Photo Ahimsa -Mindful Birdwatching
Photo Ahimsa
By Jim Green
“Do not say that I'll depart tomorrow
because even today I still arrive.
Look at me: I arrive in every second
to be a bud on a spring branch,
to be a tiny bird whose wings are still fragile,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.”
—Thich Nhat Hanh[i], Engaged Buddhist
The alarming threat of ecocide[ii] caused by the loss of bird habitat around the world has motivated us to promote mindful birdwatching, inspiring us to write Photo Ahimsa. We aim to share this book with the Mindful Birding Network, family, friends, and others in our community who are concerned about the alarming destruction of our Avian environment.
This book is collaboratively written by our Green family members—Jim, Dedrie, Peter, Hilda, Emily, Ella, James, and Hugo—under the pseudonym ‘Green Imagery’. Jim provided the text; the other members were active birdwatchers, photographers, editors and hangers-on!
Members of the family have always loved birds; most were never serious birdwatchers but have always tagged along for a walk in the bush, spotting and identifying birds and helping to get good photographs.
Jim was the odd person out. He hunted in his childhood and teenage years, shooting birds in Africa and collecting trophies. His bedroom wall was festooned with colourful, patterned wings of many birds that met their premature end from a lead air rifle pellet. It was a hobby many boys of his age indulged in. There was intense competition among the boys as to who had the most exotic hits. Most boys in Africa in the 1950s and 1960s read books about hunting and played games about shooting animals such as elephants, lions, and gorillas.
Like St. Paul on the Damascus Road, Jim then had an epiphany along the way, converting to collecting trophies by camera. He began capturing images of wildlife, and he left creatures that fly, creep, crawl, walk, and run to continue sharing their lives with others. He became an amateur wildlife photographer after the family migrated to Australia in 1987.
What was behind Jim’s epiphany?
Jim was not averse to hunting birds until he shot a Guinea fowl (fig.1) for dinner in the Eastern Transvaal, just before migrating to Australia. Peter and Hilda tearfully asked, when seeing the lifeless, bloodied bird in his hand, ‘How could you eat such a lovely bird, so inquisitive and smart?’. He vowed never to hunt with a rifle again— ‘It would only be with a camera from now on’, he said.
Now we have albums full of photos that tell stories of wildlife and avian encounters in Africa, Australia and Europe. Nowadays, our cameras accompany us on walks in the countryside and visits to national parks, botanical gardens, and other green spaces. During our walks, we knowingly and unknowingly practise a form of ‘mindful’ birdwatching, called Photo Ahimsa. The only ‘projectiles’ we use are the photons that mark the ‘viscera’ of our cameras.
We coined the word Photo Ahimsa to describe our ‘mindful’ birdwatching practice, which included taking photographs. The popular practice of ‘mindfulness’ means different things to different people. Kabat-Zinn[iii], a professor of psychology, describes the ‘mindfulness’ experience as a ‘richness of present-moment experience…the richness of life itself.’ Mindful birdwatching is that for us—an enriching experience; our lives are enriched in that moment when we connect with avian lives!
The word Ahimsa[iv] in Photo Ahimsa, means ‘non-violence’. Ram Ponnu[v], a Hindu teacher, explains the meaning of the word:
Ahimsa is derived from the Sanskrit verb root san, which means to kill. The form hims means "desirous to kill"; the prefix a- is a negation. So, a-himsa means literally "lacking any desire to kill".
The practice of Ahimsa is non-violence towards all living beings and the environment. It doesn't mean the absence of killing. Nature operates within a lifecycle where predators and prey coexist, with predators killing to survive, not for the sake of killing. As an example, butcherbirds eat lizards, which in turn eat insects that feed on plants that consume other nutrients. The predators and prey kill to live, not for fun or sport.
It's nearly impossible to avoid stepping on ants or flailing at mosquitoes while birdwatching. But let's get this straight: if you're watching a bird to shoot it, you're practising Himsa. Jim knows. He still suffers from a mild form of PTSD when he remembers his bird hunting days.
Taking a photograph of a bird is Photo Ahimsa. This mindful practice requires your full attention and best practice stalking skills, because one false move and that bird will fly.
To read more of this chapter, please see “Books” on our website or connect with us for the author’s contact info.
