HANGZHOU: The hundreds of people attending the first World Buddhist Forum were probably not surprised at what they heard there religious practitioners urging people to refrain from abusing animals or spoiling the environment.

"Buddhism preaches that lives are equally precious for human beings and animals and plants," said Venerable Yuanli.

"We must look at the crisis that mankind's greed has inflicted on the ecological balance."

Gyaltsen Norbu (2nd-L), known as the Panchen Lama, attends the opening ceremony of the World Buddhist Forum with other Buddhist leaders including Grantha Visarada Rajakiya Pandita (L), supreme prelate of Sri Lanka, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province in east China April 13, 2006. [Reuters]

The monk was among many who either sent articles to or spoke at the forum on Friday, in the scenic city in East China's Zhejiang Province.

At least 1,000 Buddhist monks and researchers from more than 30 countries and regions attended the forum,

They tried to find remedies to problems resulting from "greed, hatred and ignorance."

Yuanli said that to satisfy their greed, people are asking for whatever they want from nature.

Buddhists in their everyday lives eat vegetarian food, release captive animals and do not kill, all among their Five Commandments, according to Joan Wei from the United States.

He Xiaoxin, another Buddhist from the United States, said she believed the religion could teach people certain things.

"Traditional Chinese medicine benefits people throughout the world, but some reckless people are killing rare animals to make the medicine. This has posed a huge problem for Buddhism," she told the forum participants.

Such actions adversely affect nature, she said, adding that Buddhism teaches that "perpetrators will be given retribution" for their sins.

To show how they care for the environment, almost all of the Buddhists attending the forum used cloth bags instead of disposable plastic ones.

Apart from influencing the public through practicing frugality, monks and nuns can use their temples to help protect the environment, He proposed.

There are at least 20,000 Buddhist temples on the Chinese mainland, many of them up in the mountains.

"Buddhists can help improve the environment in mountainous areas by building seedling nurseries and clearing away rubbish in the area," she said. "They can also deliver hand-outs about environmental conservation when the public make pilgrimages to the temples."

Fang Litian, a professor from Renmin University in Beijing, proposed spreading the views of Buddhists among non-Buddhists to help promote love and harmony.

Pan Zongguang, president of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, suggested modern media such as cartoons be used to help promote Buddhism.

The forum began on Thursday in Hangzhou and was due to conclude on Sunday in the nearby city of Zhoushan.

(China Daily 04/15/2006 page1)