Ecoanxiety: A philosophical investigation from the early Buddhist perspective

Abstract

Ecoanxiety has been described as a fear caused by the climate crisis or environmental degradation. In religious and ethical studies, the emotion of fear is significant because it plays a role as a motivating factor or achieving necessary mental state to get to the ultimate goal in religious life. Fear is often caused by the consequences of an event. However, the dysteleological nature of early Buddhist thoughts does not contribute significantly to environmental problems but construe the fear. This paper is an attempt to explore the Buddhist ethical perspective of ecoanxiety, with special reference to the early Buddhist thinker Buddhaghosa. In this paper, I argue that Buddhist ethical teachings have an immediate beneficial effect on ecoanxiety.