What Is Dharmaecology?

Dharmaecology is an interweaving of dharma themes from the Buddhist 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. It is neither 'religious' nor 'spiritual', and operates …

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Touching the Earth Ritual

Home › Mindfulness Practice › Touching the Earth-Plum Village Touching the Earth The practice of “Touching the Earth,” also known as bowing deeply or prostrating, helps us return to the Earth and to our roots, and to recognize that we are not alone but connected to a whole stream of spiritual and blood ancestors. We …

Enthralled: The Guru Cult of Tibetan Buddhism

I'm intrigued by this book, Enthralled:The Guru Cult of Tibetan Buddhism, by Christine Chandler. She offers a deep look inside tantric Tibetan Buddhism and reveals what she believes to be a world-wide cult led by Tibetan lamas and gurus with ambitions to use mind control as a means to gain control over Westerners, and replace …

Truing the Wheel

I came across an excellent teaching on everyone's favorite topic, 'dukkha' by Prof. John Vervaeke. He explained that the etymology of the word 'dukkha' refers to a wheel that spins off-center from it's axis. He explained that when a wheel wobbles off its axis, the friction around the hub destroys the very structure of the …

Dharmaecology: A New Path

Update: I've decided that I have to forge my own spiritual path. I have been deeply influenced by Buddhism, and generally its been a very good influence. But I've been moving toward forging my own path for several years already. I practice Engaged Buddhist Naturalism, which I now call Dharmaecology, and there is no group …

Staying Connected

Today I led a discussion with Trash Community on ‘Ditching the Raft’ (MN 22), i.e. letting go of Buddhist dharma when we no longer need it, especially when modern science does a better job of explaining things than ancient Buddhists texts do. Evolution, modern psychology, quantum field theory, social science, ecology and systems theory all …

Jati, Rebirth and the Caste System

I've been reading that the word 'Jati', which is what is used in the Pali scriptures to mean 'birth' is wrongly translated as 'rebirth'. As Thanissaro explains, there is no word for 'rebirth' in the Pali scriptures. It's just 'Jati', 'birth' and that's it. According to Nanavira Thera, the actual Pali word for ‘rebirth’ is …

Ambedkar and the Navayana

I’ve decided that I could tolerate calling myself an Ambedkar Buddhist, following his Navayana. I've read Ambedkar's The Buddha and His Dhamma, but it's really hard to pin down exactly what Ambedkar believed and taught about Buddhism. The best summary I have found so far is the Wikipedia entry for 'Navayana.' It's even harder to …