Buddhism and environment

By Lionel Wijesiri

Buddhism is a religion that places great emphasis on environmental protection. The Buddha was born at Lumbini Garden. He engaged in spiritual practice in the forest, attained Buddhahood under a Asathu tree, and first began preaching at Deer Park. The major monasteries where he taught his disciples were all gardens or woods, such as Jeta Grove, Bamboo Grove and he passed into Parinirvana between two Sal trees near Kusinagara. He exhorted his monastic disciples, when spending the night under a tree, to regard that place as his home and take loving care of it.

In the stories of the Buddha’s past lives, when he was following the Bodhisattva path, he was once reborn as a bird. During a forest fire, he tried fearlessly to put out the fire, disregarding his own safety by bringing water with his feathers.

Humankind is a part of environment and no sharp distinction can be drawn between itself and its surroundings, as everything is impermanent and subject to the same natural laws.

According to Buddhism the factors of existence are interconnected by the laws of causality. Although the factors are not fractions of the whole, yet they are interconnected and interdependent. This awareness of the fact that everything is impermanent, and that humankind is subject to the laws of causality, must be seen as an important basis for a proper understanding of humankind’s role in environment. Such an awareness promotes humility and morality.

Relationship

Buddhism believes that natural processes are affected by human morals. Several suttas from the Pali Canon show that early Buddhism believes that there is a close relationship between human morality and the natural environment. This idea has been systematised in the theory of the five natural laws (panca niyamadhamma) in later commentaries. According to this theory, in the cosmos there are five natural laws at work: namely, physical laws, biological laws, psychological laws, moral laws and causal laws. This means that the physical environment of any given area conditions the growth and development of its biological component, i.e. fauna and flora.

These in turn influence the thought pattern of the people interacting with them. The morals of humankind influence not only the psychological make-up of the people but the biological and physical environment of the area as well. Thus, the five laws demonstrate that humankind and environment are bound together in a reciprocal causal relationship with changes in one necessarily bringing about changes in the other.

The world, including environment and humankind, stands or falls with the type of moral force at work. If immorality grips society, humankind and environment deteriorate; if morality reigns, the quality of human life and environment improves.

Thus greed, hatred and delusion produce pollution within and without. Generosity, compassion and wisdom produce purity within and without. This is the reason the Buddha pronounced that the world is led by the mind, cittena niyatiloko. Thus, humankind and environment, according to the ideas expressed in early Buddhism, are interdependent.

Buddhist attitude

So, it should certainly not come as a shock to practicing Buddhists to discover what environmentalists are now telling us. That is, that environment is not a boundless ocean of resources (the doctrine of impermanence should have made this clear), and the actions that we perform have an effect on the world around us. In the theory of karma the effects of our actions are in proportion to the greed and hatred which motivated them, so if our spoiling of the planet through stripping its resources and polluting it was motivated by greed, we are now beginning to experience the effects of that greed. The earth is our mirror.

Buddhism thus offers some strong arguments for environmentalism, and it is quite difficult to interpret Buddhism not to at least be sympathetic to environmental concerns. On the other side there are not really any anti-environmentalist Buddhists, but there are some who have given the environment relatively little priority in their thinking, perhaps because of a focus on the personal pursuit of enlightenment.

From the enormous range of literature, numerous principles relevant to the human future can be extracted and elaborated:

In Kutadanta Sutta, Buddha points out that it is the responsibility of the government to protect trees and other organic life. It is described in the Sutta on Buddhist polity named, ‘The Ten Duties of the King.’(Dasarajadhamma). The Kutadanta Sutta points out that the government should take active measures to provide protection to flora and fauna.

Pupphavagga in Dhammapada, points out that one should live in the environment without causing any harm to it. It states: ‘As a bee that gathers honey from a flower and departs from it without injuring the flower or its colours or its fragrance, the sage dwells in his village.’ The flower moreover ensures the continuity of the species and the bee in taking pollen does not interfere with environment’s design.

However, the more profound objections to over-exploitation of natural resources and pollution in Buddhism are related to the attitudes behind these actions. It is greed or craving (tanha) which leads us to take more than we need for simple and straightforward living.

The monastic life in Buddhism gives a model for what simple living without too much consumption might look like. If everyone lived as simply as a Buddhist monk or nun, it might be argued, there would be no problems with depletion of resources, and very little pollution produced, because the sources of pollution (manufacturing, transport etc) would be much more limited.

The point of the simple life in Buddhism is that it creates an environment where there is less likelihood of craving and greater likelihood of contentment. Such contentment is further cultivated through meditation practice. It is in mental states, Buddhists may argue, that the solution to environmental problems is ultimately to be found.

According to a discourse in the Anguttara Nikaya, when recklessly wasteful lust, wanton greed, and wrong values grip the heart of man and immorality becomes widespread in society, timely rain does not fall. When timely rain does not fall crops get adversely affected with various kinds of pests and plant diseases. Through lack of nourishing food the human mortality rate rises.

According to the Mahasupina Jataka when nations have unjust rulers, the travesty of righteousness is seen. Hence, according to the theory of moral causation as taught in Buddhism, not only water but even the other resources as well that are needed for man’s survival can become hard to find, unless they are mindfully utilised without destruction and waste.

Earth Charter

The United Nations has released The Earth Charter, a synthesis of values, principles and aspirations to guide the future development of our Earth. Most of the Charter is in harmony with Buddhist Social Teaching. Planting a tree is an appropriate activity to mark many occasions: a birth in the family; the beginning of a new year; a special birthday; an occasion of celebration; or a particular environmental day. Greed impacts on the environment.

If we reduce our consumption of both goods and energy, we reduce waste and pollution. When we buy goods, we reduce waste if they are reusable rather than disposable. Recycling is essential at home and at school or work.

The Earth is our home and we all share a mutual responsibility for our planet. We need to make the connection, in whatever way we can, between ourselves and all life on Earth. That connection can be through modern technology, traditional means, or by working with other individuals and organisations. We can translate that connection into action through local environmental awareness and activity.