4 Human’s concepts toward Nature
1)
Anthropocentric,
2) Eastern Religious Ethics, 3. Holistic Approach, 4) Naturalism:
1.
Anthropocentric
Human is master of Nature, Nature is slave and not
has value in itself, if it is not served to human. Human has the right and
freedom to rule for conquer and study, ex. To kill animal is not sinful because
it has not feeling like human.
A) Ancient period – use the divines to explain the
phenomena of Nature, ex. Apollo, Poseidon etc. B)
Greek period – use the law of Nature explain the Nature.
C) Middle period – The theologist of Christianity. God created the nature for
human, human is master of nature as the stanza;
God
made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind,
and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it
was good. Then God said, "Let Us make man in our images, according to Our
likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the
sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creeps on the earth." God created man in His own image, in the image
of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Modern
age – Use the scientific method, scientific knowledge which can make human to
be master and owner of nature; - The Conquest of Nature; - Change from seeing
the truth to seeing property and facility unlimited;
2.
Eastern
Religious Ethics
• Brahmanism
– Hinduism : Live with environment for achievement the ultimate goal of life
• Mahatama
Gandhi: “the nature is enough to earn human life, but nothing is enough for
human’s greed” and “Human earn their life harmony with nature, if do not want
confront of disaster.
• Buddhism:
All things live together. If there are something change, will effect to others.
The relationship between morality links to universal thing, the aim is for
achievement and oneness with nature.
• Confucius:
Human is good in themselves, and they have the freedom to develop themselves.
3.
Ecology - Holistic Approach
• Focus
on the relationship of all things, explain the nature in field of “ecology”
• Haman
is the part of food chain in the world.
4.
Naturalism
Are any of several philosophical stances wherein all
phenomena or hypotheses commonly labeled as supernatural are either false or
not inherently different from natural phenomena or hypotheses. This theory does
not accept scientific experiment or any method.
Earn
life unambitiously
• Realize
the value of nature and practice harmony with nature.
• Do
not be dominated Consumerism)
• How
much is enough? Do not consume with desire.
Buddhist
teaching regarding the forest in Sutta
- Ovadapatimokkha: Pleasure in peaceful dwelling
- Anapanasati Sutti: Cultivate the mind in the forest and emptiness hut
- Vanaropa Sutta: The one who plane the tree can get the merit
- Mahagosingasala Sutta: The forest is suitable for monk who does not get any dhamma yet.
- Vessantara Jataka:
Buddhist
Philosophy and The Trees
Many of the
Buddha’s discourses also indicate that he had a particular affection for trees.
As a young man he had his first deep spritual experience while sitting in the
shade of a rose apple tree
He was
enlightened under a tree, the Bodhi Tree, and chose to pass away while lying
between two sala trees.
He taught
that it is a good deed to plant shade trees along the sides of roads.
He considered
forests to be good places to meditate in. Very often he would say to his
disciples: ‘Here are the roots of the trees, here are the empty places.
Meditate! That is my instruction to you.’.
It was said
of him that he ‘seeks lodgings in the forest, in the depths of the jungle, in
quiet places.’.
To the
Buddha, his Dhamma was so self-evident that on one occasion he pointed to the
nearby trees and said: ‘Even these great sal trees would embrace the Dhamma if
they could comprehend, how much more so human beings?’ (A. II, 193).
The benefit
of the trees
Some of the
most beautiful passages in Buddhist literature relate to trees. The Buddha said
of a kindly, hospitable person that he was ‘like a great banyan tree growing on
the side of a road that welcomes weary travellers with its cool shade and
soothes their tiredness.’.
The trees in Buddhist
history
Bodhi Tree: The Bodhi
Tree, was a large and very old Sacred Fig tree located in Bodh Gaya, India,
under which Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher later known as Gautama
Buddha, is said to have achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi. In religious
iconography, the Bodhi tree is recognizable by its heart-shaped leaves, which
are usually prominently displayed. Bodhi trees are planted in close proximity
to every Buddhist monastery.
He compared
the type of person with the 4 kinds of lotus
v person is
quick in acquiring (ugghaṭitaññū)?
v person is one
who learns by means of a detailed exposition (vipañcitaññū)?
v person is one
who may be guided (neyya)
v person is one
for whom the letter alone is the highest thing (padaparama)
Young Sugar
palm
In second
Vassa (rainy season), Buddha together with 1000 monks went to Latthiwan park
for meeting Bimbisara King.
Veluvana
Bimbisara
king offer “Veluvana forest” to Buddha as the first monastery in Buddhism.
Forest in
Sutta
1. Ovada Patimokkha, he taught that “pleasure in peacfull place,
for develop the meditation.
2. Anapanasati sutta, development the mindfulness by living in
Nature by teaching that “That is forest, woody roots (Mula) …monks should
practice meditation at that forest”.
3. Vanaropama Sutta : “Build
what you can get the good (merit) forever”.
That is plane the tree “ Whoever build the peaceful temple, plane the
flower, plane the fruit tree, build the bridge, the pond and practice dhamma, when pass away, go to
the heaven definitely.”
Mahasaropama
Sutta (compare brahmacharya
practice with the heartwood)
This sutta,
Buddha compared His religion with the whole tree consist of branch, leaves,
outer bark, and heartwood (sara) which can summarize as follows
1.
Gain, glory compare with branch and leaves
2. Sila compare with outer bark
Forest in
Discipline
For the monk
who live in the forest, Buddha siad the way to live that:
These are all
the four resources listed in the Vinaya-Pitaka:
1.
Alms food: morsels of food given in alms as a resource
Robes: robes
made of rags taken from a dust heap as a resource
3. Dwellings: a dwelling at the foot of a tree as a resource
4. Medicines: decomposing urine as medicine as a resource
Dhutanga
All Forest Monks will
observe at least one of the dhutanga austerities. The dhutanga austerities are
meant to deepen the practice of meditation and assist in living the Holy Life.
Their aim is to help the practitioner to develop detachment with material
things including the body.
The thirteen
dhutanga practices
1. Refuse-rag-wearer's Practice (pamsukulik'anga) — wearing robes
made up from discarded or soiled cloth and not accepting and wearing ready-made
robes offered by householders.
2. Triple-robe-wearer's Practice (tecivarik'anga) — Having and
wearing only three robes and not having additional allowable robes.
3. Alms-food-eater's Practice (pindapatik'anga) — eating only food
collected on pindapata or the almsround while not accepting food in the vihara
or offered by invitation in a layman's house.
4. House-to-house-seeker's Practice (sapadanik'anga) — not omitting
any house while going for alms; not choosing only to go to rich households or
those selected for some other reason as relations, etc.
5. One-sessioner's practice (ekasanik'anga) — eating one meal a day
and refusing other food offered before midday. (Those Gone Forth may not, unless
ill, partake of food from midday until dawn the next day.)
6. Bowl-food-eater's Practice (pattapindik'anga) — eating food from
his bowl in which it is mixed together rather than from plates and dishes.
7. Later-food-refuser's Practice (khalu-paccha-bhattik'anga) — not
taking any more food after one has shown that one is satisfied, even though
lay-people wish to offer more.
8. Forest-dweller's Practice (Araññik'anga) — not dwelling in a
town or village but living secluded, away from all kinds of distractions.
11. Charnel-ground-dweller's Practice (susanik'anga) — living in or
nearby a charnel-field, graveyard or cremation ground (In ancient India there
would have been abandoned and unburied corpses as well as some partially
cremated corpses in such places.)
• 12. Any-bed-user's Practice
(yatha-santhatik'anga) — being satisfied with any dwelling allotted as a
sleeping place.
• 13. Sitter's Practice (nesajjik'anga) — living
in the three postures of walking, standing and sitting and never lying down.