Abstract—The obsession of so called “development” has continuously turned a blind eye on ecological morality, because such an empathy would inevitably retard the pursuit of scientific and technological advances, thereby, hinder the thirst of consumerism. Furthermore, ancient methods and values, which have largely been based on morality are being crumbled in a rapid march towards materialism with a pretext of making a better world through science. As consequences, global ecological balance has severely been affected. While mere technical solutions are sought to keep the global ecology in tact, the root cause of consequences is an ethical quandary which poses the question whether to conquer the nature or coexist. This article attempts to provide a short overview of how Buddhism could play a role in transforming a psyche of conquering to coexisting, thereby, preserving the global ecology.

RECENTLY, despite a widespread public outcry, a giraffe was shot-dead with a bolt gun at Copenhagen zoo in Denmark to prevent inbreeding, then, visitors (including children) were invited to watch the giraffe being skinned and fed to predators [1]. Even if this is a drop in the ocean considering the number of animals being slaughtered daily, yet it provides an extreme example of how brutal a man can become in the absence of loving-kindness and compassion (note that these two, empathy and equanimity form four sublime attitudes which shall be explained later in the article) towards his proximate environment. First, the giraffe was mercilessly deprived of its natural environment by confining to a cage (lack of loving-kindness even to the immediate environment), afterwards, cruelly slaughtered the animal who entertained visitors even in a prison (complete absence of compassion). This practice of controlled breeding coupled with culling of undesirable animals evokes the basis of scientific revolution. The scientific revolution started with Francis Bacon who mentioned that the man should be above the nature (i.e. a nature in which man is not a part of), and even went on to an extent of describing “torturing nature to reveal her secrets” [2]. Later, Descartes claimed that organisms are machine-like without consciousness [3]. It is the materialistic perspective. In general, the basis of ever-progressive scientific world view [4] encourages meddling with the virgin nature [5] for the benefit of humans or in other words, conquering the nature. A question should be asked, would we continue to meddle with the nature till the last hectare of rainforest is cleared, the last endanger species becomes extinct, the last migratory shorebirds and songbirds fray due to their habitat loss [6], the last river is polluted, channelized, dammed, the last tract of virgin prairie plowed?

The pursuit of mere technical solutions would not emancipate us from the clutches of ecological disasters. Because, even in such an endeavour, resource availability would be expanded either by discovering new resources or improving utility value of existing resources through technological innovations. Ultimately, limited resources are expanded or managed in order to soothe boundless desires of people. Thus, a transformation in our perceptions \& ethical conduct towards our environment would be required. This is where Buddhism can contribute to enhance ecological morality in an industrialized and consumerism society by emphasizing the significance of co-existence. Co-existence is a state of happiness among all living beings within a given domain achieved by enhancing benevolence of each individual towards others in the domain. As it implies, seeds of a co-existing environment should initially be borne in oneself and should then be extended to all living beings through exercising loving-kindness (Metta), compassion (Karuna), empathetic joy (Mudita), equanimity (Uppekka). In Karaniya Metta Sutta, one of the most frequently cited Suttas provides an in-depth insight to these four sublime attitudes (Brahmaviharas). The English translation [7] of an essential section of the Sutta which directly corresponds to the scope of this article is given below.

If we now switch back to the original example of killing a giraffe citing unsuitable for breeding, the animal was marginalized and then confiscated its right to exist due to its caste or belief in a biological weakness. This is precisely one of major aspects that the Sutta comprehensively elaborates. And, the Sutta emphasizes not only exercising the loving-kindness and compassion towards one’s immediate environment and beyond, it also implies the interconnectedness among every sentient being, thereby, each interaction between organisms and its environment (in the vicinity or beyond the vicinity) bears consequences which ultimately affect the entire planet. An individual with Metta identifies himself being just a part of all beings without making any distinction depending on strength, race, size, colour, or distance. It leads to form a mental state, which transcends all forms of separations, discriminations, and prejudices, thus, the individual is no more dominated by egoistic feelings. Such individuals consider the entire globe as his/her motherland, which is essential in leading up to a state of coexistence. While Metta trains to cordially accept all beings equally irrespective of differences, Karuna embraces all grieving beings with an intention of extending support to overcome their agonies. Furthermore, compassion is essential to engage the heart in an empathetic connection to all parts of the ecosystem and to value their right to exist. Mudita and Uppekka are very much central to interactions between humans (rather than humans and surrounding) with internal and external differences. However, absence of Mudita and Uppekka could also indirectly affect our environment. Mudita makes sure that one embraces success and prosperity of others (i.e. the absence of envy). Many of today’s conflicts between smaller scale communities are due to being unable to withstand the prosperity of neighbours, colleagues, ethnic communities, countries. Thereby, people attempt to cripple and topple the success gained by others, which can escalate to larger scale violence or wars ending up with environmental disasters. Uppekka guarantees that one neither overjoys nor disheartens in the wake of gains or loss, fame or defame, praise and blame, delight or agony. This unshakable integrity of an individual would make sure that the individual may neither become ecstatic nor confront during his/her fluctuating fortunes.

A mere cognitive understanding of Brahmaviharas does not automatically lead to boost ecological morality and establish coexistence. Instead, one would put the cognitive comprehension into practice by exercising the sublime attitudes initially towards the immediate environment (e.g. family, pets), then may gradually spatially expand the scope beyond one’s horizon (e.g. neighbouring houses and animal habitats to the entire world). The same principles of practice can also develop as a meditation by exercising compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity towards selected individuals or organisms. In brief, if we seek a transformation from homocenrism to ecocentrism, from eco-exploitation to eco-nurturing, and from conquering to coexistence, we all ought to individually exercise Metta, Karuna, Mudita, and Uppekka towards our proximate and remote environments, thereby, collectively reap the benefits of having a pleasant environment to live at present and for future generations.

REFERENCES

[1] L. Eriksen. (2014, February 12) Second giraffe named marius at risk of being put down in denmark. [Online]. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/12/secondgiraffe- marius-risk-denmark-zoo
[2] C. Merchant, “The violence of impediments: Francis bacon and the origins of experimentation,” Isis, vol. 99, pp. 731–760, 2008.
[3] R. Sheldrake, The Science Delusion: Feeling the Spirit of Enquiry. Hodder & Stoughton, 2012.
[4] P. Feyerabend, Against method, 4th ed. Verso, 2010.
[5] L. Wolpert, The Unnatural Nature of Science: Why Science Does Not Make (Common) Sense. Harvard University Press, 2000.
[6] S. Weidensaul, Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds, 1st ed. North Point Press, 2000.
[7] (2013, 2 November) ”karaniya metta sutta: The buddha’s words on loving-kindness” (sn 1.8), translated from the pali by the amaravati sangha. Access to Insight (Legacy Edition). [Online]. Available: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.1.08.amar.html