Paper short abstract:

Today, the misuse of our environment is a significant issue. From its early days, Buddhism has viewed the environment from a moral ethics perspective. I aim to highlight the teachings in the Pāli canonical texts to show that the Buddhist attitude towards the environment is positive and effective.

Paper long abstract:

At the very outset it is to be noted that the environment that prevailed during the time of the Buddha in the 6th century BC is not as complicated and polluted as the kind of environment we see today in the 21st century AD. In modern days the misuse of the natural environment is a big issue and at the same time human beings are creating problems not only for the environment by deforestation but also for people by polluting the air we breathe. Early research on this subject gave rise to a concept known as 'ecology' which focuses its attention on the study of the pattern of the relationship between plants, animals, people, and the environment. A thorough study of the teachings of the Buddha enlighten us that natural environment had enjoyed a great privilege at the hands of the Buddha and his community saṅgha as compared to some other religions like Brāhmiṇism in those days. Buddhism being an ethical religion treated the natural environment from the perspective of moral ethics from its early days. So, in this paper, my aim is to bring out the teachings of the Buddha as found in the Pāli canonical texts to show that the Buddhist attitude towards the environment is very positive and effective.