Environmental ethics in Buddhism : a virtues approach / Pragati Sahni.

Format:

• Book

Author/Creator:

• Sahni, Pragati, 1968-

Series:

• Routledge critical studies in Buddhism

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

• Tipiṭaka. Suttapiṭaka.
• Human ecology--Religious aspects--Buddhism.
• Nature--Religious aspects--Buddhism.
• Environmental ethics.
• Virtues (Buddhism).
• Tipiṭaka. Suttapiṭaka--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

xiii, 204 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, 2008.

Summary:

• This book contains a logical and thorough examination of some metaphysical and ethical dimensions of early Buddhist literature to determine their environmental significance and demonstrates that early Buddhism can be recognized as an environmental virtue ethics. The author explores the meaning of nature in the early Buddhist context through a survey of general Buddhist teachings on dhamma, paticcasamuppada, samsara and the cosmogony of the Agganna Sutta concluding that an inherent sense of nature is integrated within these teachings. The ethics included in early Buddhist literature is essentially considered and arguments to show that aspects of this ethics correspond with an environmental virtue ethics are advanced.
• The book proposes that environmental ethics in early Buddhist thought stems predominantly from the inclusive ethical beliefs of the religion as grounded in a "cosmic" understanding of nature. The book also contains a chapter on the Jatakas-a collection of over five hundred folk tales-that have been of interest to Buddhist environmental ethicists due to their so-called nature-related content. Overall, this work presents an innovative approach to the subject, which puts forward a distinctly Buddhist environmental ethics that is in harmony with traditional teachings as well as adaptable and flexible in addressing most environmental problems.

Contents:

• 1 Towards an environmental ethics in Buddhism 1
• 2 Nature: A "conservationist" analysis 32
• 3 Nature: A "cosmological" approach 63
• 4 Environmental virtue ethics in early Buddhism 92
• 5 The environmental virtues of early Buddhism 123
• 6 Environmental virtue ethics in the Jatakas 144.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 190-198) and index.

ISBN:

• 9780415396790
• 0415396794
• 9780203946961
• 0203946960

OCLC:

76937321