The purpose of this dissertation is to examine Buddhist teaching in relation to the ecological issues of environmental protection, both narrowly and broadly defined. The Mahayana Buddhist concept of compassion is used as the force lying behind the five chapters. My rationale and arguments show that Buddhist compassion can motivate and bring about sound ecological practices that protect the environment. Chapter One discusses the cosmology of Buddhism, explaining trayo dhatavah (the Three World Levels), the Six Realms of Rebirth, and bhajana-loka (more specifically, the ideal country in the “container-world”). Chapter One also discusses the six characteristics of Buddhist cosmology: (1) the origins of living beings, (2) the role of human beings, (3) the Buddhist system of Samsara and the retribution of Karma, (4) the Buddhist doctrine of collective retribution, (5) the Buddhist belief in the power of the mind, and (6) the Buddhist view of the Big Self. Chapter Two discusses how Buddhism cultivates common people to be Bodhisattva-like people and examines two categories of people: the “ecokiller” and the “ecohuman.” This chapter proposes the characteristics of true eco-Buddhists, namely, avoiding of the three poisons (greed, hatred, and delusion); keeping the Five Precepts; leading a simple life; practicing and teaching nonviolence; benefitting people through kind thoughts, words, and deeds and through merit-transfer; practicing the Four All-embracing Virtues; working pro-actively and actively in the impermanent world; cultivating patience and endurance; and nurturing compassionate thoughts. Chapter Three critiques Callenbach’s idea of ecotopia as it appears in his novel Ecotopia: The Notebooks and Reports of William Weston. Callenbach’s version of ecotopia has some defects. Examples given here, among others, are that his version indirectly encourages brutality by permitting the hunting, killing, and eating of game; and that his version encourages sexual license, thus feeding the jealousy and hatred that such license can provoke. A consequence is that destructive forces are unleashed in the society. My counter-proposal examines three examples of ecological environment that present better, more “Buddhistic” programs for an ecotopia and environment: (1) Aldous Huxley’s “Kingdom of Pala” in his novel Island, (2) Buddhism’s description of “pure land” in the Larger Sukhavati-vyuha Sutra, and (3) the policies of the real-life country of Bhutan as described in Wander Bhutan. Chapter Four discusses the protection of wildlife in an ideal but concrete country that belongs to Buddhist cosmology’s “container-world.” Such a world practices (1) the Buddhist precept of not killing, (2) the act of the life-release rite (“liberation of animals”), and (3) vegetarianism. Associated with “not-killing” is “not-stealing,” since—for example—animal infants are often stolen from their parents to be killed: such an act also violates the more general norm, “Do not take what is not given.” In the case of vegetarianism, in the Lankavatara S
目次
Table of Contents Acknowledgements i Chinese Abstract ii English Abstract iii Introduction 1 Chapter One The Ecological Implication of Buddhist Cosmology 12 Chapter Two Ecokiller and Ecohuman 38 Chapter Three Island, Bhutan and the Pure Land as Ecotopias 63 Chapter Four The Protection of Wildlife and Bhajana-loka 91 Chapter Five Buddhist Concern about Humans Living and Dying 120 Conclusion 148 Works Cited 156
