Green Buddhism

O green world
Don’t desert me now
Bring me back to fallen town
Where someone is still alive

Gorillaz, “Demon Days” (2005)

A while back I talked about the notion of the Eco-Sangha, introduced by our old minister at the local Jodo Shinshu Buddhist temple, Rev. Don Castro. In my recent explorations of Zen, especially Soto Zen, I found this really nice article from the official homepage. The gist of the article reminds me of the old Eco-Sangha, and includes some common-sense environment principles to strive for:

1. Healthy air, water and soil.
2. Green, renewable energy.

But also, the last point quotes some interesting excerpts from both Dogen and Keizan the dual founders of Soto Zen…

Dogen Zenji, the historical founder is quoted as saying:¹

The colors of the mountains and the sound of mountain streams are the voice and embodiment of Shakyamuni Buddha.

source : https://www.sotozen.com/eng/activities/principles/index.html

But the restorer of Soto Zen, Keizan Zenji, is also quoted as saying:

You should not see Shakyamuni Buddha in anything other than nature and living things. Mountains, rivers and all other things in nature may take on various forms, but they are all the embodiment of Shakyamuni Buddha.

source : https://www.sotozen.com/eng/activities/principles/index.html

What I find interesting about both quotes is that they have a common theme of nature embodying the Buddha, but also their similarities toward the Jodo Shinshu attitude of nature and the Buddha. In the case of Jodo Shinshu, they swap Amida Buddha for Shakyamuni Buddha, but as we see in the 2nd chapter of the Lotus Sutra, all Buddhas are of the same quality. It literally doesn’t matter which Buddha you’re talking about in this context, when we see nature, we see the Buddha at work.

Thus, caring for nature is more than just a practical act to save our necks from Climate Change, it is also a matter of piety and goodwill.

Namu Shakamuni Butsu
Namu Amida Butsu

¹ Sadly, the website doesn’t list the textural sources. This is very frustrating when trying to work backwards and find the original Japanese sources, and happens a lot in Western-Buddhist translations. I wish people would be diligent and providing sources where possible for nerds like myself.