Buddhism can be stated as principles of life rather
than a religion which encourages us to follow a middle and righteous path. The
middle way is the Eightfold Path, as it is called: Right Faith, Right Resolve,
Right Speech, Right action, Right Living, Right Effort, Right Thought, and
Right Self-concentration. If we are to slow down the rapid depletion of our
natural resources, then we must follow the middle path and have to keep a check
on the selfish way of life (Raj, 2011). Moreover, according
to the ethics of the Buddhist middle way, the destruction and capturing of
living things is acceptable as long as the regenerative potential of an
ecosystem is not destroyed. The ethics of this middle way neither denies the
survival of remote cultures, nor allows the destruction of an ecosystem, as
long as securing the benefits for the cultures in need does not exceed the ecosystem
productivity.
Human beings have over exploited the natural
resources and disturbed the ecological balance of the nature. We have been
extracting the minerals, clearing the forests and tapped the animals for our
own consumption, disturbing the natural ecosystem. General principles of the
Buddhism abstains person from killing, stealing and other wasteful activities,
which is ultimately needed in sustaining and balancing the natural ecosystem. Buddhism
offers a practical method for attitudinal
change in man and gives a sense of direction and goal of life to help
restore sustainability of Nature and prepares the way for the development of
more positive and active virtues. Buddhism with its broader perspective, with
its emphasis on compassion and empathy and with its attempt to cleanse the
human mind of selfishness which is the root cause of aggression, greed and
materialism, can help in building an atmosphere of peace and respectful
co-existence (Yamamoto). This can hence
enable in transforming the present world into better place to live in. Thus Buddhism
gives us insights to practice friendliness, which is the literal translation of
the Buddhist term ‘Metta’. Practicing Metta, man would have sympathy for other
species and other forms of life which are threatened by human exploitation and
natural resources, thus helping in preservation and conservation of natural environment.
The core principle for Buddhist teaching is “The concept of interdependence”.
Nothing is formed in isolation and each individual reflects all other living
being infinitely many times (Dorji). An attachment to
sense of self is the hindrance to interdependence and an obstacle to achieving
the peace of enlightenment. The Buddhist philosophy of suntyata holds that no subject or object has an independent
existence; rather it dissolves into a web of relationships with all dimensions
of its environment (Priesner, 1999). When Buddhist
saints take 3 years of retreat, they go to the mountains to meditate and live
immersed in the wilderness, experiencing the interdependence with the nature
around. The concept of interdependence is such that, if the environment is
destroyed in one part of the world, the other parts will be affected
drastically. Causes of disasters are simply due to the unbalances created in
the five elements by mankind. At a mundane level people must consider how best
to dispose of waste, thus Buddhist philosophy greatly propagates the
conservation of nature (Priesner, 1999) which is one of the main focus of Gross
National Happiness. Buddhism also perceives reality as circular with
human lives regarded as a stage in an eternal cycle of reincarnation. This
naturally alters the relationship to the environment, and sustainable development then is in everybody’s self-interest instead of
future generations.
Gross
National Happiness cannot be achieved unless Buddhist
philosophy is fully incorporated and practiced by each and every citizen of
Bhutan. The cultivation of happiness is central to Buddhist philosophy and
practices. There are unlimited path and methods prescribed in the teachings
through which happiness can be achieved at the individual or collective levels (Tashi). Happiness is a
clear state of our mind which arises from a mentality to help and support
others, love and care and complete contentment about oneself. Thus the concept
of Gross National Happiness is nothing but going after the philosophy of
Buddhism, through which human beings draws the happiness and self contentment.
In the first sermon of Lord Buddha, he stated that
there are two extremes, from which the followers of Buddhism must refrain. One
is a life of pleasure devoted to desire and enjoyment (unspiritual, unworthy
and unreal), and the other is a life of humiliation which is also gloomy,
unworthy, unreal. (Raj, 2011). Buddhist view also
states that there are conditions for existence within a perpetual cycle of
dissatisfaction, but that humans have the ability to end such a cyclic
existence through gaining insight into the true nature of suffering and thereby
eliminating or reducing it. For Bhutanese, it’s very crucial to understand the
dynamics between cause, condition, and effects are critical to each
individual's expedition for happiness. Real happiness itself resides in the
mind and is generated only from the use of right attitudes and actions. Acharya
Aryadeva states: "All outer phenomena are accidental and conditional.
Happiness and hope lies in the right attitude and aspiration".
Happiness can be measured by people’s contentment with what they have and
their inner disciplines, but not through material gains they make. From a
Buddhist perspective happiness cannot be measured based on owning material
goods because these things only bring about more frustration, since great care
must be taken to protect them. The mind further becomes preoccupied with the
desire to procure more material goods. This happens because one is not aware of
the inner causes of happiness. Following the principle of contentment doesn’t mean that he or she cannot become rich or meet
life’s required basic necessities. If one has a contented mind, one will then
become wiser in terms of using properties in a meaningful way and will be able
to appreciate what one has, giving rise to happiness.
The Dalai Lama has said that happiness and
compassion are skills that can be learned. Using meditation for training, our
turbulent emotions and moods can be managed. If a person trains himself to
meditate well, through either religious or secular forms of meditation, he can
be quite contented and the impact will rise with the regularity of the practice.
Buddhism gives a clear idea to change the human behavior and outlook towards
the surrounding and society. With its clearer and broader viewpoint, can change
the human mind of selfishness, aggression, greed and materialism thus it can
help in building an atmosphere of peace and respectful co-existence (Yamamoto). This can in turn
increase the happiness of people and society.
If take a closer look at Gross National Happiness, environment and Buddhism,
we can readily find that all these are interlinked and interdependent. If the
profound wisdom of Buddhism is correct, then the cultivation of a genuinely
wise and compassionate attitude will produce an intense happiness. This
happiness will improve the attitude of a person towards environment and
surroundings and even the material aspects of life. However this is not enough.
In order for individual people to begin acceptance of environmental problems as
their own personal concern, education becomes vital. Only education can provide
the driving force for such a renewal of awareness where environmental problems
become personal problems. Therefore, education is given a due space in Gross
National Happiness as one of its nine domains. Finally it can be stated that for the conservation of natural
environment and propagation of gross national happiness, the concept of
Buddhism is inevitable and will in turn help uphold the doctrine of Buddhism.
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