Buddhists are also very keen to keep the environment clean and healthy as the Buddha spent most of his time out with nature and due to this they try to preserve his life as best they can.
This is a quote written by Donald Swearer:
“Today Buddhist environmental activists point out that important events in the Buddha’s life occur in nature: he was born, attained enlightenment and died under the trees. Buddhist Viharas traditionally have been situated in the forests away from the hustle and bustle of city life”
Buddhist believe that they should treat the world with respect, as they want to care for the earth as the earth has cared for them. It has given birth to them, nourished them and it is to the earth that they return when the die. They believe that they owe her the same respect and love which they show there human mother.
The fist Buddhist teaching I am going to talk about is The Three Marks of Existance (Anicca, Anatta and Dukkha). Buddhist teaches that everything on this Earth is equal and that we should live along side nature in harmony and not abuse it. Everything comes into existence because of a certain condition, however if this condition is changed then it no longer can exist. Buddhists understand that everything depends on something else to survive, for example it is impossible for us to survive without oxygen. Due to this we should try and prevent pollution because it may seem like it is not hurting us, but it is killing us slowly. Many people do not care about the nature, but they do not realise how important it is to them.
The Buddha taught his followers that everything changes and nothing stays the same, this is known as Anicca. This shows that everything in the world is changing constantly and if the environment is going to change for the best and not for the worse then they must take care of the environment so that as it changes it improves. If the environment is ruined then this will only cause suffering in the future.
The next teaching I am going to talk about is the Three Marks of Existence and the first of the Four Noble Truths: Dukkha. Dukkha means “all life is suffering”. It means that we do live on an amazing earth, but it will never make us completely happy; mainly die to the way we are treating it. We must try and make the most out of what we are given and make the earth and its environment a safe place to be.
Humans have become incredibly greedy and they continue to crave unnecessary possessions. People are constantly wanting more because they are not satisfied with what they have already. Buddhists are not interested in material possession, they also do not treat animals and the environment as possessions, but as living things that deserve respect.
Probably the most important teaching in the Dharma is Magga, or “The Middle Way”. There is a path of eight steps, better known as “The Eight Fold Path”. These steps are not rules, but guidelines that lead a Buddhist on their way to enlightenment. The eight steps are: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.
Right Intention is deciding whether to act upon the Dharma and for the right reasons. You must not do things merely for yourself, bit also for the good of others. Buddhists will put the animals and the environment in front of themselves, for example becoming vegetarian for the sake of the animals even if they do like the taste of meat.
Right Livelihood is a very important step. It is also important in order to look after the environment and the living beings it holds. The Dharma states that it is important for a Buddhist to earn a living in a humane way that does not go against the Dharma. Work should not harm but benefit others. This means that a Buddhist could not have a job as a butcher, as this involves killing and harming animals. Due to this, many Buddhists tend to be vegetarians as they do not agree with the million of animals that are slaughtered every day just to feed us.
Next I am going to talk about Karma. Karma is the consequence of out actions. Buddhists see the environment that we live in as collective karma.
“Modern Buddhists believe in being socially involved to protect the environment. Simply neglecting, destroying and polluting the planet will result in people living on a neglected and polluted planet because of the Laws of Karma”
Next I am going to talk about Samsara and Rebirth – Samsara is a word of suffering and death. It is hoped that when a person enters a bad realm of Samsara they will be able to escape, but, it depends on how the have behaved, for example if they have treated the environment and animals well then they will be able to escape and be reborn.
Karma has a huge influence on what someone becomes in the next life. This teaching teaches Buddhist that all beings are equal and you should not treat any creature with less love that the people close to you, for they may be someone close to you who had died in a previous life and had been reborn.
I am going to end on the part nature played in the Buddha’s life. This is important to Buddhists as they respect the Buddha and wish to uphold the things that made his life what it was. The environment, animals and nature all played a big part in his life.
Many of the significant parts of the Buddha’s life occurred outside within all the nature around him, for example his birth in Lumbini was outside and his mother used a branch of a tree to support herself whilst giving birth to him
