Sustainable Development and Buddhism to Resolve Environmental Issue

The concept of sustainable development was crystallized and popularized in the 1987 to draw upon long established lines of thought that had developed substantially over the previous 20 years. Sustainable Development Policies such as Environmental Conservation by leading institutions working on environmental conservation such as introducing International organizations, State institutions, Ministry of Environment, Area land Authority, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, NGOs and some other Private enterprises that concern to the problem to work on environmental conservation has been applied. However, the problem could not be solved hundred percent. This is required to put every group of people in our planet to concern in solving the problem.

Buddhist societies or the Buddhist teaching should be one of the important groups to solve environmental problem. The Buddhist teachings are available to apply. The teaching of the dependant origination should be one of the significant teachings that should be used to demonstrate the solution.

As the ecosystem is interrelated, no one could live alone in this world. Every sort of living things are depends on each other. If one group of living things harms the other group, the affect must be back to them. As we can see today that human action are very affected to the environment. As the result, environmental problem such as Acid Rain, Air Pollution, Global Warming, Hazardous Waste, Ozone Depletion, Smog, Water Pollution,Overpopulation, and Rain Forest Destruction are affected to human lives. This is very obvious that the teaching of dependant origination is quite clear to demonstrate.

Some people knew that their action of economics development or business activities affected to the environment, yet they still commit those activities because the demand of money and the need of economics improvement are so important for them.

In this case, the Buddha’s teaching of the ultimate happiness and loving kindness to all living being should be applied. Most people recognize their happiness by having lot of money and famous reputation. They try to run to catch it, but no one has ever satisfied with the things they got. They feel not enough with their properties. Buddhism regarded that kind of happiness as the lower happiness because they always change, and they are impermanent. The highest happiness in Buddhism is the realization of cessation of suffering. However, the common happiness which is introduced by Buddhism is the calmness of mind from the result of practicing meditation or training one’s own mind.

There is the result of this way of Buddhist teaching which has been applied in Buddhist society. Some rich people remain very surprise and very interested that they gained the most happiness in their lives more than their previous time that they depend their happiness on business development and reputation. They remain happier with training their mind and practicing meditation together with radiate loving kindness to every living being.

So, this Buddhist teaching can be applied in solving this problem. When people are interested in this kind of happiness, we can improve virtue and Buddhist ethics in society. The people will be more interested in developing their mind more than business development. They will have loving kindness to every kind of living thing and will care more about the happiness of the world. The problem of environment will reduce.