In this paper, I will focus on the concept of paṭicca-samuppāda (in pāli) (pratitya-samutpada in Sanskrit) and the arguments in favour and critical of whether this concept can address to the environmental problems that are there today. I will begin with discussing what the meaning of paṭicca-samuppāda is in Buddhism and the concept of interdependence. Then I will discuss Joanna Rogers Macy’s arguments in favour of this concept and the general systems theory she talks about and Ian Harris’s arguments in denial of this concept as one of the routes for attending to environmental issues. After their arguments, in the conclusion I will give my views.
Paṭicca-samuppāda as in the Buddhist Canon means the dependent arising of the things on the basis
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For her, Buddhism’s teaching of this concept is a ‘theory of universal interconnectedness, mutual conditioning, or radical interdependence of all phenomena, by dismantling the separate, continuous ego-self’ which leads to ‘identification with and the responsibility for the whole world, humans as well as other beings’ (Schmithausen, 1997). In her article World as Lover, World as Self, Macy has brought into light four ways in which we look at our world – a battlefield, a trap, a lover and as self. The world as a battlefield focuses on the moral battles where our endurance and courage is tested, that is, our souls and for their benefits is taken in account rather than the world. The world as a trap is only a way to escape in order to liberate ourselves and nature is sidelined. In the view world as lover, the world is taken to be ‘most intimate and gratifying partner’ where in every person, animal, object we encounter we appreciate their presence and ‘discover the lover in each life form’. The world as self emphasizes the union of all in the form of interconnectedness as stated earlier in the metaphor of Jeweled net of Indra. In the general systems theory, as Macy states, biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy shows that ‘all systems are self-organizing, created and sustained by the dynamics which are at play in the larger systems of universe’. The developments are not restricted only to me but it extends to the other spheres of systems which are in this world. Different systems, embedded in them are interdepended lives and developments of all beings, are interconnected. I think it can be understood as imagining overlapping Venn diagrams or circles where all of them are interrelated and the progress or decline in any one of the circle affects in the progress or decline in others too for instance, different ripples in water. Understanding ‘the world as an extended self’ does not require any compromise of