Buddhism and Ecology

by Tucker, Mary Evelyn; Williams, Duncan Ryuken

• ISBN13: 9780945454144
• ISBN10: 0945454147
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-01-15
• Publisher: Harvard Univ Ctr for the

Summary

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.

Table of Contents

Preface
Series Foreword
Introduction
Overview: Framing the Issues
Buddhism and Ecology: Collective Cultural Perceptions	p. 3
Theravada Buddhism and Ecology: The Case of Thailand
The Hermeneutics of Buddhist Ecology in Contemporary Thailand: Buddhadasa and Dhammapitaka	p. 21
A Theoretical Analysis of the Potential Contribution of the Monastic Community in Promoting a Green Society in Thailand	p. 45
Mahayana Buddhism and Ecology: The Case of Japan
The Jeweled Net of Nature	p. 71
The Japanese Concept of Nature in Relation to the Environmental Ethics and Conservation Aesthetics of Aldo Leopold	p. 89
Voices of Mountains, Trees, and Rivers: Kukai, Dogen, and a Deeper Ecology	p. 111
Buddhism and Animals: Indian and Japan
Animals and Environment in the Buddhist Birth Stories	p. 131
Animal Liberation, Death, and the State: Rites to Release Animals in Medieval Japan	p. 149
Zen Buddhism: Problems and Prospects
Mountains and Rivers and the Great Earth: Zen and Ecology	p. 165
The Precepts and the Environment	p. 177
American Buddhism: Creating Ecological Communities
Great Earth Sangha: Gary Snyder's View of Nature as Community	p. 187
American Buddhist Response to the Land: Ecological Practice at Two West Coast Retreat Centers	p. 219
The Greening of Zen Mountain Center: A Case Study	p. 249
Applications of Buddhist Ecological Worldviews
Nuclear Ecology and Engaged Buddhism	p. 269
Buddhist Resources for Issues of Population, Consumption, and the Environment	p. 291
Buddhism, Global Ethics, and the Earth Charter	p. 313
Theoretical and Methodological Issues in Buddhism and Ecology
Is There a Buddhist Philosophy of Nature?	p. 327
Green Buddhism and the Hierarchy of Compassion	p. 351
Buddhism and the Discourse of Environmental Concern: Some Methodological Problems Considered	p. 377
Bibliography on Buddhism and Ecology	p. 403
Notes on Contributors	p. 427
Index	p. 433
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.