Collective Awakening
David Loy, a contemporary Buddhist teacher and ecological thinker, has coined the term “Ecodharma,” which combines ecological concerns (eco) with the teachings of Buddhism and related spiritual traditions (dharma).
He sees our current ecological crisis as humanity’s greatest challenge ever, one that threatens civilization as we know it, and perhaps even our survival as a species. He believes that our current ecological and social crises go far beyond the ordinary personal suffering that Buddhism has typically addressed.
Our traditional Buddhist practice helps us to wake up from our individual delusion that we are a self “inside,” that is separate from a world that is “outside.” Loy encourages us to investigate whether these teachings also apply to group delusions about our collective self: namely, are we a civilization that collectively acts as if we are separate from and above the natural processes of the Earth, or are we an intrinsic part of it?
Since the natural world is unable to protect herself from our formidable destruction and technologies, the ultimate challenge is to recognize our non-separation from the Earth, love it, and be loved by it. In that way we come to embrace our responsibility for the wellbeing of the whole biosphere.
John Seed, an Australian ecological activist, has said that “life-forms do not constitute a pyramid with our species at the apex, but rather a circle where everything is connected to everything else. “ In protecting the rainforest near his home, he said that he was “part of the rainforest defending herself.” In awakening together as Ecosattvas, we become part of the Earth, healing herself.
He sees our current ecological crisis as humanity’s greatest challenge ever, one that threatens civilization as we know it, and perhaps even our survival as a species. He believes that our current ecological and social crises go far beyond the ordinary personal suffering that Buddhism has typically addressed.
Our traditional Buddhist practice helps us to wake up from our individual delusion that we are a self “inside,” that is separate from a world that is “outside.” Loy encourages us to investigate whether these teachings also apply to group delusions about our collective self: namely, are we a civilization that collectively acts as if we are separate from and above the natural processes of the Earth, or are we an intrinsic part of it?
Since the natural world is unable to protect herself from our formidable destruction and technologies, the ultimate challenge is to recognize our non-separation from the Earth, love it, and be loved by it. In that way we come to embrace our responsibility for the wellbeing of the whole biosphere.
John Seed, an Australian ecological activist, has said that “life-forms do not constitute a pyramid with our species at the apex, but rather a circle where everything is connected to everything else. “ In protecting the rainforest near his home, he said that he was “part of the rainforest defending herself.” In awakening together as Ecosattvas, we become part of the Earth, healing herself.