Buddhist Images of the Human and the Anthropocene

Humanity’s unprecedented impact on the planet in the Anthropocene has provoked urgent reflection on how we conceive the human place in the world. Dominant modern paradigms tend to cast humans as separate from or superior to nature, leading to a possible estrangement of human society from the wider ecological network in which it is embedded and, in consequence, to phenomena of exploitation, destruction, and loss of meaning. Buddhist philosophy offers an alternative image of the human being as grounded in interdependence, co-emergence, resonance, and compassion, which can critically inform our response to these challenges. This entry explores Buddhist conceptions of the human, from early Theravāda teachings to Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna developments, and considers its implications for an ecological alternative to anthropocentric perspectives. The Buddhist view of being human is profoundly non-essentialist and relational, denying a fixed, separate self and situating humans within a wider web of existence rather than as autonomous and self-defined entities. We will balance perspectives from different traditions across India and East Asia, highlighting points of emphasis relevant to the Anthropocene. The aim is to show how Buddhist thought, both classical and contemporary, can help reconceive the relationship between the human and the non-human in a more sustainable way grounded in psychosomatic praxis.