Green Buddhism by Stephanie Kaza

Author:Stephanie Kaza
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shambhala
Published: 2019-03-11T16:00:00+00:00

12

Ethics Matter

Following the Green Practice Path

WITHDRAWING FROM THE PARIS AGREEMENT, CANCELLING clean-water regulations, stalling on clean-energy projects—the recent years under a climate-change-denying political administration have been very discouraging, indeed. Day after day, we seem to hear only about backward steps and policy losses on environmental issues. The more we know about the impacts of climate change and global economic disparities, the more we fear things are going in a terribly wrong direction. As I have spoken with people in my hometown and around the country, I hear these questions over and over: What can one person do? What should I do? What is most critical now? I have been struck by the urgent and widespread need to engage with environmental concerns on a personal and local level. Behind the passion is a deeply felt need to do something right, to find a way to correct course before it is too late. I hear the sorrow for all the thoughtless and heartbreaking damage from our shortsighted actions as humans. I also hear a great well of shame and grief wanting relief from this immense emotional burden.

In the midst of so much concern, many people have taken up what I’ve come to call the green practice path. People are growing their own food, commuting by bike or bus, insulating their homes, and passing along green values to their children. They are joining climate marches and campaigning for green candidates. They are thinking carefully about what matters to them, trying to match their actions to their moral convictions. I believe the green practice path is a reflection of the Dalai Lama’s “ethics for the new millennium,” an ethics built on compassion, restraint, and universal responsibility for the well-being of the Earth.1 Green Buddhist practices are a part of this ethical effort to build a more mindful, stable, sustainable, and peaceful society. This is certainly a tall order, but every action in this direction counts, and all of it helps stem the frightening tide of planetary destruction.

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