Universal Responsibility and the Environment 4. Universal Responsibility and
the Environment
As a boy studying Buddhism, I was taught the importance of a caring attitude
toward the environment. Our practice of nonviolence applies not just to human
beings but to all sentient beings - any living thing that has a mind. Where
there is a mind, there are feelings such as pain, pleasure, and joy. No
sentient being wants pain: all wants happiness instead. I believe that all
sentient beings share those feelings at some basic level.
In Buddhism practice we get so used to this idea of non-violence and the
ending of all suffering that we become accustomed to not harming or destroying
anything indiscriminately. Although we do not believe that trees or flowers
have minds, we treat them also with respect. Thus we share a sense of universal
responsibility for both mankind and nature.
Our belief in reincarnation is one example of our concern for the future. If
you think that you will be reborn, you are likely to say to yourself, I have to
preserve such and such because my future reincarnation will be able to continue
with these things. Even though there is a chance you may be reborn as a
creature, perhaps even on a different planet, the idea of reincarnation gives
you reason to have direct concern about this planet and future generations.
In the West when you speak of "humanity," you usually mean only our existing
generation of human beings. Past humanity is already gone. The future, like
death, has yet to come. Western ideas usually deal with the practical side of
things for only this present generation of human beings.
Tibetan feelings about the environment are based entirely on religion. They
are derived from the whole Tibetan way of life, not just from Buddhism. For
example, consider Buddhism in Japan or Thailand, in environments different from
ours. Their culture and their attitude are not the same as ours. Our unique
environment has strongly influenced us. We don't live on a small, heavily
populated island. Historically, we have had little anxiety with our vast area,
low population, and distant neighbors. We haven't felt as oppressed as people
in many other human communities.
It is very possible to practice the essence of a faith or culture without
practicing a religion. Our Tibetan culture, although culture, although highly
influenced by Buddhism, did not gain all its philosophy from Buddhism. I once
suggested to an organization dealing with Tibetan refugees that it would be
interesting to do some research on how much our people have been affected by
their approach to life itself in Tibet. What are the factors that make Tibetans
generally happy al1d calm? People are always looking for answer in our unique
religion, forgetting that our environment is just as unusual.
Concern for the environment is not necessarily holy, nor does it always
require compassion. We Buddhists express compassion for all sentient beings,
but this compassion is not necessarily extended to every rock or tree or house.
Most of us are somewhat concerned about our own house, but not really
compassionate about it. We keep it in order so that we can live and be happy.
We know that to have happy feelings in our house we must take care of it. So
our feelings may be of concern rather than compassion.
Similarly, our planet is our house, and we must keep it in order and take care
of it if we are genuinely concerned about happiness for ourselves, our
children, our friends, and other sentient beings who share this great house
with us. If we think of the planet as our house or' as "our mother - Mother
Earth - we automatically feel concern for our environment. Today we understand
that the future of humanity very much depends on our planet, and that the
future of the planet very much depends on humanity. But this has not always
been so clear to us. Until now, you see, Mother Earth has somehow tolerated
sloppy house habits. But now human use, population, and technology have reached
that certain stage 'where Mother Earth no longer accepts our presence with
silence. In many ways she is now telling us, "My children are behaving badly,"
she is warning us that there are limits to our actions.
The Tibetan Buddhist attitude is one of contentment, and there may be some
connection here with our attitude toward the environment. We don't
indiscriminately consume. We put a limit on our consumption. We admire simply
living and individual responsibility. We have always considered ourselves as
part of our environment, but not just any part. Our ancient scriptures speak of
the container and the contained. The world is the container - our house and we
are the contained- the contents of the container.
From these simple facts we deduce a special relationship, because without the
container, the contents cannot be contained. Without the contents, the
container contains nothing, it's meaningless.
In my Five-Point Peace Plan I have proposed that all of Tibet become a
sanctuary, a zone of peace. Tibet was that once, but with no official
designation. Peace means harmony: harmony between people, between people and
animals, between sentient beings and the environment. Visitors from all over
the world could come to Tibet to experience peace and harmony. Instead of
building big hotels with many stories and many rooms, we would make small
building, more like private homes, that would be in better harmony with nature.
It is not at all wrong for humans to use nature to make useful things, but we
must not exploit nature to make useful things, but we must not exploit nature
unnecessarily. It is good to live in a house, to have medicines, and to be able
to drive somewhere in a car. In the right hands, a machine is not a luxury, but
something very useful. A camera, for example, can be used to make pictures that
pronote understanding.
Bur everything has its limit. Too much consumption or effort to make money is
no good. Neither is too much contentment. In principle contentment is a goal,
but pure contentment becomes almost like suicide, doesn't it? I think the
Tibetans had, in certain fields too much contentment. And we lost our country.
These days we cannot afford too much contentment about the environment.
Peace and survival of life on earth as we know it are threatened by human
activities that lack a commitment to humanitarian values. Destruction of nature
and natural resources results from ignorance, greed, and lack of respect for
the earth's living things. This lack of respect extends even to the earth's
human descendants, the future generations who will inherit a vastly degraded
planet if world peace doesn't become a reality and if destruction of the
natural environment continues at the present rate.
Our ancestors viewed the earth as rich and bountiful, which it is. Many people
in the past also saw nature as inexhaustibly sustainable, which we now know is
the case only if we care for it. It is not difficult to forgive destruction in
the past that resulted from ignorance. Today, however, we have access to more
information. It is essential that we re-examine ethically what we have
inherited, what we are responsible for, and what we will pass on to coming
generations.
Clearly this is a pivotal generation. Global communication i; possible, yet
confrontations take place more often than meaningful dialogues for peace. Our
marvels of science and technology are matched, if not outweighed, by many
current tragedies, including human starvation in some parts of the world and
extinction of other life forms. Exploration of outer space takes place at the
same time the earth's own oceans, seas, and freshwater areas grow increasingly
polluted, and their life forms are still largely unknown or misunderstood. Many
of the earth's habitats, animals, plants, insects and even microorganisms that
we know as rare my not be known at all by future generations. We have the
capability and the responsibility. We must act before it is too late.
Excerpt from My Tibet (Text by H.H .the Fourteenth Dalai lama:
Photographs and Introduction by Galen Rowell) Thames and Hudson Ltd., London,
1990 (p 79-80)
Sumber : www.dalailama.com
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Be aware of the contact between your feet and the Earth. Walk as if you are
kissing the Earth with your feet. We have caused a lot of damage to the Earth.
Now it is time for us to take good care of her. We bring our peace and calm to
the surface of the Earth and share the lesson of love. We walk in that spirit.
~ Thich Nhat Hanh ~
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