Psychology & Buddhism.pdf

244 Shuichi Yamamoto
means “two in phenomena but not two in essence,” e-sho-funi means “life and its
environment are two distinct phenomena but nondual in their fundamental
essence.” Both the subject and its environment coexist or are nondual in a situation
that is a result of karma. That is, this concept means that the subject is born
into an environment suitable to it and the environment becomes suitable for the
subject.
The third of the three realms of existence, in addition to the realm of the five
aggregates and the realm of sentient beings is the realm of nonsentient beings. This
realm indicates that which supports the existence of life. Thus, living beings are
inseparable from their environments, having a close relation with the environment.
In the field of ecology, the act that one makes on its environment is
expressed as the environmental formation effect and the effect that the environment
has on one is expressed as the environmental effect. From a physical viewpoint,
the environmental formation effect and the environmental effect can be
considered to have the same meaning as the following quote from a Japanese
Buddhist teacher, Nichiren (The Major Writings, 1275/1999): “To illustrate, environment
(objective world) is like the shadow, and life (subjective world), the
body. Without the body, no shadow can exist, and without life, no environment.
In the same way, life is shaped by its environment.” In other words, the state of
life of an individual is reflected in the world around him or her, and the world
itself corresponds to the individual. The concept of the possession of the nonduality
of life and its environment are fundamental to the view that change in the
subject or individual can effect change in the environment.
One of the important points in the life-centric environmental view is that we
should grasp the subject and its environment as inseparable and the other is that
we should consider the meaning of the environment for the subject. When we
consider the environment from the Buddhist view, the destruction of the environment
means not only the destruction of a physical base for humans and living
things, but also the destruction of the mind and life itself.
The Japanese term ho of the subjective world (sho-ho) or the objective world
(e-ho) corresponds to manifest effect in the Ten Factors of life or existence. That
is, it is the resulting effect from past karma (cause and effect). The Ten Factors of
life (existence) is equipped in the three realms of existence, that is, the realm of
the five aggregates, the realm of sentient beings, and the realm of nonsentient
beings. The manifest effect means that the cause and effect of karma (goin-gouka)
in the mind area of the subjective world appear in the material area. Therefore, if
the cause and effect of karma in the subjective world or the realm of the five
aggregates and the realm of sentient beings are changed for the better, the manifest
effect of the subject can also be improved.
In the same way, if the cause and effect of karma in its environment, i.e., the
objective world and the realm of nonsentient beings, are improved, the manifest
effect of its environment can be improved. Because the objective world and the