In our seventh Community Wellness Newsletter, we explore the topic of ecodharma, the environmental movement inspired by Buddhist ethics. Since the early 1960s, Buddhists and activists inspired by Buddhism have applied some of the core tenets of Buddhist teachings to inspire collective action to protect the environment. As a world religion with more than 500 million practitioners around the globe, Buddhism encompasses a multitude of lineages and practices; therefore, to describe one monolithic “Buddhist ethic” of environmentalism is impossible. Here we highlight a few specific examples of the ways in which Buddhist teachings have been applied to modern ecological issues.
Many ecodharma practitioners are inspired by Buddhist teachings on interdependence. Indra’s net is a metaphor used in Buddhist philosophy to describe the interconnectedness of all beings and the universe. The net is a web of infinite dimension with a glittering multi-faceted jewel at each vortex, with each jewel reflecting light from all other jewels. Originally a story about the Vedic god Indra, the metaphor was developed by the Mahayana school of Buddhism and became associated with the Huayan school of Chinese Buddhism between the 6th and 8th centuries.
Modern environmentalists turn to Indra’s net to conceptualize the consequences of human activity upon ecosystems. As Stephanie Kaza explains in Green Buddhism, “If any jewels become cloudy (toxic or polluted), they reflect the others less clearly. To extend the metaphor, tugs on any of the net lines, for example, through loss of species or habitat fragmentation, affect all the other lines. Likewise, if clouded jewels are cleared up (rivers cleaned, wetlands restored, life across the net is enhanced” (75-76).
From the Mahayana schools of Buddhism, environmentalists seize upon the concept that all beings, human and otherwise, flora and fauna, possess Buddha-nature. In his book about Buddhist environmentalism in Japan, Duncan Ryūken Williams recounts a story from the 1990s in which Shunnō Watanabe, the chief priest of Gyōzenji 行善寺 Temple in Tokyo, erected a series of massive billboards along the temple hillside. The signs conveyed the message: “Mitsui fudōsan dono, sōmoku busshō ari三井不動産殿草木仏性あり” (To the Honorable Mitsui Real Estate Company: Plants and Trees Have Buddha Nature). The priest was protesting the company’s plan to clear cut 130 ancient trees in order to build a large apartment complex next to the temple.
Teachings about mindfulness and living in the present moment aid practitioners in building awareness of their natural surroundings and opening their eyes to the impacts of human development. In his teachings on Five Mindfulness Trainings, Thich Nhat Hanh focuses in particular on the fifth precept, which he casts as “mindful consumption,” through which “we recognize exactly what to consume and what to refuse in order to keep our bodies, our minds, and the Earth healthy, and not to cause suffering for ourselves and for others.” (Quoted from an excerpt from the book, published in Lions Roar).
In the Theravada tradition, meditators use mettā practice to cultivate loving-kindness and compassion for all sentient beings. Thai monk Phra Prayudh emphasizes the Buddhist moral values of kataññū (gratitude), mettā (loving-kindness), and sukha (happiness). In Khon Thai Kap Pā, he says “A tree is like a friend which we have no reason to injure…Such a virtuous inner attitude toward nature will prevent us from destructive behavior, on the one hand, and will prompt helpful actions, on the other” (quoted in Buddhism and Ecology, p. 32).
The first Buddhist precept, the prohibition on killing sentient beings, inspires many eco-activists to adopt and advocate for vegetarianism or veganism. Reducing meat and dairy consumption brings the added benefit of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preserving water and land resources. Many East Asian temples serve simple, nutritious vegetarian food to residents and visitors. Shojin ryori (Japanese Zen temple cuisine) and its Korean equivalent sachal eumsik is vegan and based on local seasonal ingredients.