ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS IN BUDDHISM: A RELIGIOUS APPROACH

Abstract

All existing things on the earth, no matter who designed whether it is the God or any other super conscious power, consider as environment, including with the earth. Soil, rivers, rocks, trees, lower order, middle order and higher order living beings all are parts in the web of environment. Man is an integral part of the environment. Changes that occur in the environment affect us and our activities change the environment around us. Today, Man in his thirst for pleasure and wealth has exploited environment. Nature’s gifts such as air and water have been polluted with several disastrous consequences. Man is now finding different ways and means of overcoming the problems related to environment as his health too is alarmingly threatened. He also feels that it is not morally right to leave the planet polluted for the future generations. If man is to work with a sense of responsibility to the environment and to future generations, he has to search an appropriate environmental ethic today to stop further aggravation of the present environment related problems. Hence his search for wisdom is namely, religion. All religions have different concept of cosmos, their respect for nature. Religious and Spiritual traditions are rich sources of moral values and principles for reflecting on environmental issues. The aim of this paper is to find solution to present environmental issues depending on living and non living beings based on Buddhist literature.