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)
 Ecology
New 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 matter
Growth & development - related &
dynamic
Deforestation & desertification
cause 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 teaching
 Apply the knowledge to life
 Look into life & not merely at it
 British author H.G. Wells:
"The fundamental teaching of
the Buddha is clear & in
closest harmony with
modern 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 space
Chief 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 life
Noble 8 Fold Path
 Right Action – Refrain from killing,
 Right Livelihood – Refrain from
trading in humans, arms, poisons,
intoxicants, breeding of animals
for 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 precious
to ourselves, so is life of the other
precious to himself
 Nurture nature just as
mother does to her child
 Respect for & tolerance
of every living being sharing
the earth
 Desiring little, contented, frugal,
eat moderately
 Moral shame & moral fear
if commits an offence
(D.N, Samannaphala Sutta)
 Climatic Change
 A Brahmin asked
Buddha about cause of human
decrease. The Buddha answered:
 "Since folks are ablaze with
unlawful lusts, overwhelmed by
depraved longings, depressed
by wrong doctrines, on such as
these the sky rains down not
steadily. It is hard to get a
meal. The crops are bad,
afflicted with mildew &
grown to mere stubs.
Accordingly, many come to
their 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 actions
as tree had given him shade, much
like a friend & to harm a friend is
indeed 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 highly
commended both in person
& environment
 Individuals had to use them
with 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 for
noisy behavior
 He enjoyed solitary natural
habitats 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 drinking
unstrained water which may have
insects 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 Life
Sutta-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 ye
the marks that constitute each
species & their species are
many...“
Khuddakapatha Sutta
"Come back, O Tigers!, to the woods
again & let it not be leveled with the
plain. For without you, the axe will
lay 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 from
government action, but
not possible if people do
not have deep spiritual
convictions
 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 Buddhist
revolt against deterioration of Nature”
 Ensure beauty & diversity of earth will
continue for our future generations
 Resources of the world are limited
whereas man's greed is unlimited
Do u want your world to be like this?
Or like this?
Or like this?
Thank You