BUDDHISM AND ENVIRONMENT

 Buddhism emphasizes environmental responsibilities through its basic principles: 

Non-harming: compassion, generosity, and Buddhist ethics. { དགེ་བ་བཅུ } { ཕར་ཕྱིན་དྲག }

Example: Buddhist cultures in Thailand and Japan promote sustainable living through practices like respecting sacred trees through tree ordination.


                                                         Fig. 1: Tree ordination practiced in Thailand

Principle of giving: Buddhism teaches compassion for all beings, reflecting animal protection practices. Festivals sometimes include releasing animals to symbolize freedom and compassion, saving their lives from consumption (Semchen Tsethar tshogpa).

Sacred Spaces and Architecture: Buddhist temples and sacred sites are often considered valuable and mostly respected. Making it a place to promote mindfulness and spiritual connections as a way associated with deities and great blessings. Pre-Buddhist cultural practices, such as Animism (the belief that natural entities have souls) and Shamanism, brought this idea into practice. e.g., consider rock as holy rock and treat it like your parents/siblings.

    


Fig. 2 Animism in Japan    


Rituals: Buddhist festivals involve offerings of natural elements like flowers and water, symbolizing gratitude and respect for the environment. Not only rituals but also stories like that of Thuenpa Puenzhi symbolize teamwork and friendship and also emphasize how multispecies get entangled by nature; without the environment, the scene is incomplete. 


Therefore, the environment is shaped by our own cultural practices, shaped by our religion. Not only this, but humans are also controlled by the environment. Example: Environmental factors such as air pollution, seasonal change, and climate change can determine the menstrual cycle length and various physical characteristics of humans due to nature.

Therefore, humans and the environment are interconnected. We need to understand and respect nature through different cosmovisions; here we discussed it based on Buddhism and its practices. 

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