The First Environmentalist Essay -- Buddhism Environmentalism

We be the same as plants, as trees, as other people, as the rain that falls. We consist of that which is around us we are the same as everything. If we destroy something around us, we destroy ourselves (Buddha). This quote from Buddha depicts the center of attention of Buddhism and its intimate relationship with the environment. Buddhism new and old is intertwined with nature and the environment. Buddhism is intrinsically, at its core, environmentalism. Environmentalism shines with galore(postnominal) aspects of Buddhism the middle way, Samsara, Karma, iconography, and impermanence. These facets led to Buddhism containing an underlying theme of environmentalism.When the Buddha first began Buddhism he was concerned with how people persist their lives. Before he was the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was a crocked prince and often lived a lavish lifestyle, but as a vex to become more spiritual took hold he renounced his excessive existence. He became an ascetic who lived in the woo ds. This was in stark contrast to how he was musical accompaniment before. The ascetic life was one of little to no means, which the bodhisattva led for a long time until he almost died from one of his practices. Having lived both of these lives the bodhisattva was fit to establish the middle way. The middle way is a way to live your life in such a way you do non live in excess or deprivation because each of these exact to destruction of yourself or others. If everyone could live within the middle way many environmental detriments would not happen. The middle way would quell consumerism, waste generation, and talent usage to name a few. As a populace we would no longer need to buy everything we see or think we need. ofttimes of the waste and power used to manufacture goods would be offset by pe... ... start treating our world with more care because you never know if the millions of roofless children are really the vanishing trees being reborn as unwanted children (Snyder 188 ). kit and caboodle CitedBabbit, Ellen C. XV THE OX WHO ENVIED THE PIG. Internet Sacred Text Archive Home. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. Bloom, Alfred. Buddhism, Nature and the Environment. The Eastern Buddhist. Academic essay Premier. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.Nath, Jemal. God Is a Vegetarian The Food, Health and Bio-spirituality of Hare Krishna, Buddhist and Seventh-Day Adventist Devotees. Health Sociology Review 19.3 (2010) 356-68. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Dec. 2010.Prebish, Charles S., and Damien Keown. Introducing Buddhism. New York Routledge, 2006. Print.Snyder, Gary. The Practice of the Wild Essays. Washington, DC Shoemaker & Hoard, 2004. Print.