{"id":5827,"date":"2016-04-24T16:28:59","date_gmt":"2016-04-24T22:28:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/?p=5827"},"modified":"2016-04-24T16:28:59","modified_gmt":"2016-04-24T22:28:59","slug":"buddhas-advice-on-wilderness-and-living-in-the-present-moment-in-nature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2016\/04\/buddhas-advice-on-wilderness-and-living-in-the-present-moment-in-nature.html","title":{"rendered":"Buddha’s advice on wilderness and living in the present moment in nature"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u201cThe West of which I speak is but another name for the Wild; and what I have been preparing to say is, that in Wildness is the preservation of the world.<\/strong>\u201d
\n\u2013 Henry David Thoreau, \u201cWalking\u201d (emphasis added)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In this sentiment, Thoreau, who was influenced by the Indian philosophy trickling into the Euro-American mindset of his time, echoes the Buddha\u2019s words about life in the forest (Pali\u00a0ara\u00f1\u00f1a<\/em>). Much scholarly ink has been spilled on Buddhism<\/a> and the environment. An excellent starting point here is Damien Keown\u2019s Very Short Introduction to Buddhist<\/a> Ethics<\/a><\/em>. There, Keown notes some of the early passages that support a pro-nature\/pro-animal attitude, including the 1st precept, which advocates non-harming toward all living beings. However, early Buddhist thought is wide and complex, and to overlook the contexts and complexities in order to only see one\u2019s own favored teachings does both Buddhism and the reader a disservice. And, as Buddhism is a 2500 year-old religion with many developments, one must expect shifts in thought over time.<\/p>\n

But in this particular text we find a fairly obvious praise of a kind of life in nature.<\/p>\n

The text is called the Discourse on The Forest (or Wilderness), the\u00a0Ara\u00f1\u00f1a Sutta <\/span>(SN\u00a01.10). And in the discourse\u00a0the Buddha is met with a\u00a0deva<\/em>, or divine being, who asks \u201cThose living in the forest, tranquil\u00a0and\u00a0of pure life,\u00a0eating only\u00a0one meal a day: how is it they appear so radiant?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Buddha\u2019s response found its way to me today on\u00a0the American Buddhist Perspectives<\/a> facebook page (celebrating 2000 likes<\/em> today, with gratitude!), shared by the Indiana Buddhist Temple<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cat\u012bta\u1e43 n\u0101nusocanti, nappajappanti n\u0101gata\u1e43. paccuppannena y\u0101penti, tena va\u1e47\u1e47o pas\u012bdati\u201d. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cFor the past they do not mourn, nor for the future pine; they are nourished by the present, so does their colour shine.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201can\u0101gatappajapp\u0101ya, at\u012btass\u0101nusocan\u0101. etena b\u0101l\u0101 sussanti, na\u1e37ova harito luto\u201dti. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u201cIn pining for the future, or over the past forlorn, by this do fools wither up, just as green reeds once shorn.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There is undoubtedly something special about time in nature, where one is surrounded by the unfamiliar in every moment, a certain aliveness<\/em> enveloping you. Growing up and living again in Montana it\u2019s easy to take that feeling for granted. It\u2019s described by avid outdoors-people as an instant shot of joy, a humbling experience, a de-centering of the self as one\u2019s past and future worries melt away.<\/p>\n

Of course, Wilderness alone<\/em> is not\u00a0the answer; certainly not in Buddhism at least. The key to really building on and maintaining these experiences is the meditation<\/em> the forest-dwellers would have been engaging in. It is with meditation that one unravels and releases the thick cord of the past -as was well-depicted in Dan Woo\u2019s recent guest post<\/a>\u2013 and it is with meditation that one develops the autonomy to choose a more mindful and open presence in life, whether in the forest or home with a spastic puppy, in the boardroom or in a dentist\u2019s chair.<\/p>\n

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Stay in touch with American Buddhist Perspectives on Facebook:<\/em><\/center>\n
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American Buddhist Perspectives<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Further reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n