The current state of the earth is still in peril of extinction, and humans are largely to blame. Various writers approach the subject from a variety of angles, but the best ones cleverly draw a link between human societies and environmental degradation. Analyzing the earth from the cultural, political, academic, and religious viewpoints is necessary in order to deal with the issue of environmental degradation. Humans' actions are causing the present destruction of the earth, and Buddhism suggests that the only way to reverse the situation is for people to change the way they perceive the world.The Buddhist concept of green faith emanates from the teachings of Lord Buddha that the main aim of any human being should be to live a life that is full of health, wellness and sufficiency. From the Buddhist perspective, science plays a significant role in enabling an individual live a full and healthy life (Sciberras 144). For this reason, the teachings of Lord Buddha are more applicable today considering that human beings have done the exact opposite of what they were meant to accomplish.
Buddhist perspectives call for human beings to take care of the earth even as they develop it and try to make it a better place. This explains why most countries where the religion is rampant do not undertake development that would cause environmental degradation. From Lord Buddha's perspective, it is evident that the eightfold path calls for moderation as a way of ensuring that life is not only bearable but fruitful enough to support living. In this case, human choices should be made using careful consideration and a lot of revelation. Thus every human being is responsible for their actions.
Using the noble path suggested by Lord Buddha, human beings are meant to be aware that all choices bring about consequences. Thus, the overuse and indiscriminate exploitation of resources on earth produces negative results. Buddhism believes that the science of human living should focus on a cause-effect relationship (Sciberras 122). If an action will produce a negative effect, then it should be avoided at all costs. This way, the world can avoid catastrophes such as horrible monsoon winds that bring destruction, as these are the result of poor planning and the improper use of resources.
Part II
One of the main themes in Thomas Berry's The Great Work is the cultural and ecological predicament of the earth. Berry makes it very clear that human beings have been on the forefront of the enormous transition that is slowly leading to the death of the earth. The title of the book is reference to the call that the human being has to get involved in so as to meet the current exigencies (Polkinghorne 105). From his perspective, human beings have created a waste world in the process of trying to make earth a wonderful place. He calls out to people to view their role in the world as that of being the protector of the earth as a community.
Just like the Buddhist religion, Berry says that the consciousness of man is responsible for maintaining the earth. The current devastation of the earth that makes it unrecognizable emanates from the fact that the current consciousness has led to the development of a radical community (Berry 174). Human beings now do not value all other modes of life on earth and thus destroy them and their habitats indiscriminately. Using the theme of cultural and ecological predicament, religion and other factions such as political and economic have influenced human thought. As a result, they treat non-human beings indiscriminately and this has played a major role in the destruction of earth. Thus, it is necessary for every individual to be engaged in the great work.
Part III
One of the major themes found under the topic of eco-feminism is the connection between the oppression of women and the degradation of nature. Eco-feminism tries to bring together the concepts of gender equality as well as the benefits of collaboration in a world that favors organic processes. Apparently, women have been on the forefront in the protection of the environment, and they make the greatest activists in this sense. Feminism was brought about by the results that women faced in the process of being environmental activists. From the perspective of eco-feminism, the degradation of the environment happens in the same way as the oppression of women (Gaard 28). Both the environment and women suffer the same fate under the hands of men since the world is centered on men.
Eco-feminism makes it evident that the degradation of natural resources on earth normally affects women more than men, and this also implies that some genders have a bigger role to play in environmental protection. The differences in the roles of women and men in the world mean that the degradation of the environment affects them in various ways. The reason why eco-feminism connects repression of women to environmental degradation is because the two go hand in hand (Gaard 27). Just like the resources on earth, women are misused and plundered and they have no voice to speak against such maltreatment. For this reason, it is important to find ways of solving the two problems.
Part III
All the sources connect to each other in terms of the way they view the environment and the role of human beings in degrading the resources on earth. For example, Berry makes it very clear that as human beings develop and gain technological advancement, they keep destroying the world. From an eco-feminist perspective, human beings and especially men have a big role to play on the destruction of the earth and this is evident in the discussion by Gaard. All sources call for the people to review the way they treat the earth as this is the only way of solving the problems of this earth. There is no disagreement in the sources as all of them confirm that human beings have a role to play in environmental degradation.
I chose the theme of environmental degradation and the role of man because I found out that Berry's work was based on a historical context of the same. I was intrigued as Berry spoke of the roles of various cultures, where he shows that what we think works makes the earth worse. He even brings about the concept of religion explaining that it is partly responsible for the degradation of the environment. I feel passionately for the earth as I understand it is the source of resources that determine human survival. I thought I would use this as an opportunity to change the way people view the earth.
I believe that there is a strong connection between environmental degradation and a distorted or radical view of the world. From the perspective of Buddhism, every individual has to play their role in the society for the existence of normalcy. From my reading of Berry's The Great Work, I understand that the problem that the earth is facing emanates from our perspective of the world. I do not agree with eco-feminism especially at a time when women and men go to school the same way and jobs are no longer divided based on gender.
Works Cited
Berry, Thomas. The great work: Our way into the future. New York: Harmony/Bell Tower, 1999. Print.
Gaard, Greta C. Ecofeminism Revisited: Rejecting Essentialism and Re-Placing Species in a Material Feminist Environmentalism. Feminist Formations, 23. 2 (2011), 26-53.
Polkinghorne, John. 1989. Science and creation: The search for understanding. Boston: Shambhala.
Sciberras, Collette. Buddhist Philosophy and the Ideals of Environmentalism. Ph. D. Thesis , (2010), 1- 250. Durham: Department of Philosophy, Durham University.
