Our Planet

Nirvana is called the extinction of passions, the uncreated, peaceful happiness, eternal bliss, suchness, oneness, and Buddha-nature.Buddha-nature is none other than Tathagata. The Tathagata pervades the countless worlds; it fills hearts and minds of the oceans of beings. Thus plants, trees, and land all attain Buddhahood. -Shinran


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Find Your Own Path
“Motai nai” is a popular Japanese saying that means, “don’t waste.” We remember it often coming out of the mouths of our parents. It reflects a deeply held cultural belief in everyday life.

These moral values within society often dictate rules and laws that tell us how to live. And now, more than ever, society is telling us that we should not waste, but care and protect our planet. But, Buddhism teaches us to ask the question... why?

Why should I care about the environment? For my future, or my child's? Can my actions save the planet? Is it a selfless action or just selfish?

Many people in the world don't even contemplate the first world's efforts to recycle or protect the ozone layer. Does this ignorance mean that they are not good Buddhists?

What is the Buddhist perspective on our environment?

Buddha's teachings say that we are all interconnected. For proof, walk through a forest and listen to the birds, look at the sky, and feel the breeze. There are billions of insects, animals and plants. Humans need them all. We cannot survive alone. So, since all living things on Earth are interdependent, we need to act to protect the environment as a matter of our own survival and happiness. This is known as the ethical path.

We may not be able to control the world around us, but, you can try to understand and self-reflect on your own actions. Buddhists need to discover their own path and how they want to live. This puts the responsibility on each individual to improve the world around us.

A Buddhist Prayer
May all beings be well and safe, may they be at ease. Whatever living beings there may be, whether moving or standing still, without exception, whether large, great, middling, or small, whether tiny or substantial, Whether seen or unseen, whether living near or far, born or unborn; may all begins be happy.

Let none deceive or despise another anywhere, Let none wish harm to another, in anger or in hate. Just as a mother would guard her child, her only child, with her own life, even so let me love for all beings in the work, above, below, and across, unhindered, without ill will or enmity. Standing, walking, seated, or lying down, free from torpor, let me as far as possible fix my attention on this recollection, This, they say is the divine, life right here.