Buddhism and the Interconnectedness of All Life

Welcome back! I hope you’ve had a good week. 🙂

Today, we’re going to explore what are some things that Buddhism has to say about the environment!

With over 2 million adherents over 15 years old, Buddhism is the largest religion in Singapore. Although most Singaporean Buddhists practise Mahayana Buddhism, I will mostly be looking at Buddhism in general, as most Singaporeans do not stick strictly to a certain branch of Buddhism.

Perhaps the most important tenet in Buddhism about our relationship with our environment speaks about the interconnectedness and interdependence of all life, such that all our actions have an effect on other lives and vice versa (which is also where their concept of karma comes from). Humans are also not distinct from other sentient life forms, and in fact, they believe that all sentient beings are able to reach enlightenment – even a cockroach!

An illustration representing the Buddhist teaching of the interconnectedness of all life. (Source: Sumin Ha)

In this light, Buddhists emphasise love and compassion for animals and being able to live in harmony with other creatures. Especially in Mahayana Buddhism, the consumption of meat is condemned:

 

“For fear of causing terror to living beings, Mahamati, let the Bodhisattva who is disciplining himself to attain compassion, refrain from eating flesh.”

Lankavatara Sutra, Chapter 8

 

According to a video by the Singapore Buddhist Federation, Buddhists believe that vegetarianism can develop a “compassionate heart and mind”. Not only does this reduce the number of animals killed for their consumption, but it also reduces their carbon footprint – which is one way how their religious beliefs can tie in with efforts to live a greener lifestyle.

A screenshot of the video by the SBF. (Source: SBF’s Facebook page)

That being said, not all Buddhists are vegetarian. In my research, I came across how Tibetan monks have to face the tension between living out Buddhist ideals of compassion through vegetarianism and the practicalities of living in Tibet, where a mountainous habitat suited for nomadic shepherding has led to a meat-based diet.

The Taktsang Monastery in Tibet built on the edge of a 900m cliff. It really shows how isolated Tibetan temples are! (Source: Touropia)

After reading that, it made me really grateful that I live in a country where it is relatively easy to make the switch to a plant-based diet as we are able to access such a large variety of vegetables and alternative sources for protein. (This does come with its own downsides too, however. A classmate of mine,  Pei Yun, wrote about it here.)

In addition to their beliefs on the interconnectedness of all life, one of my survey respondents also highlighted that Buddhism also has many other teachings that may not touch on environmental protection directly, but encourage believers to live lifestyles that are inadvertently more environmentally-friendly. Yet, as we saw in the results of my survey, there is still a gap between environmental awareness and environmental action among religious respondents. (If you haven’t read my post about the results of a survey I did on religion and the environment, quickly check it out here!)

However, some Buddhists societies and temples in Singapore have shown that they are capable of bridging this gap! The Tzu Chi Foundation is a Buddhist non-governmental organisation that came to Singapore more than 20 years ago, and have been incredibly active in the area of environmental protection. With a focus on adopting an environmentally-friendly diet and lifestyle as well as recycling, what is most amazing is that they have a regular volunteer force of over a thousand! Even if we’re unsure what each volunteer’s motive is – if it is purely out of care for the environment, or a more individualistic goal of accreting more good karma – I think that Tzu Chi’s efforts should definitely be lauded.

What do you think about Buddhist environmentalism in Singapore? Let me know what are some of your personal experiences!

-Dennis

(Cover photo by icon0.com from Pexels)

6 thoughts on “Buddhism and the Interconnectedness of All Life

  1. Hey Dennis!

    Thanks for this interesting post on Buddhism and how it helps our environment! While I am not a Buddhist, I have a few friends who subscribe to the religion and from what I know, most of them are not vegetarians. Do you think that Buddhist environmentalism is widespread in Singapore?

    Cheers,
    Letitia 🙂

    1. What a question! I’m not sure I’m able to answer that for sure, but I did find some possible answers to that question. In 2011, Quek Ri An, an NTU undergraduate, did a comprehensive study of Buddhist environmentalism in Singapore and found that while Buddhists easily understood Buddhist environmental ethics, application of such ethics is still highly based on personal choice, and Buddhists that placed more emphasis on the accruement of karma through activities benefiting both self and others, as compared to larger emphasis on spiritual improvement of the self, were “more likely to be motivated towards lifestyle changes and involvement in environmental causes”. You can read an another paper that cited Quek (2011) here, as Quek’s paper is locked by NTU’s paywall…)

      So perhaps your friends might belong to the traditions of Buddhism that place more emphasis on the spiritual aspects of their faith? Or perhaps, as studies have shown, they may be part of the growing demographic of young people who are less religious or practise their religion to a smaller extent. It would be cool if you could find this out from your friends, and also use the opportunity to show them how going vegetarian could help them be simultaneously better for the environment and also be better Buddhists 😉

  2. Yo Dennis!!

    Karma! I like that about Buddhism :> I think Taoism offers a similar concept cuz the two are pretty similar! Sometimes when I see the most horrible of human acts, it’s comforting to think ‘Karma will strike eventually’ or ‘He’ll be reborn as an animal in his next life’ – my way of coping with seeing cases of animal abuse or human injustice, cuz I’m helpless as heck and can’t do anything significant to right that wrong. If I’m not mistaken, Taoism says that a human is the best thing one can be reincarnated into (it means that you were really benevolent in your past life), and animals/plants/other life forms are considered lower and more inferior forms of life since they aren’t as intelligent and sentient (debatable). Disclaimer that it may not be super legit heh but that’s what I heard growing up. I disagree with the teaching that being born human is the greatest blessing though ;-;

    Feels bad for the Tibetan monks since their very way of life (necessary meat consumption) causes them to be unable to square with their Buddhist beliefs (abstinence from meat), but I think for many city-dwelling Buddhists (or any religious people whose teachings uphold vegetarianism), they are presented with a wide array of food choices and so would be relatively easy to go meat-free. Still, I think there is a tendency for people to cherry-pick what their faith advocates, based on personal observation lols! They believe what they want to believe in and “ignore” the rest. In a way it’s convenient for them (since they get to maintain their way of life) and that’s not bad! Because as free agents we are free to practise our religion however we want, right? Do you observe this behaviour in your religion?

    Also, I’m curious as to what Buddhist teachings there are that don’t directly focus on environmental protection but still indirectly enables their believers to lead eco-friendlier lifestyles. It’s okk if you can’t answer cuz you practise a different religion :)))

    Vera

    1. Hi Vera! I find what you said about karma interesting – but perhaps being reborn as a human could be the greatest blessing because it gives us the greatest agency over our actions, and hence another chance at changing the world?

      And regarding cherry-picking parts of what my faith preaches – of course! I think it is (sadly) inevitable not just in religion, but any cause, that there will be people who choose to act only on what is convenient or beneficial for them.

      I’m not sure what Buddhist teachings there are, but perhaps this article can help you! https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2010/sep/02/buddhism-environment It raises some interesting points that I think would be thought-provoking for you 🙂

  3. Hi Dennis!

    It was an eye-opening read to find out about Buddhism and their relationship with the environment! I especially found your example of Tzu Chi and their efforts to protect the environment very heartwarming. 🙂
    Many of my friends are Buddhist but a majority mainly subscribe to the religion because their parents are Buddhist. As such, they are not really devoted to Buddhism. I am curious if you have come across anything on how organisations like Tzu Chi have helped such Buddhists to be more “on fire” towards Buddhist practices (especially for the environment)?

    – Rachel

    1. Hello Rachel! Actually, the video I referenced in my post came from the SBF’s Youth Group! Other than that, Tzu Chi’s Eco-Awareness Centre holds regular tours and learning journeys for schools. While not helping Buddhists to be more “on fire” specifically, it is an initiative targeted to the youth. Hope this helps!

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