Buddhist Environmental Ethics and Detraditionalization: The Case of EcoBuddhism

✍ Scribed by Ian Harris

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1995
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 122 KB
• Volume: 25
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0048-721X
• DOI: 10.1006/reli.1995.0019

✦ Synopsis

EcoBuddhism represents a modern American attempt to articulate an authentically Buddhist response to present environmental problems. This article isolates the basic features of the movement and notes a substantial shift away from traditional Buddhist cosmology. Most notably, ecoBuddhism constructs a picture of the world that is intrinsically teleologic. The factors that have given rise to this reworking of tradition are analysed and the question of authenticity is tested against a variety of critical methodologies. The 'protestant Buddhism' thesis, in particular, is examined and found wanting. The conclusion drawn is that ecoBuddhism should be classed as a form of reflexive apologetics generated primarily by forces originating from within the Buddhist tradition itself. 1995 Academic Press Limited