Appreciating ladybugs in early Buddhism

 

An interesting contribution on early Buddhism posted at the YouTube channel Doug´s Dharma. While most comments from early Buddhist authorities are “anti-pleasure”, there are some notable exceptions…from some of Buddha´s own disciples!

For instance, Mahakassapa, often regarded as a particularly hard ascetic, wrote an appreciative poem about the beauties of nature (including ladybugs). Doug doesn´t know how to square the circles, but his guess is that perhaps aesthetic appreciation of nature was regarded as a somewhat less dangerous pastime than more human-oriented sense pleasures. Nature was associated with solitary practice and isolation from the status-seeking of human society. And, of course, its beauty was more “natural”.

It seems Buddhism has always been very contradictory, and not altogether pessimistic or nihilistic, as it´s often portrayed in Western literature on the subject.