Archives

April 2004 Issue

Plowing the Field by Patrick O'Kelley

Welcome to the first issue of Eco Sangha, the Buddhist magazine of ecology. The name, Eco Sangha, that we created for our publication joins two concepts from two of the great cultures of the world, a joining that we hope will engender fresh perspectives for the global Buddhist community.

The Greening of Jodo Shinshu by Rev. Don Castro

The Buddha as “The Great Physician” not only diagnoses our ailments but also compassionately effects a cure. In terms of the ecological vision of our global sickness, the cure is conservation. In this article, Rev. Don Castro suggests ecological equivalents for compassion and wisdom in a new, green Jodo Shinshu..

Fundamental Nature of Buddhist Existence by Ben Shimbo

In this brief article, Ben Shimbo offers a triangle diagram (consisting of Dependent Origination, Conditional Existence, and Impermanence) to expose the reality under which we--as well as all other things in the universe--are known to exist.

A Model Recycling Program by Rev. Don Castro

Rev. Don Castro finds in a passage from Dhammapada Atthakatha what may be the earliest historical record of recycling. When Syamavati, the queen-consort of King Udyana, offers Ananda five hundred garments, Ananda gives the King a meticulous account of how each garment--and every last fiber that the garments replace--will be used.

The Two Buddhas a Poem by Patrick O'Kelley

This short poem offers reflections on, and pays homage to, the great Buddhist statues of Afghanistan that were destroyed under the Taliban regime

Padma Ling and Bhutan by Patrick O'Kelley

In this article, Patrick O’Kelley describes how Lama Inge, the resident Lama at Spokane, Washington’s Padma Ling since 1987, is trying to raise consciousness about the exile and imprisonment of a group of Bhutanese monks, lamas, and lay people. The imprisonment is part of a devastating, government-driven purification plan that is destroying the Buddhist nation’s human ecology.

Indra's Pea Patch by Alix Wilber

In “Indra’s Pea Patch” Alix Wilber sheds light on how to bring Permaculture--short for "Permanent Agriculture"--into a complicated, modern, urban life . At the heart Permaculture philosophy, Wilber shows, lies three principles: Take care of the earth (because all living things have intrinsic worth); Take care of the people; Reinvest all surplus, whether it be information, money, or labor, to support the first two ethics.