Yet, insofar as she sees beings with competing interests, the environmentalist is
being held sway by conventional truth. This means that if she decides to act in such a way
that will benefit one party over the other, she can resort to conventional reasons to justify
her decisions. She might decide to favour an indigenous animal at the expense of an
exotic one, or to protect an endangered species even though this will deprive her fellow
humans of some of their income. She might argue that the rarity or vulnerability of one
party entitles them to her help. As long she remains aware of the conventionality of these
reasons, perhaps this sort of discourse can be admitted. The bodhisattva’s ultimate,
nondualistic perspective, however, will collapse the dichotomies of human versus nature,
whole versus part, self versus other, and so forth, and therefore, ultimately, she will
perceive no competing interests and nobody being helped or harmed.
It is said, in Mahāyāna texts, that a bodhisattva who realizes emptiness is able to
help all beings effortlessly, and he is better equipped to serve the needs of others,
including those who are distant in space and time. This is because he is able to identify
with all beings no matter how far away or how dissimilar they are to him, and he can take
up their needs as his own, without the obstruction that samsaric beings face, of wanting
their own happiness before anything else. Instead, the bodhisattva works for the ‗greatest
happiness of the greatest number,‘ and yet, unlike the utilitarian, he does not get involved
in adjudicating between needs. His understanding of emptiness will reduce the strength of
preconceptions or partialities, and the deeper his realization the broader his identification
will be.
Finally, the bodhisattva can teach emptiness to certain beings as a highly effective
remedy for all afflictions. A direct realization of the emptiness of self will automatically
eliminate suffering, unlike the theories of deep ecology about our being ―one strand in the
web of life,‖ which may or may not provide some comfort. In short, extending solicitude
universally will not provide us with a specifically environmentally sensitive set of
guidelines or prescriptions, nor can it provide us with any criteria to use in cases of
conflict. However, combined with a realization of emptiness, what universal love and
compassion can do is enable us to see through the biases and mistaken beliefs that
generally lead us to make the wrong decisions, or even to do nothing at all, and it can
facilitate the opening of our minds and hearts so that all sentient beings are allowed in.
Yet, insofar as she sees beings with competing interests, the environmentalist is
being held sway by conventional truth. This means that if she decides to act in such a way
that will benefit one party over the other, she can resort to conventional reasons to justify
her decisions. She might decide to favour an indigenous animal at the expense of an
exotic one, or to protect an endangered species even though this will deprive her fellow
humans of some of their income. She might argue that the rarity or vulnerability of one
party entitles them to her help. As long she remains aware of the conventionality of these
reasons, perhaps this sort of discourse can be admitted. The bodhisattva’s ultimate,
nondualistic perspective, however, will collapse the dichotomies of human versus nature,
whole versus part, self versus other, and so forth, and therefore, ultimately, she will
perceive no competing interests and nobody being helped or harmed.
It is said, in Mahāyāna texts, that a bodhisattva who realizes emptiness is able to
help all beings effortlessly, and he is better equipped to serve the needs of others,
including those who are distant in space and time. This is because he is able to identify
with all beings no matter how far away or how dissimilar they are to him, and he can take
up their needs as his own, without the obstruction that samsaric beings face, of wanting
their own happiness before anything else. Instead, the bodhisattva works for the ‗greatest
happiness of the greatest number,‘ and yet, unlike the utilitarian, he does not get involved
in adjudicating between needs. His understanding of emptiness will reduce the strength of
preconceptions or partialities, and the deeper his realization the broader his identification
will be.
Finally, the bodhisattva can teach emptiness to certain beings as a highly effective
remedy for all afflictions. A direct realization of the emptiness of self will automatically
eliminate suffering, unlike the theories of deep ecology about our being ―one strand in the
web of life,‖ which may or may not provide some comfort. In short, extending solicitude
universally will not provide us with a specifically environmentally sensitive set of
guidelines or prescriptions, nor can it provide us with any criteria to use in cases of
conflict. However, combined with a realization of emptiness, what universal love and
compassion can do is enable us to see through the biases and mistaken beliefs that
generally lead us to make the wrong decisions, or even to do nothing at all, and it can
facilitate the opening of our minds and hearts so that all sentient beings are allowed in.
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