A Buddhist Understanding of Nature
-Dalai Lama
Buddhists believe that all life is interrelated and interdependent. Nature, or our natural environment, is alive and at least partly conscious. It is neither sacred and perfect, or evil. Nature’s deep reality is part of Buddha-nature—our nature when we reach full enlightenment.
From the Buddhist viewpoint, humans are not distinct from or superior to other sentient beings. All sentient beings have the potential to become fully enlightened. Buddhists do not see non-human sentient beings as objects for consumption.
Enlightened beings do not harm sentient life. They have compassion for unenlightened beings, who are attached to our polluted world, filled with suffering, and do not experience peace.
This post is part of a series on Faith and the Environment