Coexisting In Buddhism
“Coexisting is” arguably a word that describes the essence of Buddhist practices. Naturally, whenever such a word is mention, two things automatically come to mind; the first is humans coexisting with each other, while the second is humans coexisting with what surrounds them: the environment. It has been claimed by many that Buddhist teachings and practices place a considerable amount of emphasis on the environment. However, whether Buddhism actually shares a rapport with the environment or not is a matter that has stirred much debate. Discussions about the extent to which Buddhism is “eco-friendly” are incessantly taking place within both the Buddhist community and non-Buddhist scholars. Despite the amount of discourse on the issue,
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There are two types of karma; Individual Karma and Common Karma. The latter – gugo shuji – is the karma of a group; for instance a family or an ethnic group. It is the collective effect of a group’s actions. Common Karma is particularly compelling within the Buddhist society due to the fact that it extends vertically; meaning that the actions one takes affect their ancestors and future lineage as well as themselves. Interestingly, Common Karma applies almost perfectly on environmental issues. This partially relates to the claim that the more one’s desires grow, the greater their responsibility towards the environment (Yamamoto 173); the more the society wants certain things, the more it damages the environment in the process of attaining said things, the more it has to preserve or fix the environment in order to keep its resources available. Similarly, when one commits an act that is perceived to be bad, they would have to make amends instantly, in order to avoid what might come as a punishment later on. Fundamentally, this is the concept of Karma. It is claimed that a possible reason for the environmental crises we are facing is karma, as a punishment for being greedy or having such desires; “Until now, human refashioning of the environment, it seems, has been single-mindedly directed toward the fulfillment of human desires” (Yamamoto 174). It is also claimed that this is manifested in all different kinds of industrial products, as well as the depletion of natural resources. The following statement enhances this claim: “what is internal in humans, such as desires, transforms themselves into components of the external environment” (Yamamoto 174). Human desires provoke what Buddhist teachings refer to as the “evil passions”, in a certain level of consciousness. Buddhist teachings imply that if people come to terms with the aforementioned fact, only then will they be
There are two types of karma; Individual Karma and Common Karma. The latter – gugo shuji – is the karma of a group; for instance a family or an ethnic group. It is the collective effect of a group’s actions. Common Karma is particularly compelling within the Buddhist society due to the fact that it extends vertically; meaning that the actions one takes affect their ancestors and future lineage as well as themselves. Interestingly, Common Karma applies almost perfectly on environmental issues. This partially relates to the claim that the more one’s desires grow, the greater their responsibility towards the environment (Yamamoto 173); the more the society wants certain things, the more it damages the environment in the process of attaining said things, the more it has to preserve or fix the environment in order to keep its resources available. Similarly, when one commits an act that is perceived to be bad, they would have to make amends instantly, in order to avoid what might come as a punishment later on. Fundamentally, this is the concept of Karma. It is claimed that a possible reason for the environmental crises we are facing is karma, as a punishment for being greedy or having such desires; “Until now, human refashioning of the environment, it seems, has been single-mindedly directed toward the fulfillment of human desires” (Yamamoto 174). It is also claimed that this is manifested in all different kinds of industrial products, as well as the depletion of natural resources. The following statement enhances this claim: “what is internal in humans, such as desires, transforms themselves into components of the external environment” (Yamamoto 174). Human desires provoke what Buddhist teachings refer to as the “evil passions”, in a certain level of consciousness. Buddhist teachings imply that if people come to terms with the aforementioned fact, only then will they be