Jainism and Animal Issues 1997

Author(s): Federation of JAINA
Publisher: USA Federation of JAINA

Page 43

Jainism and Animal Issues
Trees and Jiv Daya
The trees harbor many lives. Monkeys live in the trees. Birds make nests in the trees. Insects also make homes in the trees. When a tree falls, where do they all go?
Every time a tree is dead or cut, all the insects living in it also lose their lives. If a large area of trees die or are destroyed, all the monkeys and birds lose their homes, their shelters, their habitats. They also die. Above all, the trees breathe carbon dioxide in, and release oxygen back to atmosphere. Without this oxygen, no life can survive, anywhere. Thus when all the trees on the planet earth die
The world we live in today is not the same that our grandparents lived in and it will not be the same that our grandchildren will grow up in. As each generation goes through this world, we leave behind less and less of the present environment for the future generations. One would think that with all of the modern technology and advances the opposite is true. In fact it is this which is harming the environment.
When one thinks of Ahimsa, they think of not harming any living beings. This is often just considered for humans or animals. The earth belongs to all living beings, not just for humans or animals. We often forget that plants and trees are also forms of life. Little is spoken about Ahimsa toward the trees, but there is much to be said. We must respect the right of the trees also to inhabitate the planet. The planet is here for us to share and live with in harmony and peace. It is not here for us to dominate and destroy.
Forest Preservation
We often are just familiar with the destruction of the rain forests and the destruction due to clear-cut logging. These are just two forms of destruction of trees but there are many more that we are often unaware of. There are many causes for trees becoming sick and dying in different regions.
Some of the causes include acid rain, air pollution, killer smog, excessive ultraviolet light filtering through the earth's damaged ozone shield, pesticides and toxic chemicals released from burning of the coal and oil. These all are caused by modern industrialization. The list doesn't end there, it includes global warming effects (which causes temperatures and sea levels to rise), destructive forestry practices (such as clear-cut logging and fire suppression) which thins out the forests, and the increasing demand for wood by a very wasteful society.
Acid rain occurs when coal and oil are burned, releasing sulphur which combines with rain (or fog or snow) to make acid precipitation. After World War II, United States has seen a massive rise in use of coal and oil. This acid rain affects trees, soil, and entire ecosystem. Trees become weak, and fall prey to extreme cold, or to insects, or pathogens that a healthy tree can withstand.
Presently over 80% of all industrial wood usage in the United States is for building materials and paper. The remaining 20% of wood usage is for fuel wood, wood chips, and raw logs for export. There is currently an effort underway to reduce the consumption of
or are destroyed, all life on the earth also will come to an end. Nothing will survive.
Therefore the principles of Jiv Daya dictate that we care for preserving each and every tree. We need to learn which of our human actions, directly or indirectly, contribute toward harming or destruction of trees.
wood by eliminating use of wood from buildings and from paper. Modern materials exist which can be used to substitute the use of wood in buildings and for the manufacturing of paper. Presently there exist 300 mills throughout the world manufacturing paper without wood. We can make paper from rice and barley straws, sugar cane waste (bagasse), and kenaf plant. We must focus on efforts such as these. Each of us must do our share to minimize waste if we are to help save trees, forests, and planet.
Narendra Sheth
What can we do is the major question we should all be asking. There are the two main actions we can take, as individuals.
One is to better understand the causes of why the trees are dying. We need to learn how to control, eliminate, and fix the problems that we have created. To fix a problem, we first must understand it. The public needs to be aware and educated of the severity.
The second action we can take is to eliminate waste. We live in a very wasteful society. We think there is a never ending supply of everything, not realizing that the stock is slowly diminishing. With all of our major advances, we often think of our society as a paperless society. Yet in reality, with all of modern technologies we are actually wasting more paper. With the widespread use of e-mail, people are now sending a lot of information electronically. But since everything is always urgent, we often also fax a copy of the document. Finally we also send a hard copy of the document through the regular mail. On the receiving end, the recipient often reads the e-mail and then makes a hard paper copy of the document. What information was once one sheet of paper is now on three sheets, minimally. Jainism teaches to minimize the usage and waste of any product and that includes paper.
Charles Little, in his book, "The Dying of the Trees," describes how trees are sick and dying everywhere in the world. We need to learn living within natural limits, and right of nonhuman species to inhabit the plant. We should cut waste, not trees. If we don't, soon, some trees will survive but probably we will not. We cannot leave these decisions in the hand of profit-seeking corporations any longer. We must start now if we want future generations to survive.
This plea to save me and my family was brought to you by a Joshua Tree.
Jayshree Ranka
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