What Is Dharmaecology?

Dharmaecology is an interweaving of dharma themes from the Buddhist Naturalist tradition and ecology, which I define as natural systems theory. Dharmaecology indicates a strong focus on ecology and climate justice, dharma naturalism, and a systems ecology approach to dharma theory and practice. It’s about connectedness, networks and integration, social, biological and cosmic. What I seek …

Karma and Rebirth as the Evolution of Consciousness

I am beginning to understand that rebirth, the mythical movement of *mind* or consciousness from one body to another, from one life to another, is not literally about an individual's consciousness moving, like a poltergeist, from one body to another, possessing first this body and the next. No, in a more general sense, it's collective …

Buddhist Realism

I'm beginning to think that I'm one of the few Buddhist Realists that I know. It's been over ten years since I started this journey with Buddhism, and I continue to be frustrated with what I see as a lack of rationality and realism among western Buddhist practitioners. I have no trouble finding realism in …

Urban, Secular, Engaged: Cites, Laity and Early Buddhism

The following is the conclusion of a paper, Early Buddhism and the Urban Revolution, by Balkrishna Govind Gokhale, from The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Vol. 5, No. 2 1982. [Editor: The bulk of the article is concerned with enumerating and categorizing all the named places in the early scriptures that the …

The Cosmic Buddha

I've worked through a lot of my doubts and problems with Buddhism in this blog, and yet I'm still a practitioner. (I hope some of you found this useful for your own cosmological quest.) I'm inspired by Matthew Fox's theological expansion of Christianity, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ (1988) in which he describes the …

Dharmaecology as Natural Law

Dharmaecology is first and foremost, Natural Law. To practice Dharmaecology, first we follow the laws of Nature. First, we learn the laws of nature, it's dynamics, systems and evolution, through science. No this is not "scientism." Science is the best approximation we have as an empirical, fact-based system for understanding nature in all its complexity. …

Why Are We Here?

What's the point of existence? What is our purpose in Life? The answer to this question is also going to be in large part a definition of Dharmaecology: we are here because life continuously gives birth to new life. Nature creates intelligence and beauty, sentience, complexity, diversity and adaptability. Nature constantly evolves higher and more …

Nouns vs. Adjectives

[Editor: Rosa Lewis presents yet another way to 'ditch the raft', along the same lines as my previous post, 'The End of Literalism.'] Nouns vs. Adjectives: the Root of All Spiritual Narcissism by Rosa Lewis Please visit Rosa Lewis' website for more great insights. https://rosalewis.co.uk Most of the problems with spirituality can basically be ascribed …

The End of Literalism

I've written several times about 'ditching the raft.' But here I want to expand the notion from specific dharmas to a general approach to dharma. It's about ending literalism, not taking the dharma scriptures literally, that includes core dharmas such as 'emptiness' (shunyata) and 'non-self' (anatman). Western Buddhists easily fall into the trap of scriptural …

At Last-Tantric Theravada

I've found it difficult to write this post because it's all in bits and pieces in my head. But honestly, that's how I have experienced this situation for several years: bits and pieces. However awkward this might sound, I'm ready to make a declaration: I have found a living practice tradition that could be described as …

Ditching the Raft

I've been waiting to write this piece for a long time. [Feb 2021] And I wrote this (apparently) in June 2019, or perhaps much earlier than that. I have re-read it, and I still stand by what it says. However, the difference is that since then I have learned how to work within Buddhist institutions, …