A recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report tells us that , “It is extremely likely…that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century.” Given this, what should be our attitude towards nature and the environment be? We can turn to the wisdom traditions of the world’s religions in search of inspiration.
The Buddhist community has pondered the issue of climate change deeply over the last couple of decades. As early as June 1986, H.H. Dalai Lama offered “An Ethical Approach to Environmental Protection.” The seminal 2009 book “A Buddhist Response to the Climate Emergency” brought together contributions from Buddhist teachers in many traditions and helped to focus the attention of the Buddhist community on climate change issues.
Well-known Buddhist ethicist Peter Harvey wrote “…the Buddhist ideal for humanity‘s relationship with animals, plants and the landscape is one of harmonious co-operation. Buddhism emphasizes a disciplining and overcoming of the negativities within the conditioned nature of the human heart. Such an approach goes hand-in-hand with a friendly attitude to the environment.”
The Buddhist practice of loving kindness or metta invites us to wish for the welfare and happiness of all beings: “Whatever living beings there be: feeble or strong, tall, stout or medium, short, small or large, without exception: seen or unseen, those dwelling far or near, those who are born or those who are to be born, may all beings be happy!”
Compassion or karuna moves the heart of the good towards observing the pain of others, inspiring us to shelter and embrace the distressed. The Pali commentaries explain karuna as the desire to remove harm and suffering or dukkha from others. Witnessing the suffering of species threatened by extinction calls us to alleviate this suffering.
Movements such as Buddhism and Jainism in India have emphasized ahimsa or non-violence. This practice encourages sympathy (daya) and a trembling of the heart (anukampa) for living creatures, cultivating increased empathy with them based on awareness that others dislike pain and death just as much as we do. As the Dhammapada notes, “All tremble at violence, all fear death. Comparing oneself with others one should neither kill nor cause to kill.”
The law of karma supports compassion and motivates us to follow this precept, as we cannot intentionally harm beings without bringing harm to ourselves in the future. Thus when the Buddha found some children molesting a snake with sticks, he said, “Whoever, seeking his/her own happiness, and
who harms pleasure-loving beings with the rod gets no happiness hereafter.”
Out of gratitude for the bounty of resources nature provides us, we should protect and care for nature. The Petavatthu states: “If one were to sleep or sit under the shade of a tree, one may not break the branches of that tree. If one does so, one is an evil, false friend.”
H.H. Dalai Lama leaves no doubt about our responsibility to take action to protect the future of our planet and ensure the survival of human kind: “The key thing is the sense of universal responsibility; that is the real source of strength, the real source of happiness. If our generation exploits everything available—the trees, the water, and the minerals—without any care for the coming generations or the future, then we are at fault, aren’t we?”
You can find a fuller version of this reflection, complete with citations, by clicking HERE.
practice of focused, dispassionate observation we may find that when we look closely we cannot discover their source. There’s no apparent ‘self’ generating them or ‘location’ from which they arise.
a clear mirror. We find our capacity for wonder restored, along with new or renewed awe for the gift of seeing that we may have forgotten or set aside.
Dance as with other movement practices, demands heightened awareness of the body – the Buddha’s first foundation of mindfulness. Like an instrument, our bodies are tuned with mindful attention. Whether mastering a step, improvising freely, or choreographing, we are connected into the world of touch and sensation. We gather the mind within the physical experience. We listen to the body as we learn its rules and impulses. We are embodied.
highlight one’s personal identification with how the body looks, feels and moves. This heightened vulnerability is an opportunity to explore the sense of self as it manifests in the form of bodily contraction.
development of mudita as a universal attitude can be surprisingly challenging, because we ourselves sometimes feel unhappy and lacking. Seeing the happiness of others, under some circumstances, can actually result in our unhappiness. Comparing ourselves to others who seem to have more, we may experience the painful states of envy, jealousy and resentment.
The great strength of a heart/mind protected through the energy of metta, this quality-this capacity to stay present and connect with a heart that is fearless and free of ill will. Ghandi called this the most powerful and the most subtle force in the universe. It’s the energy that keeps it all together and is called for again and again throughout our practice, throughout our life. Metta is one of the best medicines…a very powerful medicine. The practice and the energetic experience of metta is offered and felt as a natural heartfelt wish that is directed towards oneself, another particular person or a group of beings …wishing oneself and others to be happy, to be safe, to live with a deep sense of ease, well being and peace.
Patience, the 6th of 10 perfections or manifestations of Buddha- mind, is the underpinning of much of what we cultivate in practice. To discover the perfection of patience is to discover the quality of resting, waiting & calling forth what needs to unfold. It is in the waiting itself, in the listening, in what the poet Rilke called “living the question,” in staying with the process of life, that spiritual practice is fulfilled. It is taking a breath & resting in how things are.
suffering masks it. Turning toward dukkha, investigating dukkha unmasks it and leads to understanding dukkha.
Empowered with the tools for mindful investigation, we observe again and again that pleasant experience is fleeting, ephemeral, fading quickly. Seeing this impermanence undermines our attachment, breaks up the demand we place on these things to fulfill us. Turning toward dukkha begins to unmask the problem of wanting to get a better experience. We begin to feel more and more independent of all that seeking and grasping. As that independence grows we recognize it as equipoise. This peace of mind is a real treasure for us. It is a reliable source of happiness and strength.
In June 2009 Sayadaw Vivekananda gave a talk on the first part of the Metta Sutta where the Buddha lists 14 Qualities a person should possess who wishes to attain the state of peace. Below is an excerpt from that talk on the quality of gentleness of mind.