Buddhism and Ecology (97 Edition)

Given the challenges of the environmental crisis, Buddhism's teaching of the interrelatedness of all life forms may be critical to the recovery of human reciprocity with nature. In this new work, twenty religionists and environmentalists examine Buddhism's understanding of the intricate web of life. In noting the cultural diversity of Buddhism, they highlight aspects of the tradition which may help formulate an effective environmental ethics, citing examples from both Asia and the United States of socially engaged Buddhist projects to protect the environment. The authors explore theoretical and methodological issues and analyze the prospects and problems of using Buddhism as an environmental resource in both theory and practice. This groundbreaking volume inaugurates a larger series examining the religions of the world and their ecological implications which will shape a new field of study involving religious issues, contemporary environmental ethics, and public policy concerns.

religious issues, contemporary environmental ethics, and public policy concerns.

In this book, twenty religionists and environmentalists examine Buddhism's understanding of the intricate web of life. In noting the cultural diversity of Buddhism, they highlight aspects of the tradition which may help formulate an effective environmental ethics, citing examples from both Asia and the United States of socially engaged Buddhist projects to protect the environment.

Mary Evelyn Tuckeris Professor of Religion, <>Bucknell University.

• Preface Lawrence E. Sullivan
• Series Foreword Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim
• Introduction Duncan Ryuken Williams

Overview: Framing the Issues

• Buddhism and Ecology: Collective Cultural Perceptions Lewis Lancaster

Theravada Buddhism and Ecology: The Case of Thailand

• The Hermeneutics of Buddhist Ecology in Contemporary Thailand: Buddhadasa and Dhammapitaka Donald K. Swearer
• A Theoretical Analysis of the Potential Contribution of the Monastic Community in Promoting a Green Society in Thailand Leslie E. Sponsel and Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel

Mahayana Buddhism and Ecology: The Case of Japan

• The Jeweled Net of Nature Paul O. Ingram
• The Japanese Concept of Nature in Relation to the Environmental Ethics and Conservation Aesthetics of Aldo Leopold Steve Odin
• Voices of Mountains, Trees, and Rivers: Kukai Dogen, and a Deeper Ecology Graham Parkes

Buddhism and Animals: India and Japan

• Animals and Environment in the Buddhist Birth Stories Christopher Key Chapple
• Animal Liberation, Death, and the State: Rites to Release Animals in Medieval Japan Duncan Ryuken Williams

Zen Buddhism: Problems and Prospects

• Mountains and Rivers and the Great Earth: Zen and Ecology Ruben L. F. Habito
• The Precepts and the Environment John Daido Loori

American Buddhism: Creating Ecological Communities

• Great Earth Sangha: Gary Snyder's View of Nature as Community David Landis Barnhill
• American Buddhist Response to the Land: Ecological Practice at Two West Coast Retreat Centers Stephanie Kaza
• The Greening of Zen Mountain Center: A Case Study Jeff Yamauchi

Applications of Buddhist Ecological Worldviews

• Nuclear Ecology and Engaged Buddhism Kenneth Kraft
• Buddhist Resources for Issues of Population, Consumption, and the Environment Rita M. Gross
• Buddhism, Global Ethics, and the Earth Charter Steven C. Rockefeller

Theoretical and Methodological Issues in Buddhism and Ecology

• Is There a Buddhist Philosophy of Nature? Malcolm David Eckel
• Green Buddhism and the Hierarchy of Compassion Alan Sponberg
• Buddhism and the Discourse of Environmental Concern: Some Methodological Problems Considered Ian Harris

• Bibliography on Buddhism and Ecology Duncan Ryuken Williams
• Notes on Contributors
• Index