About the Environmental Protection Force

Third, actively participate in environmental protection programs launched by governments at all levels.

Actively participating in environmental protection programs launched by authorities at all levels is an opportunity to build a close relationship between the government and the Buddhist Sangha, and furthermore, as partners for projects related to public services. In fact, environmental protection programs launched by the government do not always receive the participation of Buddhist Sangha at all levels. The reason may be that Buddhism does not like noisy and bustling campaigns, influenced by the characteristics of this religion, or that some nuns are still afraid to participate in social activities due to strict regulations from the precepts. At the same time, pagodas need to encourage and mobilize Buddhists and people to build the movement of "planting trees of fortune", "planting trees of wisdom" every year on the occasion of Buddhist festivals and national holidays, instead of the custom of "picking luck", "breaking luck"; calling for a change in the form of contributing money to the construction of "forest temple" instead of the form of giving money and rice or releasing birds and fish; Call for environmentally friendly lifestyles right in residential communities and living areas.

4.3.3. About the forces participating in environmental protection

In the process of national renewal, Buddhism encourages Buddhists to develop production and business. The monks also organize charity events for businessmen to help the poor, build morality, a compassionate lifestyle, joy and forgiveness, and balance the psychology of money and fierce competition. However, the production and business activities of enterprises have a significant impact on the environment. Irresponsibility in environmental protection, causing serious environmental pollution, has led to millions, even tens of millions of people and a large area suffering great consequences for a long time. Therefore, in the current environmental protection activities in our country, on the one hand, the Party and the State need to have strong measures to control the production and business activities of enterprises so that they do not affect the environment. On the other hand, the monks are the ones who provide spiritual support to businessmen, building legitimate ways to get rich.

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Firstly, promote propaganda work so that businesses are aware of their responsibility to protect the environment through specific and practical actions.

Legal documents related to environmental protection need to be disseminated to business owners to understand the nature and relationship between humans and the ecological environment. Forms of environmental protection dissemination to businesses need to be diversified such as seminars, contests, media, internet, leaflets, etc.

In addition to using propaganda measures, depending on the appropriate target group, businesses need to participate in training courses to contribute to improving their social responsibility towards the environment. Specifically, for senior business leaders, it is necessary to focus on raising awareness of green growth, corporate social responsibility, and the overall benefits of investing in environmental protection. For the group of business managers and officers in charge of finance and business planning, it is necessary to raise awareness of building an internal environmental management system, building clean production projects, and the costs and benefits of applying clean production.

Second, businesses need to be aware of properly resolving the relationship between production and consumption. Profits must be based on not harming the environment and ensuring people's health.

A sustainable business must adhere to two principles: clean products and environmentally friendly products. These two principles will convince consumers to choose the product. Although this solution forces businesses to bear additional environmental protection costs, in return, a large volume of products have the opportunity to be sold. In modern society, a product that meets consumer requirements must not only have a beautiful design, good quality, good support but also include environmental criteria. On the contrary, businesses that go against the trend of modern society, their products are at risk of being boycotted. Therefore, it is necessary to strongly develop clean technology consulting companies to support businesses in production and business.

Third, there should be forms of commendation and timely rewards to encourage businesses that do a good job of environmental protection, while at the same time strictly handling businesses that damage the environment.

Enterprises that comply with environmental protection regulations should be encouraged and honored by authorities at all levels, creating motivation for other enterprises to follow suit. At the same time, authorities at all levels must publicly and severely punish enterprises whose production and business activities have a negative impact on the environment and do not comply with environmental protection laws.

Fourth, businesses need to coordinate with the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha at all levels to develop safe alternative food sources that do not depend on animal protein.

Nowadays, most of the food in the people is of animal origin. Science has proven that too much animal protein in the daily diet can lead to many incurable diseases. Mahayana Buddhism advocates vegetarianism, one of the effective methods to protect the health of vegetarians and at the same time one of the feasible ways to contribute to environmental protection. Experience in processing vegetarian food is a suggestion for cooperation between Buddhism and businesses to help Buddhists and people change their daily eating habits.

4.3.4. On environmental protection models

Firstly, focus on developing ecological monastery models with natural forests and natural gardens.

Buddhism has a tradition of caring about environmental protection, especially creating green spaces and peaceful spaces in monasteries. The peaceful landscapes and beautiful mountains and rivers of monasteries are becoming spiritual and cultural areas that actively contribute to connecting people with the natural environment and raising awareness of environmental protection.

The construction of Buddhist worship facilities in recent times has helped reclaim lands that few people have set foot on, paving the way for infrastructure development, while also creating an invisible force to protect national natural resources. Pagodas and monasteries can receive and protect the forests around their places of worship.

According to the State's regulations. If conditions are favorable, Vietnamese Buddhism can establish "retreats" or "meditation forests" following the model of Thai Buddhism or Myanmar Buddhism.

Currently, our country has nearly 500 pagodas ranked as national historical and cultural relics. Pagodas with lush green trees, clean lakes, fresh air and peaceful lifestyle are landscapes that can combine green tourism with spiritual tourism, creating an environment for Buddhists and tourists from all over to visit, worship, listen to the Dharma and meditate. At the same time, these spiritual pilgrimage sites also create jobs for thousands of people to stabilize their lives, contributing to reducing the unemployment rate in society.

Second, build key models of Buddhist environmental protection on the basis of maximizing the exploitation of unique social environmental protection methods.

The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha has built many models of environmental protection, including not only models implemented by the Sangha but also models in collaboration with socio-political organizations in Vietnam. However, this activity still lacks key models that create a real mark that makes a difference between Buddhism and some other religious organizations. Summer retreats organized by the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, vegetarianism, and animal release are very unique ways of protecting the environment and society that need to be focused on and exploited in the coming time.

The environmental protection model of Taiwanese Buddhism as mentioned suggests a way for Vietnamese Buddhism to participate in modern social life. Buddhist dignitaries and monks not only protect the environment of their daily activities, their bodies, and their rituals, but also protect the environment of society. In connection with each aspect of material life, each monk, nun, and Buddhist is self-aware of the issue of environmental protection.

Therefore, it is extremely necessary for the VBS at all levels to build key models in the coming time on the basis of maximizing the exploitation of appropriate environmental protection methods, especially social environmental protection methods, to create more changes, especially changes in the thinking of the Buddhist community and people on environmental issues.

Chapter 4 Summary:

The equal relationship between nature and society as well as the mutual interaction between humans and the living environment according to the Buddha's concept are concretized in the practice of participating in environmental protection in our country's Buddhism in recent times. With appropriate guidelines, policies and methods, the VBS at all levels have had outstanding environmental protection activities in recent times. However, the practice of environmental protection of Vietnamese Buddhism also raises a number of issues that need to be resolved. That is, it is necessary to resolve the inconsistencies between the viewpoints and policies of the Party and the State with the teachings and precepts of Buddhism in the field of environmental protection; the lack of perfection in viewpoints and policies for Buddhism to participate in environmental protection; the lack of uniformity in awareness among dignitaries and followers about the role and responsibility of Buddhism in participating in environmental protection; the close coordination between the VBS at all levels and organizations in the political system in mobilizing and guiding dignitaries, monks and followers of Buddhism to participate in environmental protection. Besides, management needs to forecast environmental protection trends in both negative and positive aspects to have timely solutions.

The continued improvement of viewpoints and policies from the Party, the State and the VBS itself is an urgent requirement to resolve the problems arising from the practical participation of Vietnamese Buddhism in environmental protection. These are recommendations on viewpoints and policies; ways of participating in environmental protection; forces participating in environmental protection and environmental protection models with the spirit of combining state sanctions, science and technology and Buddhist ethical principles to bring environmental protection activities into depth and with real effectiveness.

CONCLUDE

1. Environmental protection is a core content of the current sustainable development goals of our country. In that context, promoting the role of religion in general, Buddhism in particular, in environmental protection has profound theoretical and practical significance. In recent years, our Party and State have proposed many policies and measures on environmental protection, with the message "not trading the environment for economic growth". Although achieving initial remarkable results in environmental protection, the challenges that our country is facing are enormous. These are pollution and environmental degradation in some urban, rural areas, industrial zones and craft villages; overexploitation of natural resources, unsustainability, the promotion of industrial and service development, urbanization, natural disasters and worsening global climate change, putting great pressure on resources and the environment. According to warnings from international environmental experts, in the next decade, Vietnam's GDP may double, but on average, for every 1% increase in GDP, damage caused by environmental pollution will cause a loss of about 3% of GDP if environmental protection is not given due attention.

2. The above-mentioned situation of environmental pollution and climate change in our country has many causes, mainly caused by humans. If there are no radical actions and solutions related to human awareness and actions, the severe impacts of environmental pollution and climate change in our country will continue to increase in frequency and intensity in the coming time. It is not only actions associated with the law but also requires solutions associated with ethics to directly attack the consciousness of each person. The great advances brought about by the scientific and technological revolution cannot prevent the rapid increase of climate change without the determination, joint efforts and consensus of all components of society. In that sense, the environmental protection messages in the teachings and precepts of Buddhism are one of the effective solutions to solve this situation.

3. The initial research of the thesis shows that Vietnamese Buddhism has sufficient theoretical and practical basis to participate in environmental protection in our country today. Buddhist teachings emphasize that humans treat nature well and live in harmony with nature, which has made a positive contribution to the formation and development of ecological ethics today. The theory of Dependent Origination helps monks, nuns, Buddhists and people understand that destroying the natural environment means destroying the human living environment. Realizing this, monks, nuns, Buddhists and people will be more careful in every action before affecting nature.

4. In recent times, Vietnamese Buddhism has built many effective environmental protection models and many creative ways of doing things. Effective environmental protection models and good ways of doing things have been implemented by Buddhism. Combining model building and participation in environmental protection is one of the criteria for evaluating, reviewing and recognizing the titles of "Cultural Family", "Cultural Residential Area" to complete the criteria for building new rural areas and civilized urban areas. In particular, these models are suitable for the specific conditions of each locality, bringing practical effects, contributing to creating a strong change in awareness and changing the attitudes, behaviors and habits of dignitaries, monks, Buddhists and people in environmental protection and climate change response. However, the environmental protection models of Vietnamese Buddhism in recent times have been spontaneous and have not had a long-term strategy like Buddhism in some countries and territories in the world.

5. The participation of the VBS in environmental protection is a correct policy and in line with the current international trend. Part of the responsibility in environmental protection activities needs to be shared by Buddhism through the support of mechanisms and policies of the Vietnamese State. Support in mechanisms and policies is the basis for determining the responsibility and measuring the effectiveness of Buddhism's contribution to environmental protection activities. Thereby affirming the direction of " good life, good religion " of Buddhism, innovating the content and methods of operation of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and people's organizations is correct, contributing to the implementation of socio-economic goals; enhancing understanding, solidarity and unity among religions in the great national unity bloc./.

LIST OF SCIENTIFIC WORKS

OF THE AUTHOR'S PUBLISHED RELATED TO THE THESIS

1. Bui Hong Thanh 2018, “ Buddhism participates in environmental protection in some countries in the world today and its significance for Vietnam ”, Journal of Religious Work, No. 10.

2. Bui Hong Thanh 2019, “ Vietnamese Buddhism participates in environmental protection – The case of some pagodas in Hanoi ”, Journal of Political Theory and Science Information, No. 10.

3. Bui Hong Thanh 2019, “ Some issues raised in environmental protection activities of Vietnamese Buddhism” , Journal of Political Theory and Communication, No. 12.

4. Bui Hong Thanh 2020, “ Promoting Buddhist resources in building environmental protection models in our country ”, Journal of Religious Work, No. 11.

5. Bui Hong Thanh 2021, “ Some environmental protection trends of Vietnamese Buddhism in contemporary life ”, Journal of Religious Work, No. 9.

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