“We are the same as plants, as trees, as other people, as the rain that falls. We consist of that which is around us; we are the same as everything. If we destroy something around us, we destroy ourselves” (Buddha). This quote from Buddha depicts the essence of Buddhism and its intimate relationship with the environment. Buddhism new and old is intertwined with nature and the environment. Buddhism is intrinsically, at its core, environmentalism. Environmentalism shines through many aspects of Buddhism: the middle way, Samsara, Karma, iconography, and impermanence. These facets led to Buddhism containing an underlying theme of environmentalism.
When the Buddha first began Buddhism he was concerned with how people live their lives. Before he was the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was a wealthy prince and often lived a lavish lifestyle, but as a drive to become more spiritual took hold he renounced his excessive existence. He became an ascetic who lived in the woods. This was in stark contrast to how he was living before. The ascetic life was one of little to no means, which the bodhisattva led for a long time until he almost died from one of his practices. Having lived both of these lives the bodhisattva was lead to establish the middle way. The middle way is a way to live your life in such a way you do not live in excess or deprivation because each of these lead to destruction of yourself or others. If everyone could live within the middle way many environmental detriments would not happen. The middle way would quell consumerism, waste generation, and energy usage to name a few. As a populace we would no longer need to buy everything we see or think we need. Much of the waste and power used to manufacture goods would be offset by pe...
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... start treating our world with more care because you never know if the millions of homeless children are really the vanishing trees being reborn as unwanted children (Snyder 188).
Works Cited
Babbit, Ellen C. "XV THE OX WHO ENVIED THE PIG." Internet Sacred Text Archive Home. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.
Bloom, Alfred. "Buddhism, Nature and the Environment." The Eastern Buddhist. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.
Nath, Jemal. "‘God Is a Vegetarian’: The Food, Health and Bio-spirituality of Hare Krishna, Buddhist and Seventh-Day Adventist Devotees." Health Sociology Review 19.3 (2010): 356-68. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Dec. 2010.
Prebish, Charles S., and Damien Keown. Introducing Buddhism. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.
Snyder, Gary. The Practice of the Wild: Essays. Washington, DC: Shoemaker & Hoard, 2004. Print.
Thich Nhat Hanh and C. Wright Mills both offer solutions to society’s ills that could work together to create a better world. In Love Letter to the Earth Hanh identified the root cause of the environmental crisis as simply the term “the environment.” This concept leads people to automatically consider Earth as separate from themselves, and only see the Earth in a utilitarian way. He believes that civilization will not survive if we do not recognize and respond to the stress we put on Earth. For this reason mindfulness and the principles of Spiritual Ecology are vital to the protection of nature and getting control of climate change. To Thich Nhat Hanh, change is only possible when we realize that people are a part of nature, rather than apart
Though vegetarianism was never a taboo subject as are some other controversial topics, The question of whether or not human beings should live off meat still is highly discussed amongst all types of people. Spiritual leaders, activists, scientists, and doctors have spoken up on behalf of their group’s opinion. Amongst the arguments of what is right when it comes to the food chain, resonating on many a mind is where the concept of vegetarian came from. Was it started as a religious virtue or a moral decision? Perhaps it was a forced lifestyle or a diet trend gone wrong (or right depending). Health wise, which is better for us? Educating ourselves by answering these questions helps us answer the, perhaps, most important question of all. Which lifestyle will we, as individuals, choose?
Arnold, Matthew. " Harmony with Nature." The Intellectual Journey. 2nd edition. Ed John Apczynski. Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Custom Publishing. 2002 119.
Bodhi, Bhikkhu. "The Noble Eightfold Path." 04 Jan. 2006. The Buddhist Publication Society. 15 Feb. 2006 .
The Buddha lived around 2,500 years ago. The story of his life is one in which all of mankind can relate to, the search for truth behind the human condition. His quest for a solution to life’s suffering and freedom from the continuous cycle of rebirth, would be the motivation behind him leaving his life of luxury to devoting himself to the practices of extreme self discipline. It was in his realization of the ‘middle path’ that would lead him to enlightenment, and what would become the foundation of the Buddha’s teachings.
In his poem The Answer, Robinson Jeffers writes, ."..know that however ugly the parts appear the whole remains beautiful...the greatest beauty is organic wholeness...Love that, not man apart from that." Throughout his life, Robinson Jeffers tries to prove his environmental theories and his beliefs in "inhumanism" and "ecocentricism" and urges everyone to start living a life closer to Nature, the origin of all things on Earth. He has done so by setting himself as the best example - living a life near the sea without even the most essential house appliances like electricity and enjoy most of his time just being close to Nature, where his inspirations for poetry writings come from. All of poems he writes are filled with his attitude towards the dominant world view of Nature and his theory of how we should interact with our environment.
Hamilton, Malcolm. The. " Eating Ethically: 'Spiritual' and 'Quasi-religious' Aspects of Vegetarianism. " Journal of Contemporary Religion 15.1: 65-83. Regan T.
"Basics of Buddhism." n.d. The Living Edens: Thailand. Public Broadcasting Service. Website. 6 March 2014. .
Hindu villages of the past did not see nature as disconnected from their everyday lives. Yet they actively protect it in keeping with an important Hindu concept, dharma, or as it is often translated, "duty" or "virtue". For example, Nelson (1998) explains that, “many Hindu villages have a sacred lake, and around it a grove of trees to catch rainfall and protect the banks from erosion. The lake and its grove store rainfall to irrigate surrounding fields and supply village wells with drinking water”. These villages are performing dharma, and are not making what we in the west would call an attempt at environmental preservation. They simply respect and care for the environment and believe that the environment will in return, respect and care for them.
In the Japanese culture, nature is one of the biggest factors that takes place in both their religions and in their lives. It’s even mentioned heavily in both, Mishima's The Sound of Waves, and the short story by Ibuse Masuji “Carp”. What makes nature such a key factor is that it can symbolize multiple attributes without reason. Within Japanese literature and culture nature is the reason for people to appreciate the small things in life and the reminder to celebrate the resources it provides. It also heightens a greater respect for what they have being that it is a small island surrounded by the pacific ocean in East Asia.
Siddhartha thus develops the eco-spiritual vision by acquiring the competency to reason and love at the same time. This kind of vision definitely helps the individual to become a socially and spiritually responsible being. Siddhartha can definitely be viewed as a genuine search to seek a holistic harmony between nature and self. Siddhartha’s pursuit for the meaning of life lengthens into the present and his overwhelming presence manifests a sense of mystical experience for the reader.
When I think of the perfect place, I imagine a cascading waterfall, a vast forest, a stunning mountainside, or a warm sunset on the beach. I look up around me, mesmerized by the vastness of the natural world and breathe in the fresh air. Over the course of my life, I have come to respect the environment and the earth’s natural surroundings in ways that most others do not in the industrialized and technological era of today. I can appreciate the beauty of the Earth and of all the different landscapes and organisms that surround me. The way in which I value and treasure the environment has evolved just as I have. I see the environment as something to be preserved and admired, not destroyed or exploited. My relationship with the environment is
Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to insight into the true nature of reality. The religion is more neutral than one may find in a traditional Church. Buddhism needs to be preserved as something very complex. There are a variety of beliefs, ideas and norms of human behavior embedded in Buddhist literature. Within the tradition of Buddhism there are variations of the tradition. Elite forms of the religion are more intellectualized and more philosophical or theological. The people in this elite cast often ...
Ecocriticism is “'the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment'” (Bressler 231). It holds that humans and the earth are interconnected and seeks both to explore the ways in which literature portrays this bond as well as advocates activism to help protect it. It is one of the more modern schools of literary theory but is a firmly established form of criticism, especially with the growing concern for the consequences of climate change caused by the imbalance between human consumption and environmental capacity.