The destruction of our natural environment is of great concern, as the pollution of the land, sea and air increases at an alarming rate. Few people would deny that this has been caused by humankind's greed and selfishness. Social problems, too, are on the increase: homelessness, unemployment, drug abuse and the breakdown of the family, to name but a few.

According to Buddhism, the environment reflects the people who inhabit it. In his writings, Nichiren Daishonin says that life is like the body and the environment like a shadow. When the body bends, the shadow bends also.

We can see this relationship of body and shadow quite clearly in, for example, someone who is severely depressed. Such a person is likely to neglect his home and personal appearance. Others are mostly repelled by this, which reinforces that person's feeling of isolation, so the depression deepens. On the other hand, someone who is secure and generous creates a warm and attractive environment around them. Others are drawn to this and influenced by it, thereby widening the circle of warmth.

It is much harder to see this relationship in terms of ourselves. If we are, say, unhappy at work, we may think the problem lies with the company. However, according to Buddhism everything, including work, is the reflection of our inner lives. If we change ourselves, our circumstances will inevitably change also. Everything is perceived through the self and alters according to the individual's perception. Whether we enjoy our work or not has much more to do with our individual state of life than the situation itself. Similarly, how we feel about the weather has much more to do with the state of our minds than whether the sky is blue or grey. Of course, the environment influences us as well, and most people feel better if it is a bright, sunny day. However, if we are feeling good inside, we can appreciate the wind and rain just as much as the sun.

The effect of the environment on people is seen, for example, in inner cities. Here, problems such as violence and vandalism are reckognised as being influenced by urban nvironments where people live in densely populated areas. The effect human beings have on their environment is demonstrated by problems such as pollution. However, again, most of us regard pollution as being caused by someone else. Furthermore, most people consider it is up to the government or large business concerns to cure the problems, not only of pollution, but of all society's ills. This is not necessarily because we don't care, but because we often feel powerless to change our environment, viewing it as we do, as being created by other people.

The principle of the oneness of self and environment (esho funi) means that life (sho) and its environment (e) are inseparable (funi). Funi means 'two but not two'. This means that although we perceive things as separate, there is a dimension of our lives which is one with the universe. At the most fundamental level of life itself, there is no seperation between ourselves and the environment. This fundamental level of life can be called the ultimate reality, defined by Nichiren Daishonin as Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.

The oneness of self and environment is further clarified by the doctrine of the three realms:
the realm of the self, the realm of living beings and the realm of the environment. This classifies differences amongst individual living beings, their social and natural nvironments.

The realm of the self
In the realm of the self, each individual life consists of five components: form, perception, conception, volition and consciousness. Form is the physical aspect: male or female, tall or short, black or white etc. Form also includes the five sense organs - eyes, ears, tongue, nose and skin - through which we perceive the outer world.

The other four components are mental aspects of individual life. Perception is the function of receiving information through the senses. This varies depending on both the quality of the information received and the awareness of the individual. Conception is the function of analysing the received information and forming a coherent mental picture of it. Volition is the will to take action based on this information. Consciousness, which includes judgement and wisdom, is the integrating function which unifies these thought processes.

THE THREE REALMS
THE REALM OF THE SELF form, perception, conception, volition and consciousness
THE REALM OF LIVING BEINGS society
THE REALM OF THE LAND the natural environment

The five components are common to everyone, but no two individuals are exactly alike. Our special characteristics and personality are expressed through the five components. These are constantly changing. Our bodies change as we get older and most of our cells are replaced every seven years. Our thoughts are also constantly changing. The realm of the self is therefore a temporary combination of the five components.

In his writings, Nichiren Daishonin explains the far-reaching implications of this realm of the self: Therefore, when the people's five sense organs are disordered, the four quarters (of the earth) as well as the centre will be startled and shaken, and as signs of the consequent destruction of the land, mountains will colapse, grasses and trees wither and rivers run dry. (1) This is an incredible statement, even today. However, we can see the reality of environmental destruction cuased by humankind before our very eyes.

The realm of living beings
Each individual is born into a social environment: the realm of living beings. This catagory accounts for cultural and hereditary differences between social groups. A person is a product of his social environment, and equally contributes to and modifies his cultural or family group. The realm of society closely reflects the lives of the people living it.

The realm of living beings also pertains to other creatures. We tend to think that there is one large environment en which all life dwells. However, when we look more closely we see that each living being, as weel as each social group, inhabits a unique environment. For instance, we don't come across whales living in trees. Likewise, as yet, no human being is living at the bottom of the ocean (if he did do he would have to create a very special environment). Within a single footstep, in fact, there are a myriad different habitats occupied by insect life and micro-organisms. Each species inhabits the most suitable environment to suit its own requirements.

The realm of the natural environment
The third realm, that of the land, is where living beings dwell in their social groups. For thousands of years, human beings have seen the environment as separate and even hostile. We have sought to dominate and exploit the land, largely ignorant of our delicate symbiotic relationship with it. As a result, far from constructing the perfect environment we sought to create, we have all but destroyed the habitat on which our life depends.

Many people are exerting tremendous efforts to reverse this trend, and are creating a widespread awareness of the problems. The United Nations World Council on Environment and Development has called for sustainable development based on harmony between environmental protection and economic development. To achieve this, international cooperation and agreement is required. It also involves different fields of endeavour, such as science, economy, commerce, agriculture and manufacturing. The situation is extremely serious and the efforts of concened people who are actively involved in trying to remedy it, whether globally or locally, are of vital importance. If we truly understand the oneness of self and environment, we can see that everything depends on each one of us. As stated in the slogan of the 1992 UN Conference for Environmental Development: "Think Globally, Act Locally".

From the Buddhist perspective, the only lasting way to bring about change is for people themselves to change. As the above quotations says, "There are not two lands, pure or impure in themselves. The difference lies solely in the good or evil of our minds." (2) 'Evil' means self-centred and short-term actions based on greed, arrogance, fear and aggression.

Nichiren Daishonin teaches us that we possess Buddhahood, the enlightened life-condition of the human being, and can therefore transform our negative tendencies into creative and valuable ones. The single most positive action we can make for society and the land is to transform our lives, so that they are no longer dominated by anger, gred and fear. When we manifest wisdom, genrosity and integrity, we naturally make more valuable choices. We call this transformation of the self 'human revolution'. Hence, the foreword to the novel entitled The Human Revolution says:

A great revolution of character in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and further, will cause a change in the destiny of all humankind. (3) Most of all, it is a lack of respect for ourselves and our environment which causes the problems we are facing today. Often, we cannot foresee the long-term results of our actions. However, if we base our decisions on the utmost respect for all life, our actions will be wiser. The principle of the oneness of self and environment explains that everything is interconnected. Short-term profit, if detrimental to the environment, therefore rebounds on us, both individually and collectively. In the same way, actions which contribute to the well-being of other living beings and the environment will also benefit our own lives.

We are free to choose the path we follow, and the ability to follow the right one is innate within man. The question is how to develop the potential wisdom inherent in our life-force so that it works for life and creativity in the universe. Even if a human being possesses the ability to love and trust, if the motivating force within him is weak, he is not apt to influence other human beings, let alone human life as a whole. On the other hand, if a person has a strong motivating force, but is beset by doubt, suspicion and antagonism towards others, he is apt to destroy himself, and perhaps humankind as a whole. When we have discovered how to employ our life-force for the creation and furtherance of life on both the human and the cosmic levels, and when we have found out how to live in true harmony with the universe, the philosophy of the unity between subjective existence and objective environment will have become the great saving practical philosophy of humankind. (4)

1 The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Vol. 4, p. 146.
2 Major Writings, Vol 1, p. 4.
3 Daisaku Ikeda, The Human Revolution, (1961) Vol. 1, p. Iii.
4 Daisaku Ikeda, Life, An Enigma, A Precious Jewel, p. 45.

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This page was last modified on Sunday, August 20, 2006.