Dear all
Hello, and welcome to the Ecodharma Study and Practice Group! It is great to have you here!
On Monday 17 January we will be beginning our study of David Loy’s Ecodharma book. In addition to studying and thinking about the book, I think it would be really good to keep all of our eyes open for articles and mentions of the environment and climate in the media to discuss in this forum. Please feel free to post anything that interests you.
Anyone who has worked in any kind of activism will already know that looking at difficult material, which a lot of environmental science currently is, can be challenging. It is good to be aware of that from the start. Our Zazen practice is a good way of sitting with this but also making sure we take care of ourselves and our emotions. Tonglen is also a good practice at working with suffering and I have used it when thinking about what is happening to parts of the planet.
The Zen Peacemaker Order (https://zenpeacemakers.org/) founded by Roshi Bernie Glassman is a great example of Engaged Buddhism, of which this group intends to be, and they identify three tenets which I think are worth using as the basis of our study and practice here:
1. Not knowing – letting go of preconceived ideas, including thinking that we know how this current environmental and climate crisis will unravel and be, or not be, solved
2. Bearing witness – human beings are one of the few self-conscious species on the planet and we can see what we are doing, even as we might feel powerless to stop it. What we can do, however, is not look away and bear witness. We are not separate from what is happening.
3. Taking action – we are not asking that you chain yourself to a power station or oil rig but all of us can do something such as contacting our political representatives or joining a campaigning organisation such as Greenpeace. There are also many things that can be done in terms of our own homes and communities, what we buy, and how we travel – these may seem insignificant but are all part of moving in the right direction. It is hoped that the study material will motivate you to want to do something and we can talk about idea in the group
The basis of Buddhist reality is interdependence, and this is nowhere more obvious than when we look at how humans are not separate from this planet we inhabit, totally reliant on it for our continued existence and also influencing everything around us by our each and every action. Our towns, cities, villages, houses, apartments and even Zendos are not separate from all that is, even if it can seem like they are.
Be aware also of how we separate wild and tamed, city and countryside, human and animal. Those labels, although useful, also make separation where there is none. Mountains and rivers are none other that the bones of our ancestors and we ourselves are none other than mountains and rivers.
Thank you for joining us on this journey. We very much look forward to sharing what we discover along the way and inspiring each other to engage with what is going on in the world as part of our Zen practice.
Deep bows
Kokuu and Doshin
A few articles by Buddhist/Buddhist friendly authors you might want to look at if you have time which are a balance of optimistic and less optimistic:
Ten Ways to Confront the Climate Crisis Without Losing Hope by Rebecca Solnit
A Practice of the Wild by Jason Wirth which asks the question “What would it look like if we decided to live and act in a manner that future generations would forgive?”
Facing Extinction by Catherine Ingram
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