Compassion is not only loving kindness for your neighbors but also how to save the environment. A compassionate economy asks questions about how the economy operates? Like what should we do about climate change? And why do some people suffer in our economy and some do not? If we practice compassion it will brighten the world and the environment.
The Famous Vietnamese Buddhist Teacher Thich Naht Hanh explains how
“The more compassionate you are, the more generous you can be. The more generous you are, the more loving friendliness you can be in the world.” Thich Nhat Hanh
We need to be kind to ourselves, to others, and the environment.
If we practice selfishness it will harm the environment and us too, because we will accumulate too much stuff without thinking of the environment or others.
A quote from the Baha’i faith is as follows:
“We cannot segregate the human heart from the environment outside us and say that once one of these is reformed everything will be improved…man is organic with the world. His inner life molds the environment and is itself also deeply affected by it.”
– Shoghi Effendi
If we start to care about the environment it means that we care about the effects it has on every person. If we start to practice with a human heart we realize and are grateful that our environment does provide us with everything we need to be alive. And if we treat the human spirit then we will find joy in tending to the needs of the environment. There is a symbiotic relationship between mental illness and the environment we need to treat both together.
Gardens for Earth Zines 