Earth Dharma
In Buddhist philosophy, “Dharma” refers to “the way things are,” the laws of nature and also refers to the collection of Buddhist teachings. Our “Earth Dharma” collection will offer Buddhist teachings on our fundamental relationship to the earth and each other, the Dharma of climate change and new ways to tell our own, collective story.
We begin with the fundamental principle of unbiased loving-kindness, described here in the Metta Sutta:
May all beings be at ease. Whatever living beings there may be,
Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none, the great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
The seen and the unseen,those living near and far away, those born to-be-born–
May all beings be at ease! Let none deceive another, 0r despise any being in any state.
Let none through anger or ill-will wish harm upon another.
Even as a mother protects with her life her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings;
Radiating kindness over the entire world.
Why Bodhisattvas Need to Disrupt the Status Quo
A scientist and Zen activist illuminates the systems of economic and social oppression at the root of the climate crisis and challenges us to stand up and say no to them.
Go DeeperAwakening to the Suffering of Animals
Throughout the pandemic, the slaughterhouse has been a hotbed of virus transmission among its workers. But our compassion can’t stop there. We are called to confront and remedy the horrific treatment of animals raised to feed us.
Go DeeperNo Time to Lose: Listening to Young Voices
Young people are voicing grief about the loss of their world—and organizing to stop it. Kirsten Rudestam, a young dharma teacher herself, asks us to heed their calls.
Go DeeperClimate, Corona, and Collapse
As racial justice protests swell, compounding the COVID-19 crisis that can already feel overwhelming, the Dharma continues to offer perspectives and practices to help us navigate these samsaric waters.
Go DeeperReckoning with Invisible Deities (Part Two)
Lama Willa Miller reflects on how the coronavirus she calls a Dark Goddess has shattered our illusions of separateness in a world where everything leans. “Yours is a long song of interbeing.”
Go DeeperReckoning with Invisible Deities (Part One)
Dharma teacher, author, and activist Thanissara takes us on a shaman’s journey to face the ferocious gaze of the corona god who has emerged from the netherworld and thrown us into the in-between.
Go DeeperWhose Lives Matter?
Workers in any industry ought not be forced to choose between physical and financial health. And within the meat-packing industry, what of the brutal cost to animals of returning this sector to “normal”? Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi examines the layers of perverted value in a recent Trump Administration decision.
Go DeeperThe Great Adaptation
How historic is this current moment of disruption? Will we forever talk about life BCV and ACV—before corona virus and after corona virus? And what does it teach us about climate change?
Go DeeperBefriending Eco-Anxiety (Part Two: Practices)
Kaira Jewel Lingo offers a set of practices to help us cultivate individual calm and support community connection, and encourages us not to give up on our collective capacity to effect social change.
Go DeeperBefriending Eco-Anxiety (Part One)
Mental suffering caused by the climate crisis—or the coronavirus pandemic—calls on us to offer kindness and company. In this article, Kaira Jewel Lingo invites us to transmute the otherwise unbearable.
Go DeeperCatholic-Buddhist Dialogue on Climate Change
In observance of Earth Day’s 50th anniversary, the Parliament of World Religions hosted a conversation featuring Buddhist and Catholic scholars exploring critical questions about spirituality, suffering, and what it means to be human in the age of climate crisis.
Go DeeperThis Earth Day: Our Breath, Our Life, Our World
On the occasion of Earth Day, we offer this reminder to keep our practice simple. Loving-presence has the power to transform our relationship to even the most difficult conditions
Go DeeperThe Spiritual Ecology of Tibetan Nomads: A Photo Essay
Through Diane Barker’s eyes, we get a view of Tibet’s indigenous “people of the solitudes” even as their sacred land undergoes rapid change.
Go DeeperBook Review: Green Buddhism
Stephanie Kaza’s new book combines years of eloquent reflection on the development of ecodharma thought and practice with new ideas for how it can help us in the current climate crisis.
Go DeeperA Task for Mindfulness: Facing Climate Change (Part Two)
The mind faced with difficulty often makes matters worse. In the conclusion of our two-part series, Bhikkhu Anālayo clarifies the role of mindfulness in managing our own potential for harm as we endeavor to respond to the cries of the world.
Go DeeperA Task For Mindfulness: Facing Climate Change (Part One)
Skillfully blending compassion and dispassion, Bhikkhu Anālayo explores early Buddhist texts to discover the fundamental role for mindfulness in meeting even the suffering of global climate crisis in this first of a two-part series.
Go DeeperOn Planetary Hospice and “Too Late”
Some would say that believing the science means admitting that it’s too late, that the only reasonable response is to participate in “planetary hospice.” This zen priest and climate scientist suggests otherwise.
Go DeeperGrowing the Ecological Sangha
Amid growing ecological crises, what was once the province of mystics may be to some degree required for remaining whole, connected and consistently helpful. Here at the end of 2019, we invite you to support the work of One Earth Sangha.
Go DeeperGreen Himalayas and an Eco-Spiritual Future
Buddhistdoor writer Raymond Lam describes a promising initiative that connects inner and outer practices in a region both at the heart of the Buddhadharma and on the front lines of the climate emergency.
Go DeeperLuxurious Lifestyles Are Killing the Earth
With Manjushri’s sword of wisdom, we need not shy away from the connection between extravagant consumption and the climate crisis. In this article, economics scholar Clair Brown links vast wealth inequality with ecological breakdown in the context of dominant culture’s errant values … and then she offers a better Way.
Go DeeperVital Sangha
As climate crisis manifests ever more obviously all around and even within our lives, we offer Danna Faulds’ invitation to remember our dedication to the truth and vital support we can offer one another.
Go DeeperMoving Mindfulness from “Me” to “We”
What was once the providence of the mystics may be required for our survival. Only by knowing deeply what captures and distorts the mind can we replace our collective structures with that which is genuinely supportive, freeing and “sustainable.” Rod Purser’s article gives us an entry way into this critical exploration.
Go DeeperA Buddhist Perspective on Climate Engineering
Climate engineering is now a serious scientific and political conversation. Ven. Bhikkhu Vivekānanda explores the Dharma foundations that can inform our response to this daunting but increasingly real possibility.
Go DeeperThe Power of Two Pennies
Like the Boddhisattva with a thousand hands, Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation’s 10 million members are providing relief to victims of climate disasters and other humanitarian crises around the world. Founder Master Cheng Yen clarifies for all involved, compassion is realized only through action.
Go DeeperLove, the Ultimate Touchstone
Climate science predicts that as temperatures rise, atmospheric stability falters. So with our politics and even sense of person steadiness. Thanissara, invites us to discover the touchstone that can see us through.
Go DeeperLoving the Earth by Loving One Another
Kaira Jewel gives us a lens on the healing that is possible when we see our practice as deeply relational, whether interpersonal, with one another or regarding the rest of nature.
Go DeeperVesak and Climate Crisis at the UN
As part of the United Nation’s observance of the International Day of Vesak, Bhikkhu Bodhi’s keynote speech connected the Buddha’s core teachings to the impending climate crisis.
Go DeeperExtending Our EcoSattva Roots
For many of us in 2018, to track the state of equity, justice, and ecological health has been to feel a trembling resonance with collective suffering. We share here our reflections on 2018 and our ideas for EcoSattva practice in 2019 and beyond.
Go DeeperComes the Night: Gifts and Risks of the Winter Dark
One Earth Sangha’s director takes a moment to reflect on the precious unique gifts offered by our particular orientation within the cosmos.
Go DeeperOf Endings and Risings
In this intensely personal piece, Thanissara reflects on the events of 2018 and the unprecedented challenges to humanity they represent. She invites us to perceive their deep roots in the domination mindset and how we can, out of sheer necessity, respond with a fierce clarity of heart.
Go Deeper
