Rita Gross, Andrew Olendzki, and Larry Ward explain what karma is, how it works, and why it’s not all bad news. Introduction by David Loy. Many Buddhist teachings seem quite modern in their emphasis on such things as impermanence and interdependence (evolution, ecology), insubstantiality (physics), and the deceptions of language (philosophy). Yet the same cannot be said [...]
Land purchased for “Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center” in Colorado wilderness
Today, a group of Buddhist teachers and practitioners purchased 180 acres of rural Colorado land to start "Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center." The land is a nature preserve that is home to deer, elk, moose, bear, and beaver, and borders Arapahoe National Forest. "It's exciting to me," says director and vice president David Loy. "We now have a center devoted to [...]
Buddhists Must Awaken to the Ecological Crisis
Buddhists, says David Loy, have often been slow to open their eyes to the problem of climate change. He examines key Buddhist teachings to try to understand why. Interest in eco-dharma—the ecological implications of Buddhist teachings—is finally growing after years of apparent indifference and little conversation about it in Buddhist sanghas. The environmental crisis has [...]
You’re invited to sign “A Buddhist Declaration on Climate Change”
In a new post, the One Earth Sangha is inviting visitors to sign a declaration demanding immediate climate action at COP21 (21st Conference of Parties) in Paris at the end of this year. From the post: Together, with over 5000 Buddhist practitioners, and significant leaders such as the Dalai Lama, the Karmarpa, and Thich Nhat Hanh, we are presenting The Time to Act is Now, A [...]
Commentary: Bubbles of Delusion, with Some Sex
David Loy on the denial and rationalization that must also be addressed when discussing sexual abuse by Buddhist teachers. Why do we usually believe something, such as a particular political ideology? Not because that belief system is based on evidence. It’s no coincidence that children normally have political opinions very similar to their parents’. We learn to believe [...]
Catching On: Finding peace in prison
Prisoner Timothy Burke on how Buddhist meditation has been helpful in finding peace -- and deepening his understanding of Christianity. This prison in southwest Ohio is of old design, laid out as one long corridor with housing blocks and secondary annexes attached to its sides. The main hallway, like an artery, feeds the branches: the chow hall, library, medical office, [...]
David R. Loy: “A collective awakening?” (Buddhist reflections on Copenhagen)
Author, Zen Buddhist practitioner/teacher, and professor David R. Loy on how a "new understanding of the self" is what will be required of us in order to turn our planet's climate crisis around. “We need a kind of collective awakening. There are among us men and women who have awakened, but it’s not enough; most people are still sleeping... If we awaken to our true [...]
Opinion: David R. Loy on Barack Obama, “The War President”
"Only a year ago," writes David R. Loy, "Barack Obama looked almost like the political equivalent of Maitreya, the Buddha-to-come. The election of a progressive African-American President seemed little short of miraculous." On December 1 Barack Obama announced that he was expanding the war in Afghanistan by sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, bringing up U.S. troop [...]
Green Dharma
Ecological Intelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy Can Change Everything By Daniel Goleman Broadway Business, 2009; 288 pp., $26.00 (cloth) A Buddhist Response to the Climate Emergency Edited by John Stanley, David Loy, and Gyurme Dorje Wisdom Publications, 2009; 200 pp., $16.95 (paper) At the moment, everyone’s attention seems to be riveted on the [...]
The Suffering System
David Loy looks at how Buddhism can help us to understand and address modern issues such as the war on terrorism, nationalism, and corporate greed. He says many of our social problems can be traced back to a deluded sense of collective self, or group ego, which he calls "wego." To end end suffering, we need to understand and transform the three evils—greed, ill will, and [...]
