accordingly, many come totheir end."

Climatic Change When lust, greed & wrong values grip the heart of man

& immorality becomes widespread in society, timely rain does not fall

When this happens, crops get adversely affected with various kinds of pests & plant diseases (A.N)

Climatic Change Predicts future course of events when human morals

undergo further degeneration Man's health will deteriorate & life expectancy reduced Depletion of natural resources & environmental

pollution Explains pattern of mutual interaction When mankind is demoralized through greed, famine

is natural outcome Due to ignorance, epidemic is inevitable result When there is hatred, widespread

violence is ultimate outcome Buddhism maintains there is

close link between man's morals & natural resources

(D.N, Cakkavattisihanada Sutta)

Plant Life Buddhism expresses a gentle non-violent attitude

towards flora Monks used forest & natural surroundings with many

species of animals & plants for dwelling & meditation Old, huge trees, (‘vanaspati’ or ‘lords of the forests’)

were revered Monks were forbidden to cut down

trees Incident of a traveller, after having

rested in shade of a large banyan,on leaving began to cut it down

Buddha condemned such actionsas tree had given him shade, muchlike a friend & to harm a friend isindeed an act of evil(Mahasala Sutta)

Water & Air Pollution Buddha pointed out the loss due to water, air & sound

pollution He had many praises of rain & ocean Set rules forbidding pollution by saliva, urine & feces of

green grass, water resources which is used by humans & animals

Set guidelines on how toilet & sewage systems should be built

Cleanliness & hygiene highlycommended both in person& environment

Individuals had to use themwith civic consciousness(S.N, Kasi Sutta, Pathama Aputtaka Sutta,Lankavatara Sutta,S.N, Pajjota Sutta)

Noise Pollution Noise is serious personal &

environmental pollutant Buddha was critical of noise &

advocated noble silence Once he ordered some monks

to leave monastery fornoisy behavior

He enjoyed solitary naturalhabitats such as forests& caves undisturbed by human activity

For choice of monasteries, undisturbed silence was important as it raises their efficiency for meditation

Animal Life Monks abstained from activities which would cause

unintentional injury to living creatures eg. digging Rule against going on a journey during rainy season

because of injury to worms & insects Once a monk who was a former potter built a clay

hut & fired it to give it a fine finish Buddha strongly objected to this as many living

creatures would be burnt in the process. Hut was broken down to prevent it from creating bad precedence for later generations(Vin.III)

Prevents the monks from drinkingunstrained water which may haveinsects in it(D.N, Kutadanta Sutta)

Animal Life

Even wild animals can be tamed with kind words Parileyya – a wild elephant attended on the Buddha in the

forest Drunk & wild elephant Nalagiri - tamed by the Buddha with

power of loving-kindness & compassion Man & beast can live

without fear of one another Kindness to animals domesticated

for human service esp. cows (Brahmanadhammika Sutta Nandivisala Jataka) Animal hospitals built by

King Asoka

Animal LifeSutta-Nipata, "Know ye the grasses & the trees. Then know

ye the worms & the moths & the different sort of ants. Know ye also the four–footed animals small & great, serpents, fish which range in the water, birds that are borne along on wings & move through the air..."

For each creature, He said, "Know yethe marks that constitute eachspecies & their species aremany...“

Khuddakapatha Sutta"Come back, O Tigers!, to the woodsagain & let it not be leveled with theplain. For without you, the axe willlay it low. You, without it, forever homeless go.“

Animal Life Story of Prince Siddhatta & the swan Householder should accumulate wealth as a bee

collects pollen from a flower Bee harms neither fragrance nor beauty of the flower,

but gathers pollen to turn it into sweet honey (Dh. Pupphavagga V.6)

Wild Life

Tibet which is a Buddhist country, herds of wild blue sheep, yak, deer & flocks of migrating birds would travel with the nomads or live in the midst of humans

Sri Lanka, predominantly Buddhist, wildlife is successfully preserved

Protection results fromgovernment action, but not possible if people donot have deep spiritualconvictions

REDUCE, RE-USE, RECYCLE Ven.Ananda, explained to

King Udena the re-use of robes by monks:

When new robes are received, old robes are used as coverlets, old coverlets as mattress covers, old mattress covers as rugs, old rugs as dusters, old tattered dusters are kneaded with clay & used to repair cracked floors & walls

Nothing was wasted Those who wasted were

derided as ‘wood-apple eaters’ (Vin. X.10.4)

Kula Suta To look for things that are lost To repair things that have gotten old Be moderate in consuming food & drink Contentment is much praised virtue in Buddhism Miserliness & wastefulness are equally deplored as

two degenerate extremes A person leading a simple

life with few wants &

easily satisfied is upheld

& appreciated as an

exemplary character

Rebirth

Jatakas provide ample testimony on rebirth

Possible that our close relatives have been reborn as animals (Kukkuravatika Sutta)

Right that we should treat animals with kindness

Gains merits in non-violent attitude towards living creatures

Gains merits even by such trivial generosity as throwing dish-washing water into pool with insects & living creatures, intending that they feed on the tiny particles of food

Conclusion Buddhist Perception of Nature Project conducted by Thai nun

& scholar, Dr.Chatsumarn Kabilsingh Compiles Buddhist teachings about human's need &

responsibilities concerning animals, plants, forests, water resources & natural environment to produce comprehensive & educational information

“Provides shocking reminders of how much we have lost of the natural world in such a brief space of time”

“Brings about a strong conservationist movement in our country”

“There is a kind of Buddhistrevolt against deterioration of Nature”

Ensure beauty & diversity of earth willcontinue for our future generations

Resources of the world are limitedwhereas man's greed is unlimited

Do u want your world to be like this?

Or like this?

Or like this?

Thank You