All life is interconnected: elite Buddhist responses to environmental destruction in the early Anthropocene

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Song dynasty was a period of unprecedented change, with new economic policies, agricultural advances, and increased urbanisation accelerating ecological changes in the more densely populated areas of East China. As the elite witnessed deforestation and land reclamation, as well as the increased slaughter of animals for a newly wealthy population, they turned to classical teachings to find answers to the growing crisis for animal life. Elite Buddhist voices were especially vocal in their objections to the anthropocentric thinking that was changing humanity’s relationship with the animal world. Among them, Shi Zunshi 釋遵式 (964–1032) was particularly influential through his argument that all life is interconnected and equal. This article examines his and others’ writings on this topic, showing that animal rights activism was a product of the ecological crisis that gripped the early Song dynasty.