Care for Ecology, No Sacrificial Rites and No Political Abuse

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The Buddha strongly encouraged care and respect for the ecological environment as he clearly saw the close interdependence between man and nature.

The Buddha also disapproved of animal sacrifice as he saw it cruel and unfair for anyone to destroy any living being for one’s selfish benefit.

To the Buddha, miracles are but manifestation of phenomena not understood by common people. They are not seen as demonstrations of Enlightenment or Wisdom, as supernatural powers can be mastered by anybody. The supernatural is seen as phenomena not understood by the unenlightened.

The ability to perform miracle is seen as a by-product of spiritual development of minor importance and relevance to the real goal of spiritual development itself.

Though the Buddha had full mastery of psychic powers, he used them only out of compassion and skillful means to reach others. He never used his powers to win followers through blind faith and dependency on miracles. He taught that the highest miracle is the conversion of an ignorant person to a wise one.

The Buddha was from a warrior caste and was brought into association with kings, princes and ministers. But he never resorted to the influence of political power to introduce his teachings. Nor did he allow his teachings to be misused for gaining political power. However, he urged all kings and rulers to be morally strong, teaching that a country should not be ruled by greed but with compassion and consideration of the people.

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