FOREST AND ENVIRONMENT· THE BUDDHIST PERCEPTION

Abstract

When man, tired by his ceaseless efforts to exert his mastery over his environment becomesdisillusioned, he gradually seeks solace in his own inner consciousness. Discussed in thispaper are the Buddhist views on the environment that enlightens and guides one who hasshunned the more materialistic world and one who has sought a path of reality and truth.

When the Buddha attained enlightenment, his first task was to express his deep gratitudeto the very tree which offered him shelter for a whole week. Through this exercise hetaught the world to be grateful to the environment from which all our bioenergies are freelyextracted. Subsequently for a period of forty five long years the enlightened one trekkedthe forests, crossed the free flowing streams, befriended the animals and spent his valuablelife in very close harmony with the environment. He thus chose the forest, that supremesymbol of nature, as the base from which he could deliver the Dhamma to the world.

In this great effort to spread the Dhamma, is embedded unequivocally the sheer beauty, themajestic silence and the magnificence of the forest as clearly illustrated in the Buddhistliterature.

In this paper is also discussed the discourses of the Buddha which presents His concepts ofthe environmental system. These are clearly depicted in the Vinaya and the Sutta pitakas.As a sequel, the benefits obtained by his disciples from the forest during their deeperunderstanding of the Dhamma sermons of the Buddha as vividly portrayed in the textsThera Gatha and Theri Gatha are also briefly discussed.