Environmental Ethics in Buddhism: A Virtues Approach

The book begins by addressing the methodological challenge of deriving environmental ethics from early Buddhist sources, especially because the Pāli texts do not directly respond to modern ecological crises. It then evaluates existing approaches to Buddhism and ecology, distinguishing between overly enthusiastic environmental readings and more cautious scholarly interpretations. Subsequent chapters examine the meaning of nature in early Buddhism through conservationist and cosmological perspectives, showing how Buddhist teachings on causality, saṃsāra, and the moral structure of existence imply a broader relational view of life. The central chapters develop the argument that Buddhist ethics is fundamentally virtue-oriented and that virtues such as ahiṃsā, compassion, modesty, and contentment can form the basis of an environmental virtue ethics. The final substantive discussion turns to the Jātakas, where narratives of animals, plants, forests, and human conduct provide moral illustrations that enrich the book’s broader thesis.