All life is interconnected: elite Buddhist responses to environmental destruction in the early Anthropocene

ABSTRACT

The Song dynasty was a period of unprecedented change, with new economic policies, agricultural advances, and increased urbanisation accelerating ecological changes in the more densely populated areas of East China. As the elite witnessed deforestation and land reclamation, as well as the increased slaughter of animals for a newly wealthy population, they turned to classical teachings to find answers to the growing crisis for animal life. Elite Buddhist voices were especially vocal in their objections to the anthropocentric thinking that was changing humanity’s relationship with the animal world. Among them, Shi Zunshi 釋遵式 (964–1032) was particularly influential through his argument that all life is interconnected and equal. This article examines his and others’ writings on this topic, showing that animal rights activism was a product of the ecological crisis that gripped the early Song dynasty.

KEYWORDS:

• Song dynasty literature
• Buddhist intellectual thought
• animal welfare
• early Anthropocene

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. See QSW 68.142

2. Elvin, The Retreat of the Elephants: An Environmental History of China, 20.

3. The term ‘nature’ used in this article encompasses the forests, rivers, wildlife, and other natural elements that were affected by human activities during the Song dynasty, during which the intrinsic value of nature was lost as anthropocentric values became stronger and more widespread, leading people to view nature primarily as a source of profit and material resources rather than valuing it for its own sake.

4. Li, Wang An-shih’s Reform Policies: 65–71.

5. Liang, Essays on the Social and Economic History of the Song Dynasty (shang), 268–276.

6. QSW 125.10.

7. Shiba, Jungguk dosi sa, 45.

8. Chen, ‘Liangsong shiqi senlin pohuai qingkuang de lishi kao,’ 209.

9. Kim, ‘Ssongdae mingan samyo e uyuk huiseng,’ 84–85.

10. Wang, Xiandai Zhongguo xixiang de xiangqi, 105–106.

11. See QSW 130.238: 將水陸纖介, 蚍蜉蟭螟, 皆謂之有命也. 擇其大者惠之, 則活十人不若活一牛; 兼其小者濟之, 則蚍蜉蟭螟, 何物非物? … 焦爛之蟲, 已絶未絶, 穰穰填溢, 何啻億萬? .. 若焦蟲之類或可戒已; QSS 37.23364: 道人澧陵,旁多古松,上釘小牌,書《千字文》記之,間為取明者殘傷,致有傾折.

12. Baxter, Ecologism, 1–3.

13. QSW 137.32.

14. According to ‘Shishi yaolan xu,’ Shi Daocheng lectured on the sūtras in Bianjing 汴京 (today’s Kaifeng) until he returned to his hometown Qiantang 錢塘 and focused only on the Chinese Buddhist canon for ten years, writing down what he considered to be essential knowledge for Buddhist monks. After that, in the third year of Tianxi 天喜 (1019) when countless Buddhist monks received identity cards to indicate their monastic status, he organised those records and added the contents of other books for the monks to compile Shishi yaolan 釋氏要覽 [Shi’s Essentials]. The chapter ‘Jiedao’ is included in this book Shishi yaolan 3 juan: 《僧史略》云, “戒刀皆是道具, 按律許蓄月頭刀子, 爲割衣故.” 今比丘蓄刀名戒者, 蓋佛不許斫截一切草木, 壞鬼神村故. 草木尚戒, 況其他也.

15. For instance, Yu Tianrong 俞田榮 contends in his book Zhongguo gudai shengtai zhexue de luoji yanjin 中國古代生態哲學的邏輯演進 [The Evolution of the Logic of Ancient Chinese Ecological Philosophy] that the contemporary ecological worldview is embodied in classical Chinese philosophy. Demonstrating the ‘ecological thought’ component of his ideas, he quotes phrases from traditional Chinese philosophy, ranging from mythology to Wang Yangming 王陽明 (1472–1529) of the Ming Dynasty. He claims, for instance, that Confucian benevolence, which values what is beneficial for oneself and for others, and Buddhist compassion, which cherishes all living beings, both stem from human beings’ unconditional compassion and love for all living beings in the world. Yu, Zhonguo gudai, 183–184.

16. The ‘物’ in ‘民胞物與’ refers to both plants and animals, not just animals. The ‘物’ in ‘民胞物與’ has the same meaning as the ‘物’ in ‘暴殄天物’ in Shujing jizhuan 書經集傳 collected by Cai Chen 蔡沈 (1167–1230). Kong Yingda 孔穎達 (574–648) commented on this, arguing ‘天物’ here refers not only to people, but also to universal things in the world, animals, and vegetation. (天物’ 之言, 除人外, 普謂天下百物 、 鳥獸草木皆暴絕之) Also, Liang Guifang 梁桂芳 has examined Sushi’s thought on ‘物與,’ focusing on his love and mourning for plants in her article, ‘Lun sushi de minbaowuyu sixiang jiqi chansheng de genyuan’.

17. For example, Shao Weng 邵雍 (1011–1077) emphasised the nobility and superiority of human beings, saying that ‘only human beings have been blessed with the righteousness of heaven and earth, the sun and the moon. Others do not enjoy this. The lives of human beings are truly precious’ (唯人得天地日月交之用, 他類則不能也. 人之生, 真可謂之貴矣). See Hang ji jingshi shu, 14.

18. SKQS, Ercheng waishu 8, edited by Zhu Xi.

19. QSW 34.318.

20. QSW 206.13.

21. Buddhist monks reinterpreted the concept of jiesha to include cherishing plants, which I will discuss later.

22. QSW 138.226.

23. This idea of Du Zheng is shown in his ‘Bachuan shecang ji,’ QSW 301.166: 人與物並生於天地之間, 同於一理, 均於一氣.

24. Li, ‘Shihuan shenghua yu fodao,’ 9–13.

25. QSW 200.66.

26. Zhang and Shi, ‘Lun daojiao yinshi yangsheng zhihui,’ 2.

27. QSS 35.22183: 戒殺當知有數端, 聞聲見死敢加餐. 居家自作專因我, 雖美還應下筯難.

28. Examples of such writing includes ‘Fangsheng ciji famen’ [Dharma-Gate of mercy and Releasing Life], ‘Jie jiurou cihui famen bing xu’ [Dharma-Gate of Abstaining from Alcohol and Meat, with Preface], ‘Gai ji xiuzhai jueyi song bing xu’ [Praise of Resolving Doubts in Changing the Sacrifice from Meat to Fasting, with Preface], ‘Fangsheng ciji famen xu’ [Dharma-Gate of mercy and releasing life, with Preface], ‘Liangchao gaoseng fangsheng wen’ [On Releasing Life by an Eminent Monk of the Liang Dynasty], and ‘Gai ji xiuzhai shu wen’ [On Changing the Sacrifice from Meat to Fasting].

29. This can be seen in the preface of ‘Jie jiurou ci ui famen bing xu,’ QSS 2.1098: 諸大小乘典,因看讀時, 錄之成偈一百首, 目為 《 戒酒肉慈慧法門 》. 遍示未聞, 足以為戒.

30. QSW 10.132.

31. QSS 2.1102.

32. QSW 10.132.

33. QSW 10.132.

34. QSW 2.1100.

35. QSW 298.223.

36. ‘Jie jiurou cihui famen bing xu,’ QSS 2.1099–1100.

37. This is especially seen in his poem ‘Jie jiurou cihui famen bing xu’. In the preface, Zunshi indicates that the content related to reincarnation and retribution is based on the Saddharmasmṛti-upasthāna Sūtra (Ch. Zhengfanian chu jing 正法念處經). He goes into great detail, describing many different kinds of hell, including Raurava (Ch. jiaohuanyu 叫喚獄) and Avīci (Ch. abiyu 阿鼻獄).

38. QSW 9.119.

39. QSW 10.132.

40. ‘Ren yu wu tong,’ QSW 102.305.

41. QSS 39.24555.

42. Willsher, ‘French judge rules “noisy” frogs of Grignols must go’.

43. Han, ‘Zhanglei jiqi shige chuangzao yanjiu,’ 39–41.

44. QSW 127.224: 予得盡殺.

45. QSW, 127.224. This consciousness among the Song elites also had an impact on literary expression. Before the Song Dynasty, plants and animals were used only as metaphors for expressing human affairs. Instead, the Song dynasty created a distinctive technique of literary expression in which humans were used as comparative objects of animals and plants to protect the natural world. The creation of this literary expression also faithfully reflected the positions of the elites on the destruction of the nature.

46. QSS 38.23870.

47. The records about Yu Wei are found in ‘Zhushi’ 麈史 [History of the Deer-tail Whisk] by Wang Dechen 王得臣 (1036–1116), ‘Shixue guifan’ 仕學規範 [Standards of Officialdom] by Zhang Zi 張鎡 (1153–1211), and ‘Zijing bian’ 自警編 [A Compilation of Warnings to Oneself] by Zhao Shanliao 趙善璙 (?–ca. 1231). According to these books, people in the Min 閩 area at that time had many children, but it was difficult to raise them, so people killed many of the babies, especially if the child was a girl. People drowned the baby in a prepared bowl of water, which was called ‘child washing’ 洗兒. This custom was particularly serious in Jianzhou 建州 and Jianzhou 劍州. Thus, Yu Wei invited older villagers who were trusted and respected to discuss this, and wrote an article called ‘Jie shazi wen’ 戒殺子文 [On Abstaining from Killing Babies] to advise villagers not to kill them. As a result, thousands of children were given life in a short period of time, and villagers often called their children ‘Yu’ after Yu Wei. When Yu Wei returned from being sent elsewhere, hundreds of children were outside the city to greet him.

48. QSW 102.306.

49. This story is found in Fanyuan zhulin 法苑珠林 [Forest of Pearls from the Garden of the Buddhist Law], 64 juan. At that time, there was a man named Zou Wenli 鄒文立 who was both a cook and a butcher. One day, he tried to kill a deer, but the deer fell on its knees and wept. The cook only found it very unlucky, so he killed the deer accordingly. However, later, he found out that the deer was pregnant. The deer ran to the kitchen to beg the chef for the birth of the baby deer. Later, the chef got a strange disease and regretted killing the deer, so he came to a Buddhist monk to beg for penance and donated all his money to repair the Buddhist temple.

50. PETA, ‘Mission Statement’. PETA’s four areas are: the use of animals ‘in laboratories, in the food industry, in the clothing trade, and in the entertainment business’.

51. QSW 102.307.

52. QSW 17.85.

53. QSS 39.24650.