Page 17 - Applied Buddhism

amicable solution. There is now an urgent need for human beings to preserve water,
conserve water, and to ensure that water is not polluted.
This story tells us that water is important, but life is even more
important. But because water is related to the sustenance of life, There are some interesting descriptions in the Buddhist texts in
there had been many occasions when people were prepared to fight appreciation of water and its conservation.
over water. In the modern context, we all know that water, oil, and
food are new considerations or weapons in international politics. “With deep water and wide crags, haunted by monkeys and
deer, covered with oozing moss, those rocks delight me.”
In Buddhism, water is one of the four basic elements that made
up matter or rupa, the other three being fire, earth, and wind. In “Because of offering of drinking water to thirsty monks, a
human life, when the four elements are in deficit or not balanced, person was provided with all facilities apart from having cool
one will fall sick. We eat food to ensure that our earth and fire and clear water ways and rivers……the rivers with sand beneath
element are sustained; we breathe to ensure that our wind element enclosed his beautiful divine home”
is optimum, and we drink water to ensure that the water in us is
sufficient. “My heritage is not far from the river which is not deep…..”

The Buddhist understanding of importance of water is expressed Buddhists believe that providing water for thirsty people, plants
in the following poem: and trees are meritorious deeds. This is clearly seen during King

What is the basis and support of men? Asoka’s time when he dug wells along the way for weary travelers.
Conversely, polluting water is bad karma.
What here below is comradeship supreme?

What are the spirits who sustain the life? As for the negative effect of polluting water, here is another
story: When the Buddha was far advance in age, Vidhudaba, one
Of all such creatures as to earth are bound, of his nephews born of a servant, who later became the King of

Children are mankind’s basis and support, Kosala, took revenge on the Sakyans for insulting his lowly birth.
He came with his army three times, but each time the Buddha
The life is here below comrade supreme; appeared along the way. Out of respect, Vidhudaba retreated. But

The spirits of rain sustain the life when he came again the fourth time, the Buddha did not intervene,
realising that the Sakyns have to bear the consequence of their past
Of all such creature as to earth are bound.
action. Vidhudaba literally wiped out the Sakyans with his rage.
The Buddha later revealed to his disciple-monks that in the past
We all know that water is important and is increasingly scarce.
the Sakyans poisoned water in the river causing many deaths of
innocent people and animals. The bad Karma has now worked

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