Oneness of life and environment

Every morning we wake up to the light of the sun, the chirping of birds and hugs from our loved ones. As the day goes on, different sounds, sights and people engage us. It is fascinating how much of the outside world we take in just in a single day.
 
This outside world – the people, animals and things around us – is called our environment. Each one of us has a unique environment. Some of us enjoy our environment, while others suffer because of it.
 
How does our environment affect us? If there are fewer trees around our house the pollution and dust is more. Some of us suffer from asthma, if we live in a desert, we feel very hot during the day and very cold at night, people who live in filthy surroundings fall sick often.
 
We lead different lives depending on the country, city and neighborhood we live in. If we stay in a place where there is a water shortage, we will often see people fighting over water. If we live on a mountain, we enjoy eating fresh apples and cherries and trekking.
 
Our environment influences us, positively and negatively. We suffer helplessly if the environment is bad and die blaming the environment for bad times or enjoy the good times environment offers, But the question is do we influence our environment? According to the Buddhist concept “oneness of life and environment”, we not only influence our environment, we can also change it completely. It explains that we and our environment are one just like the body and its shadow. Our lives and our environment are inseparable, totally connected.
 
The 13th century Japanese sage Nichiren Daishonin says, “The environment is like the shadow and life, the body. Without the body there can be no shadow. Similarly, without life, the environment cannot exist, even though life is supported by its environment.”
 
Quoting the ancient Chinese Buddhist teacher Miao- lo, the Daishonin says that our six sense organs (eyes, ears, tongue, nose, skin (body) and mind) are like a compass. All sense organs are linked to the ten directions (east, west, north, south, northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest, up and down) in the universe.
 
He says, the ten directions are the environment and living beings are ‘life’. Without the body no shadow can exist, and without life, no environment. In the same way, life is shaped by its environment. The eyes are formed by the eastern quarter, the tongue is formed by the southern quarter, nose the western, the ears, the northern, the body- all four quarters; mind- the centre.
 
“Therefore, when the people’s five sense organs break down, the four quarters and the centre will be startled……When the people’s eyes, ears, and other sense organs are startled and disturbed, changes will occur in the heavens and when their minds are agitated, the earth will quake….The earth moves in response to how the people’s six sense organs are affected.
 
Through these lines Nichiren Daishonin helps us understand how important it is for us to be aware of all our actions, for they all influence our outside world, especially the earth we live in.
 
The concept of ‘oneness of life and environment’ explains that if our body and mind are healthy, we look and understand the outside world in a different way, everything around us will appear happy and healthy.. On a day when we are feeling unhappy, we find everything gloomy and lifeless. But on a day we are feeling cheerful and beautiful, everything around us seems lovely and full of life.
 
When people rush out of their homes in a huff, they usually return home looking upset and strained. On the way they may get into a fight with someone, argue with colleagues, and feel rotten about life in general.
 
Throughout the day, the chain of anger and frustration is created. Imagine how many people we are capable of making unhappy with our actions. However, if we stay bright and cheerful, communicate sincerely with people around us, we have a positive influence on our outside world. When someone truly feels delighted from the bottom of his/her heart, those around the person change.”
 
So our actions, words and thinking – our state of mind – do influence our environment. If we make the concept of ‘oneness of life and environment’ a core principle in our life, it will give us courage and hope. We realize that we have the power to change our society. As we become more hopeful, so our desire to change things around us grows and a ripple of positive thoughts and actions, starting from us, spreads out to other people in our immediate environment and further still, eventually affecting all humanity.
 
Better human beings make a better environment. Gradually, in our daily lives, we start to do things that will make our cities country and the world safer, healthier and happier. The important thing is to develop respect for our own life and respect for other human beings. In this way we create immense value. These little changes will help us grow strong and more confident about making bigger changes in our outside world, such as protecting the rivers and forests or preventing global warming.
 
According to the Buddhist philosophy, when people change, society changes, the single most positive action we make for society and the land is to transform our own lives, so that they are no longer dominated by anger, greed and fear. The first big step is to change our inner selves.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed in the blog are that of the author and does not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of The Sunday Indian.)