Usually seen as incompatible, forests and farms are integrated by Buddhist environmental activist... more Usually seen as incompatible, forests and farms are integrated by Buddhist environmental activists in Thailand. Monks engaged in environmental conservation see the conditions of farmers' lives as related to how they treat the forests surrounding their farms. If farmers seek their livelihood through cash-cropping and contract farming, they see the forest as a material resource in terms of land for future farms. This attitude contributes to the rapid deforestation occurring across northern Thailand's mountainous region and a cycle of environmental degradation and economic struggle. Buddhist monks work with non-governmental organizations and sometimes state agents to encourage farmers to shift to integrated agriculture, growing a mix of food crops and raising animals mimicking ecological relations. The monks teach that the forest is part of this ecosystem , as it supplies water and other natural resources and must be protected. This paper examines the work of Phrakhru Somkit Ja...
A Buddhist ecology movements developing in Thailand and other Buddhist nations, addresses local a... more A Buddhist ecology movements developing in Thailand and other Buddhist nations, addresses local and national problems of deforestation and ecological destruction. While this is only one aspect of growing environmentalism in Thailand (Hirsch 1996), the Buddhists involved in ...
This paper begins to build a comparative framework for understanding the intersections and possib... more This paper begins to build a comparative framework for understanding the intersections and possibilities of Buddhism and the environment across sectarian and national borders. Even as groups like the International Network of Engaged Buddhists are attempting to frame a unified Buddhist position on environmental issues, Buddhists in different places are interpreting and adapting Buddhist teachings in ways specific to and meaningful in each society. Can the efforts of Buddhists to develop and implement an environmental ethic or activism in one location be translated into other Buddhist societies? Through two case studies-of the adaptation of a Buddhist environmental training manual in Theravāda Southeast Asia and the use of pilgrimage walks or Dhammayeitra to promote environmental awareness-this paper will critically examine the process involved in translating Buddhist environmentalism across sectarian, social, political, and economic borders.
Usually seen as incompatible, forests and farms are integrated by Buddhist environmental activist... more Usually seen as incompatible, forests and farms are integrated by Buddhist environmental activists in Thailand. Monks engaged in environmental conservation see the conditions of farmers' lives as related to how they treat the forests surrounding their farms. If farmers seek their livelihood through cash-cropping and contract farming, they see the forest as a material resource in terms of land for future farms. This attitude contributes to the rapid deforestation occurring across northern Thailand's mountainous region and a cycle of environmental degradation and economic struggle. Buddhist monks work with non-governmental organizations and sometimes state agents to encourage farmers to shift to integrated agriculture, growing a mix of food crops and raising animals mimicking ecological relations. The monks teach that the forest is part of this ecosystem , as it supplies water and other natural resources and must be protected. This paper examines the work of Phrakhru Somkit Ja...
A Buddhist ecology movements developing in Thailand and other Buddhist nations, addresses local a... more A Buddhist ecology movements developing in Thailand and other Buddhist nations, addresses local and national problems of deforestation and ecological destruction. While this is only one aspect of growing environmentalism in Thailand (Hirsch 1996), the Buddhists involved in ...
This paper begins to build a comparative framework for understanding the intersections and possib... more This paper begins to build a comparative framework for understanding the intersections and possibilities of Buddhism and the environment across sectarian and national borders. Even as groups like the International Network of Engaged Buddhists are attempting to frame a unified Buddhist position on environmental issues, Buddhists in different places are interpreting and adapting Buddhist teachings in ways specific to and meaningful in each society. Can the efforts of Buddhists to develop and implement an environmental ethic or activism in one location be translated into other Buddhist societies? Through two case studies-of the adaptation of a Buddhist environmental training manual in Theravāda Southeast Asia and the use of pilgrimage walks or Dhammayeitra to promote environmental awareness-this paper will critically examine the process involved in translating Buddhist environmentalism across sectarian, social, political, and economic borders.
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Papers by Sue Darlington