Outside Resources
Explore the intersection of Dharma and ecology through a wealth of wisdom and practices offered by teachers and sangha leaders. Then tell us what we’ve missed!
Contents
OVERVIEW OF ECOLOGICAL CRISES
BUDDHIST ORGANIZATIONS ATTENDING TO ECOLOGICAL CRISES
INTERFAITH ORGANIZATIONS ATTENDING TO ECOLOGICAL CRISES
BOOKS ON DHARMA AND ECOLOGICAL CRISES
Overview of Ecological Crises
A Primer on the Climate Crisis
Our own primer on ecological crises by One Earth Sangha’s co-founder, Lou Leonard, and friend of One Earth Sangha, Kritee.
Climate Science from Yale Climate Connections
An overview as well as recent updates on the science of climate breakdown.
Planetary Boundaries
Nine processes that regulate the stability and resilience of the Earth system, within which humanity can continue to develop and thrive for generations to come.
Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops
In this series of five short films narrated by Richard Gere we learn why natural warming loops have scientists alarmed.
Climate Justice: Addressing Historic Inequities & Rising Emissions
How does war damage the environment?
Buddhist Organizations Attending to Ecological Crises
Aloka Earth Room
Aloka Earth Room is a contemporary temple-space synthesizing Dharma, ecology and art or yet another window into Buddha-Dharma.
Association of Buddhists for the Environment
Monks from all 23 provinces in Cambodia working to protect the environment in Cambodia.
Awakening For Earth
Located in Boston, Massachusetts, we bring silent sitting and walking meditation to public spaces to raise awareness to the devastating effects of our planetary emergency and the urgent need to take personal and collective action.
Buddhist Global Relief
BGF seeks to raise awareness among Buddhists about the extent of world hunger and to mobilize action that promotes social justice on food-related issues, including climate change, one of the chief threats to the world’s food systems.
Buddhist Peace Fellowship
The Buddhist Peace Fellowship shapes movements for ecological and social justice by sharing spiritual-political practices and resources.
Climate Sangha
Sponsored by the Sacramento Dharma Center (SDC), Climate Sangha is a peer-led community using Buddhist practice to face the future with on-going climate change. It provides a place to discuss hopes and fears openly and address ways to take skillful action.
Dharma Action Network for Climate Engagement (DANCE)
DANCE, an online Earth sangha started by Gaia House England, is a space for connecting to explore the breadth of possible Dharma responses to climate change and related issues.
Dharma Gaia Trust
Australian organization with a mission to nurture awareness of the complementarity of Buddhism and ecology.
Dharma of Trees
The Dharma of Trees is a free eco-chaplaincy service for those who are seeking support in circumstances of eco-grief.
Dharma Teachers International Collaborative on Climate Change
Buddhist teachers seeking to inspire Buddhists and laypeople alike to engage in solutions to the climate crisis by sharing the wisdom found in the Dharma.
Dharma Voices for the Animals
DVA is committed to speaking out when the actions of those in Dharma communities and the policies of Dharma centers lead to animal suffering.
Earth Sangha
Earth Sangha’s mission is ecological restoration as a form of socially engaged Buddhism, in the Washington DC area and on the island of Hispaniola, along the Dominican Republic/Haiti border.
Earth Holder Community
An initiative to bring the teachings and practices of Thích Nhất Hạnh’s Plum Village tradition to the environmental justice movement
European Buddhist Union
Membership of the EBU Ecodharma network is open to all Buddhists who would like to join with us in working for sustainability in Buddhist centres and daily life.
Extinction Rebellion Buddhists UK
XR Buddhists UK are a Buddhist sub-group of Extinction Rebellion who bring together Buddhist practice, faith and philosophy with eco-activism, and follow the principles of the international Extinction Rebellion movement.
Gaia Forest
In the cool uplands of eastern Australia, the Gaia Forest project aims to create a refuge for the cultivation of mindfulness and nature reconnection, for regenerative farming, forest restoration and Deep Ecology.
Global Tree Initiative
Global Tree Initiative is a global community of concerned citizens. They invite you to join in this life-generating activity. Plant your Tree. Grow our Forest. Save their Future.
Green Dragon Earth Initiative (NY)
An ongoing effort by the sangha of the Mountains and Rivers Order to address the individual, institutional, national and global degradation of our planet.
Green Sangha
Green Sangha aims to create a space for the San Francisco Buddhist Center sangha to creatively engage with others around climate change and environmental justice.
Insight Meditation Center (Redwood City, CA) – Earth Care Group
The monthly meetings focus on a set of diverse topics relating to the right actions we can take to mitigate climate change.
International Network of Engaged Buddhists
INEB promotes understanding, cooperation, and networking among inter-Buddhist and inter-religious social action groups.
Joanna Macy Center for Resilience & Regeneration
Naropa University’s Joanna Macy Center seeks to advance Dr. Joanna Macy’s work and vision by empowering present and future generations to build a more resilient world that works for all.
KHORYUG
Established by His Holiness the Karmapa, KHORYUG is a network of Buddhist monasteries and centers in the Himalayas working together on environmental protection of the Himalayan region.
Live to Love
Live to Love International is a secular non-profit serving the people and resources of the Himalayas while improving the quality of life for 1.3 billion people throughout the region.
Mountain Rain Zen Community
MRZC puts out a monthly newsletter with information, links, initiatives, and messages from sangha members who wish to link-up to participate in specific Engaged Buddhist activities.
Nature Sangha
This Insight Meditation Society group explores monthly themes that include nature as Dhamma, practicing in nature, ecological activism, climate grief and more.
Plot to Save the Earth
A Facebook group that is a global Buddhist Eco-Initiative.
Race and Climate Justice Action
RCJA is a Minnesota Zen Meditation Center program emerging from members asking for organized activities to support work for race and climate justice outside the walls of MZMC.
Seattle Insight Meditation Society – Climate Action Group
A working group focused on cultivating deep understanding of and meaningful response to the climate crisis. The group holds monthly meetings and sponsors climate-focused teachings and events in the Seattle Insight sangha.
Silent Rebellion
Whilst it is part of Extinction Rebellion Cambridge (and bound by its non-violent principles), Silent Rebellion are safe, meditative actions supported by Buddhist meditation practitioners. We won’t be deliberately disrupting anyone.
Soka Gakkai
Soka Gakkai is a global community-based Buddhist organization that promotes peace, culture and education centered on respect for the dignity of life. Its members study and put into practice the humanistic philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism.
Tergar Climate Special Interest Group
An online group interested in exploring the relationship between meditation as taught by Mingyur Rinpoche and other teachers, and advocating for climate mitigation and biodiversity.
Touching the Earth Collective
An online community to inspire and engage the warriors of the Touching the Earth Collective to uphold the healthy sustainability of the sacred living environment for all beings.
Touch the Earth Forum
Local Earth sangha in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Triratna Earth Sangha
A group of Triratna Order members, Mitras and Friends worldwide who are deeply concerned about the climate and ecological crises we face and see it as part of their practice to do something about them.
Interfaith Organizations Attending to Ecological Crises
Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC)
ARRCC is a multi-faith, member-based organization of people from around Australia who are committed to taking action on climate change, bringing together representatives from all the major faith traditions.
Faith for the Climate
Faith for the Climate events bring together bishops, rabbis, imams, priests, and individual members or activists from all faiths to provide thought leadership and to help equip faith communities to respond to the crisis of climate change.
Faith in Place
People of diverse faiths and spiritualities leading the environmental movement to create healthy, just, and sustainable communities for all.
Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale
An interfaith project exploring religious worldviews, texts, and ethics to broaden understanding of current environmental concerns and seek comprehensive solutions.
Greater New Orleans Interfaith Climate Coalition
GNOICC begins with the conviction that we are drawn together by a reverence for the sacredness of Nature.
GreenFaith
Inspiring, educating and mobilizing people of diverse religious and spiritual backgrounds globally for environmental action.
Inter-religious Climate and Ecology Network
ICE is a pan-Asia, local-to-local, collaborative network of diverse spiritual communities seeking to share experiences, learning, and wisdom that will build resilience and empowerment in the face of climate change.
Interfaith Environmental Network
People of different faiths in Austin, Texas, USA area come together to claim the common call of environmental stewardship.
Interfaith Moral Action on Climate
Religious and faith-based leaders, groups, and individuals seeking to awaken U.S. leaders to their moral obligation to take urgent action on climate change.
Interfaith Power and Light
The mission of Interfaith Power and Light is to be faithful stewards of Creation by responding to global warming through the promotion of energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy.
Interfaith Rainforest Initiative
The Interfaith Rainforest Initiative brings the commitment, influence and moral authority of religions to efforts to protect the world’s rainforests and the indigenous peoples that serve as their guardians.
Books on Dharma and Ecological Crises
Akuppa. Saving the Earth: A Buddhist View. Windhorse Publications, 2010.
Bhikkhu Anālayo. Mindfully Facing Climate Change. Free PDF or Paperback from BCBS Publications, 2020.
Badiner, Allan Hunt (ed.). Dharma Gaia: A Harvest of Essays in Buddhism and Ecology. Parallax, 1990.
Bauer-Wu, Susan. A Future We Can Love: How We Can Reverse the Climate Crisis with the Power of Our Hearts and Minds. Shambhala Publications, 2023.
Blatte, David. The Vegan Imperative. Pythagorean Publishing, 2021.
Bristow, Jamie, Rosie Bell and Christine Wamsler. Reconnection: Meeting the Climate Crisis Inside Out. Research and policy report. The Mindfulness Initiative and LUCSUS, 2022.
Coleman, Mark. Awake in the Wild. Inner Oceans Publishing, 2006.
Darlington, Susan Marie. The Ordination of a Tree: The Thai Buddhist Environmental Movement. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2012.
Dunne, John D. and Daniel Goleman (eds.). Ecology, Ethics and Interdependence: The Dalai Lama in Conversation with Leading Thinkers on Climate Change. Wisdom Publications, 2018.
Figueres, Christiana and Tom Rivett-Carnac. The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis. Knopf Publishing Group, 2021.
Gottlieb, Roger. Morality and the Environmental Crisis. Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Gottlieb, Roger (ed.). This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature, Environment (rev. ed.). Routledge, 2003. (Large collection of sources from many spiritual traditions.)
Gyatso, Tenzin, HH the Dalai Lama and Michael Buckley (ed.). This Fragile Planet: His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Environment. Sumeru Books, 2021.
Gyatso, Tenzin, HH the Dalai Lama and Franz Alt. Our Only Home – A Climate Appeal to the World. Hanover Press, 2020.
Hinton, David. Wild Mind, Wild Earth: Our Place in the Sixth Extinction. Shambhala Publications, 2022.
Kalmus, Peter. Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution. New Society Publishers, 2017.
Kaza, Stephanie. Green Buddhism: Practice and Compassionate Action in Uncertain Times. Shambhala Publications, 2019.
Kaza, Stephanie. Mindfully Green: A Personal and Spiritual Guide to Whole Earth Thinking. Penguin Random House, 2008.
Kaza, Stephanie and Kenneth Kraft (eds.). Dharma Rain: Sources of Buddhist Environmentalism. Shambhala Publications, 1999.
Keddy, Paul A. Darwin Meets the Buddha. Sumeru Books, 2020.
Lingo, Kaira Jewel. We Were Made for These Times. Parallax Press, 2021.
Loori, John Daido. Teachings of the Earth: Zen and the Environment. Shambhala Publications, 1999.
Loy, David. Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis. Wisdom Publications, 2019.
Macy, Joanna, and Chris Johnstone. Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power (Revised). New World Library, 2022.
Macy, Joanna. World as Lover, World as Self: 30th Anniversary Edition. Parallax Press, 2021.
Macy, Joanna. A Wild Love for the World. Shambhala Publications, 2020.
Macy, Joanna. Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives and World. New Society, 1998.
Murphy, Susan. A Fire Runs through All Things: Zen Koans for Facing the Climate Crisis. Shambhala Publications, 2023.
Murphy, Susan. Minding the Earth, Mending the World: Zen and the Art of Planetary Crisis. Berkeley: Counterpoint, 2014.
Negru, John H. BODHISATTVA 4.0: A Primer for Engaged Buddhists. Sumeru Press Inc., 2019.
Nhất Hạnh, Thích. Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet. Harper Collins Publishers, 2021.
Nhất Hạnh, Thích. Love Letter to the Earth. Parallax Press, 2013.
Nhất Hạnh, Thích, The World We Have. Parallax Press, 2008.
Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The 17th Karmapa. Interconnected: Embracing Life in Our Global Society. Wisdom Publications, 2017.
Ogyen Trinley Dorje, The 17th Karmapa. Environmental Guidelines for Karma Kagyu Buddhist Monasteries, Centres and Community. WWF, 2008.
Ray, Sarah Jaquette. A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet. University of California Press, 2020.
Sivaraksa, Sulak. The Wisdom of Sustainability: Buddhist Economics for the 21st Century. Koa Books, 2016.
Snyder, Gary. The Practice of the Wild. North Point Press, 1990.
Stanley, John, David R. Loy, and Gyurme Dorje (eds.). A Buddhist Response to the Climate Emergency. Wisdom Publications, 2009.
Sucitto, Ajahn. Buddha-Nature, Human Nature. Amaravati Publications, 2019.
Thanissara. Time to Stand Up: An Engaged Buddhist Manifesto for Our Earth — The Buddha’s Life and Message through Feminine Eyes. North Atlantic Books, 2015.
Tucker, Mary Evelyn and Duncan Ryūken Williams (eds.). Buddhism and Ecology: The Interconnection of Dharma and Deeds. Harvard University Press, 1998.
Vaughn-Lee, Llewellyn (ed.). Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth. Golden Sufi Center, 2013.
Wirth, Jason M. Mountains, Rivers, and the Great Earth, Reading Gary Snyder and Dōgen in an Age of Ecological Crisis. Suny Press, 2017.
Wray, Britt. Generation Dread. Penguin Random House, 2022.
What’d We Miss?
Did we miss something at the intersection of Buddhism and ecological crisis? Let us know! When sharing ideas, please note that we will not add entries for resources that do not pertain in some way to the Buddhist or interfaith responses to the ecological issues nor will we add references to for-profit businesses.