Regard All Life as Sacred

Regard all life as sacred because that is what sustains us on this planet. There are so many interdependent relationships with other species and plants that allow us to survive here.

Many of the world’s spiritual traditions would agree with the statement “Regard all life as sacred.”

Indigenous Wisdom:
Features of many indigenous teachings include life as a continual act of prayer and thanksgiving, knowledge and symbiotic relationship with an animate nature, and being aware of one’s actions on future generations. Such understanding necessarily implies a mutuality and reciprocity between people, earth and the cosmos…..Continue

Hindu-Vedic:
When it comes to traditional Hindu views on the environment, one statement for the Ishavasya Upanishad sums up the reverential attitude Hindus are urged to take. In English it reads, “The entire universe is to be looked upon as the Lord.” That means that there is everything in existence is essentially, practically and metaphorically, connected together. Everything is seen as aspects of Divinity–humans, animals, plants, rivers, mountains, the Earth, the Universe and everything in it. Scripturally, these are seen as parts of God’s body…  Continue

Judaeo-Christian:
“When God created the first human beings, God led them around the garden of Eden and said: ‘Look at my works! See how beautiful they are — how excellent! For your sake I created them all. See to it that you do not spoil and destroy My world; for if you do, there will be no one else to repair it’” (Midrash Kohelet Rabbah, 1 on Ecclesiastes 7:13)…Continue...

Spiritual ecology:
Spiritual ecology is an emerging field in religion, conservation, and academia recognizing that there is a spiritual facet to all issues related to conservation, environmentalism, and earth stewardship. Proponents of Spiritual Ecology assert a need for contemporary conservation work to include spiritual elements and for contemporary religion and spirituality to include awareness of and engagement in ecological issues…Continue…