Buddhist Ideas & Gardens – Sharing the Garden
Buddhism teaches that all living creatures are equal and that their rights should be respected.
Sharing the Garden With Other Creatures
It teaches us to share the garden with other creatures, not to try to make everything how humans want it. Buddhists need to think very carefully about how birds, animals and insects are affected by what you do in the garden.
At Buddhist monasteries in Britain, typically moles are left in peace and you see many molehills. Gardeners patiently accept that squirrels will dig up some of their plants. They do not try to drive them away. At Purelands garden, the squirrels eat all the cherries and walnuts – that is seen as their share of the garden. Herons do eat some of the goldfish in the pools and this is accepted as part of the needs of herons.
At Samye Ling monastery, the volunteer gardeners have fenced off a vegetable patch to keep rabbits away. But they do not fence off so much land that the rabbits have nowhere to feed. Rabbits run around other parts of the monastery. At Buddhist monasteries in Britain you see much wildlife living undisturbed – squirrels, moles, rabbits, ducks, foxes and mice.
Being considerate to wildlife does not mean that you must leave your garden as a wild, untrimmed mess. At Purelands, like many Japanese gardens, some bushes are neatly cut into topiary shapes. But they are trimmed so frequently that the birds are used to this and will not build nests there. Sharing the garden means some space for humans too.
Preserving the Wider Environment
In parts of Asia, the grounds of Buddhist monasteries have preserved areas of old forest, which have been cut down elsewhere. One example is Tiger Cave Temple, near Krabi in Thailand. Part of the monastery is in a valley surrounded by steep cliffs which separate it from the outside world. Inside is ancient forest with enormous old trees and monkeys and large lizards living undisturbed.
In Asia today, Buddhists campaign actively to safeguard forests, wildlife
and the environment generally. This is very important to Buddhism, as
explained on the web pages of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation.
www.arcworld.org/faiths.asp?pageID=29
Some Buddhists now see it as part of the religion to reduce CO2 emissions
since this is about protecting the world environment, which all creatures
share. Some modern Buddhist guidelines for protecting the environment
have been produced, which place importance on planting trees and creating
havens for wildlife.
www.ecopractice.fwbo.org/5point.htm
www.ecobuddhism.org/
Continue reading: The garden is made up of gifts.