Buddhism, Feminism, and the Environmental Crisis: Acting with Compassion, in Ecofeminism and the Sacred, Ed

Home , Buddhist ethics, Maylie Scott

Kaza, Stephanie. 1993. Buddhism, Feminism, and the Environmental Crisis: Acting with Compassion, in Ecofeminism and the Sacred, ed. Carol Adams, Seattle: Continuum Press, pp. 50-69.

Acting with Compassion

Buddhism, Feminism,and the EnuironmentalCnsts

STEPI.IANIEIGZA

On my altar at home standsa small bronzecasting of Kuan Yin (also known asKannon or Kanzeonin Japan),who sewesto blessmy meditation spaceand daily activity. Her robes are flowing and gracious,and in her hand she holds a vase of healing water. She standsready to receive the suffering of the world with compassionand equanimity.Above the kitchen sink I have a picture of a carvedjade Kuan Yin from China. Sheholds a rabbit on her arm, manifesting the spirit of harmonywith life and all living beings.On my desk, coveringthe bools and papersof my currentwork, is a prayercloth of the GreenTara. She sitson a lotuspetal dais;her aura and soft faceradiate gentle and penetrating power. I begin with Kuan Yin becauseshe representsa feminine gender form of a realized Bodhisattva,known to many people for thousandsof years as the embodimentof compassionfor all beingsin the vast interdependentmutually causalweb. Sometimesdepicted with a thousandarms, Kuan Yin reachesout to offer a thousandtools of compassion-ashovel, a flute, a blanket, a kind word. Kuan Yin is "the Mahayanaarchetype of mutual support, giving life and fulfillment to the Sangha. . . of stonesand clouds,of wild creaturesand forests, of people , . . in the slums and prisons of our cities, not to mention our o\ul

StephanleKaza, Ph.D., M. Div., asistant professor of Environrnental Studies,teaches feminist and environmental ethics at the University of Vermont. She has been a student of Zen Bud- dhism for sixteen years, and has trained with Thich Mat Hanh and Joanna Macy in the arca of cngaged Buddhism and social action. Stephanie has worked with otbers in planning three women and Buddhism conferencesand is the author of a forthcoming book on meditations with trees. 50 ACTINAWTITTCOMPASSION 51 familiesand friends" (Aitken 7986,24-29).In the Tibetantradition, the feminine form of the GreenTara servesas a reminderof the onewho healsby her presence,sendng countless beings. Her greencolor qymbolizesthe capacityto take action;her right hand forms the rnudra,or gestureof callingforth awak- ening,and her left the gestureof refuge(see Blofeld 1978,Willson 1986). As realizedbeings, Kuan Yin and Tara listen to all the cries of the world, not just thoseof people.This meansthey are alsoconcerned with plantsand animals,mountains and valleys,small creaturesand large. The feminine com- passionatepresence has long beenaddressed by Buddhistsof manycultures to relieve human sickness,grief, and poverty of spirit. In the current sweepof environmentaldestruction, it is Kanzeonand Tara who seeand experiencewith us the pain and sufferingof deserts,forests, soils, groundwater, oceans, and skies.They offer a model of radical presencein the world, of no separation betweenthe one who suffen and the one who responds.The callsfor action and healing arise spontaneouslyand naturally out of the cries of death and despair. In this introductory work, I draw on the courageand inspiration of these Bodhisattvas to investigate the role of Buddhist practice and philosophy inforrred by feminist principles in support of work for the environment.As Buddhism and feminism gain strength and momentumin the Western world, the environmentalcrisis looms large on the horizon of our survival. I believe thosetrained in the selfdiscipline,analysis, and reflectiveprocesses of Bud- dhism and feminismhave a powerful contributionto make in addressingthe enormouschallenges of environmentalwork. I encouragemany more women andmen to developthese tools for effective,grounded, sensitive, and nonviolent actionon behalf of the earth. I speakfrom my own perspectiveas a Buddhist,feminist, and environmentalist. I havebeen studying Zen Buddhismfor sixteenyears with Kobun Chino Roshi,practicing at Green Gulch and J*ogr 7,enCenters in California,and servingas chair of the nationalBuddhist Peace Fellowship board. I haveevolved as a feministthrough my mother'sexample as a lawyerfor the poor, through my experienceof power relationsin patriarchalworkplaces and religiouscen- ters,and throughexamination of feministdiscourse in theory philosophy,and morality. I am an environmentalistby profession,with academictraining in both biolory andsocial ethics. I havebeen working in the field of environmental educationand conservation for twentyyears and currently teach Environmental Ethics at the University of Vermont in Burlington. I beginwith principlesheld in commonby Buddhismand feminismthat are relevantto the environmentalcrisis. I then offer examplesof theseprinciples in action,of feministwomen engaged in environmentalwork asBuddhist practice. This explorationis an introductionto a field of integratedperspectives which is just developing.I draw primarily on AmericanBuddhism; the paper shouldnot be construedto be internationallvinclusive.

INTRODqC-NON

When Buddhismarrived in the West, it encounteredcurious and bright mindsofboth sexes,eager for teachingsand spiritualpractices relevant to their 52 srEPttANrEIAzA lives.The searchfor spiritual foundationescalated in the 1960sand 1970sas sensitivemen and womensuffered through the paralyzingnational pain of the civil rights movementand the Vietnam War. Collegestudents and activists scrutinizedsocial values in depth and rejectedmuch of the statusquo paro- chialismthat characterizedAmerican thinking. Spurred by their interestand, in the caseof Tibet, cultural destruction,the most extensivewave of Buddhist teachersarrived in America from Tibet, Japan, Kore4 Thailand, Sri Lanka, andBurma (see Fields l98l). At the sametime, feminismwas blossoming and gaining strength as a social movement.Women were wakingup to the repressedand hidden crueltiesof male dorninationin individual relationshipsas well as socialinstitutions. In consciousness-raisinggroups across the United States,women examined issues of reproductionand health, power and sexualabuse, and outright misogmy. Feministintellectuals took on the challengeof deconstructinggender-biased assumptionsthat underlaythe foundationsof Westernlanguage, politics, psycholory,medicine, law, and philosophy.Feminist Buddhists questioned patriarchal Asian forms and inappropriate teacher-studentconduct (see Boucher 1e8s). Earth Day 1970marked a watershedpoint in public mncern for the environment.Widespread exposure to extensiveenvironmental problems generated a waveof citizen actiongroups and environmentaleducation programs. Activists pointed to the cumulativeexcesses of postwarindustrialization and commer- cialization, along with skyrocketinghuman populations, as pressingthe limits of the planet's carryingcapacity. Doomsday predictions forecast large-scale environmentalcatastrophes long before Chernobyl,Love Canal,or the lossof the Black Forest.Antinuclear activismwas a relativelynew movement struggling againstthe enormousodds of a fearful Cold War nation. In the two decadesbetween Earth Day 1970and Earth Day 1990,Buddhism, feminism,and concernfor the environmentin America grew and changedtre- mendously,reflecting a periodof seriousquestioning ofvalues and socialstruc- tures. The maturation of understandingand insight over these two decades providesa significantsetting for reviewingthe role of Buddhism and feminism in relationshipto the environment.While Beat poetry and fascinationfor Ori- ental culture drew curiousseekers to the few Buddhistteachers of the 1960s and 1970s,twenty years later, there were over 300Buddhist centers across the countryand a dozenmajor Buddhistpublications (see Field 1989;Morreale 1988).In this periodof growth,over twenty women gained recognition as formal Buddhistteachers (see Friedman 1987).In the 1960s,feminism was a little' known word, but by 1990,feminists had establishedhundreds of nonprofit organizationsto supportwomen's issues, from rapehotlines to women'shistory weeks,Retreats and conferencesfor womenBuddhists were regular features on Westernmeditation calendan. By Earth Day 1990,the proliferationof books,graduate prograns' environ- mentalcareers, and by nowwell-established environmental lobbying groups was an indicatorof the all-encompassingscale of the ecologicalsituation. The environmental crisis had grown beyond local, state, national, and international ACTINAWftHCOMPASSION53 I capacity to handle it. Amidst the world context of North-South tension, over 1,500women from 84 countriesstood in solidarity for women'senvironmental needsat the 1991Women's World Congtessfor a Healthy Planet.One after anotherpresented moving testimonies of economicinjustice, forest degradation, loss of soil and farms, and frustration with political sJntemsthat systematically destroyedenvironmental resources.l I believe there is a powerful confluenceof thought, practice, commitment, and communityin the lives of feminist Buddhistsworking for the environment who have lived through this history of startling change.In these two decades, leadershipand participation of womenin Buddhist practicehave paralleled the rise in feminist theory researchand explorationsin conservationbiolory and restorationecologl. A whole new generationofyoung peoplehas been raised in families with feminist and/or Buddhist parentsconcerned about the environment. Feminists,Buddhist women practitioners, and environmentaladvocates are no longer isolated from one anotler. The growh and maturation of these social and religious movementshave come at a time when people are hungry for ethical responseto the environmental problemsthey seearound them. Yet most Americanslack the patience and moral reasoningskills to work through the complexitiesof environmental dilemmas.The discipline of Buddhist practice and the social analysisof feminism now bring a mature penpectiveto the endlesssuffering of the environment and a capacityto live with the tension of unresolvedissues that will take more than severalgenerations to correct.

ET{I/IRONMENTAIIYRELEVANT PRINCIPLES OF BODDHISIVI AND FEMINISII{

The philosophicalprinciples of Buddhism and feminism overlap and com- plementeach other in a numberof areas,mutually supporting an interdependent, qystems-orientedview of the environment.There are also severalareas in which one of theseis underdevelopedin its traditions,practices, or teachings and is enhancedor influencedby exposureto the other. I oufline here six areas of confluence, with some comments on differences that are not yet fully addressed,

Expedentlal l(nowlng In contrast to much of Western philosophyand theologl, Buddhismbegins with the truth of personal experience.Experiential knowing in relationship to spiritual developmentis valued over textual, abstract,or other sourcesof knowing, which are distant from the individual (seeSuzuki 1949,267-313).The early canonsof Buddha's teachingsrepeatedly urged the practitioner to thoroughly study his or her own experienceand mental conditioning in order to break through the limitations of the falsely constructedself. The Buddha insistedhis followersnot take his authority as a final sayon anymatter, but rather sincerely investigatethe teachingsfor themselves.Meditation practicesaim to quiet and stabilizethe mind so it is capableof observingthoughts, sensations, and actions 54 srEPI.ltANIEItAzA in great detail. One's own mind and experienceare the placesin_which one lealns to recogtize the universalnature of suffering (the first of the Four Noble Truths in Buddhism). Experiential knowing is based on embodied mindfulness practices that developawareness of need and greed,the suffering of pleasureand pain, and the impermanentnature of things.The content for this learning is alwaysone's own life. One's spiritual challengeis to investigatein depth the accumulated patterns of responseto phpical, social, mental, and psychologicglstimuli in order to liberate the practitioner from the suffering of unconsciousness.By shining the light of awarenesson the nature of one's own conditioned reality, one finds the freedom to act effectively and skillfully, grounded in thorougb self-knowledge.This experientialknowing or study of self in body, speech,and mind lies at the heart of all traditions of Buddhist teachings.Dogen 7*nit, ninth-centuryJapanese Zen Master, expressedthis:

To study the buddha way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be actualizedby myriad thingp. (Ianahashi1985,70)

Feminism is equally clear on the importance of experiential knowing as a foundation for social action and personal insight. The feminist movementin the United States,as well as in other countries' has consistentlyemphasized psminists tllat women speak their oqrn truths with their own voices. have encouragedwomen to reclaim the stories of their lives and speakwhat they know from direct experience.The personalis recogrrizedas the political, for it is a genuineplace of truth telling. This hasmeant speakingout aboutthe painful sufferingof iexual and environmentalabuse, articulating the power of women's emotioni,and hearing the realitiesof women'sbodies and environmental health concerns.In feministreligious studies in Buddhistand other traditions,women strugglewith the discontinuitybetween personal experience and patriarchal tradiiion, looking for new language,forms, and communitythat matchwomen's religiousexperience (see Plaskow and Christ 1989). Feminisishave validated the important realm of subjectiveknowing, acknowledgingthe inner experienceof selfthat placesthe knowerin an interior aswell asexterior context (Belenky et al. 1986).Subjective knowing in women hasbeen consistentlydenigrated by Westernpatriarchal cultures as self'centered, romantic, and distorted by emotionality. The scientific inqury method, which insistson the necessityof an objectiveperspective, is the extremeoppo- site of subjectiveor interior knowing.It dependscompletely on the assumption that the actor can be separatefrom the object of one's actions (see Harding 1986).This overlooksthe critical discipline of subjectiveknowing that reveals the inner structure and conditioning of the individual mind. 11is this built-in conditioningthat limits accuracyand objectivityin perception.Integrated, experiential knowing,which includesboth objectof knowingand the knowerherself' is necessaryfoi understandingthe complexitiesof tle envircnmentalcrisis.

i I

------* ACTINAWITHCOMPASyON 55 For manywomen, the experienceof knowingin relation to the natural world developsthe mind-body'sresponse to other beingsand to lunar and seasonal cycles, informed by kinesthetic and sensory awareness.Body rhythms and tlrpontts to the earth have long been celebratedin earth-basedspiritual traditionssuch as the Goddesscultures, not necessarilyonly bywomen.Among Buddhistcultures, the Japaneseand othershave cultivated an emotionaland aestheticattitude toward the natural world that representsintimate and prere- flective encounterwith the environment.In the Japaneseview, nature is seen as the realm of "spontaneousbecoming"-a meeting ground for the dynamic unfoldingof penon, tree, rock, and bird (Tellenbachand Kimura 1989'155). The embodied knowing of child and mother can be a model for intimate relationswith the earth (Irvitt 1990).The child in the womb knowsonly mother as earth; it is surroundedby, sustainedby, and conditioned by the mother as context. Likewise,the earth is body to the woman,completely informing' conditioning, and nourishing her life. This metaphor does not imply that women have prefened accessto these truths (the "essentialist" position in feminist philosophy).Rather, embodiedknowing for any personis a direct link to expe' rienceof ielationshipwith the earth.The earth itself can be seenas Buddha's body, supportingall lives, being the Great Life. Embodied knowing is a sourceof confidencefor embodiedspirituality and environmentalpolitical action. The Buddhist and feminist emphasison direct experienceof the environmentis informed by the body as mind, rather than body and mind as separate. Through knowing based on experience, one becomesglounded in actualreality rather than in one'sideas of reality. Through this grounding, the practitioner gains a legitimate voice with which to speak personally and specificallyof environmentalrelationships and how they are ignored,sabotaged, or otherwisedenied.

Exarnlnlng tlp Condltloned t4lnd Centrai to Buddhist philosophy and meditation method is the practice of discriminatingwisdom. This is the detailedstudy of how thingswork-both in externaland internal realities and in the interaction and co-creationofthe two. The purposeis to break through delusionsthat generateand perpetuatea sense of an independent and separatelyexisting self. The discriminating mind can exposeratibnalized actionsand mental-cultural'emotionalhabits that perceive beingsas separateobjects rather than as membersof a web of relationships. tn the contextof the environment,there are at leastthree prevalentpatterns of thoughtthat blockrelational perception (Kaza 1989). One comrnonthought habiti{stereoping of animalsand ecoqlstemsby describingthem in oversim- plified terms. ieople tend to lump the few characteristicsthey know of an Lrganismor plant communityinto a genericrepresentative that doesnot accu' raLry reflecfreality. For example,the genericwhale is playful, altruistic, intel- ligent,large, and gentle-each characteristicfitting one speciesor another,but oot anywherein this combinationin a real whale. Emotional responses to plant""istittg coinmlnities alsolead to undifferentiatedlabeling. Deserts are viewed as wastelands,and all forests are seenas cool, dark places,despite tle many fE

56 STEPIIANIEIAzA differencesin topography,climate, plant and animal inhabitants, and human history. A secondform of objectification is proieAion, in which the mind projects internalized ideas onto favored and unfavored elementsof the environment. By reducingthe reality of a forest to someone'sidea of a forest, the community bicomesobjectified-seen as object with a convenientname and simplified description."Cute" or "nice" animals, such as deer, rabbits, and songbirds, elicit more sympatheticresponses than "mean" animals,Such as coyoteS,spi- ders,and Uats(feUert 1989).Ukewise, good land is land that can be farmed or developed;bad land is what is too steep,dry, or impenetrableto be subdued. A third prevalent thought habit is &nlistic thfu*ing, in which one object oI idea is placed in opposition to another, often with the implication that one has mental po*"r or superiority over the other. Self-other opposition lorms the Lasisfor anthropocentricrelationships with plants and animals,as well as prej- udice and racism.We-they conflicts, expressedin views of the environmentas enemy,share the samemental polarizing structure as mind'body' creator-cre' ated, nature-culture dualisms (see Keen 1986).The mind separatesand dis- tancesone side of the polarity from the other, rather than seeingthe opposites as complementaryand inclusive,each arising in the context of the othel. Feminismhas exposeda particular aspectof conditionedthinking generally overlookedin Buddhism: the influence of gender identity and cultural habits of objectifyingwomen. Many writers havedescribed in depth the suffering that hasresultid irom oppr"ssivedualistic thinking, projection, and stereotypingof women. Ecofeminiif philosopher Karen Wanen suggeststhree features of oppressiveconceptual frameworks that apply both to treatment of women and tlie environment(Warren 1990).The fitst,valw-hierarehicalthinkinS, refers to placingvalue or giving preferenceto what is seenas being of higber status,as bpposia to consideringall things equally.The second,value duali,sms, points to ttrj typicaUyWestern pattern of viewing oppositesas disjunct and exclusive, and ihen assigrringmoral superiority to one-half of the dualism, i.e., male- female, day-night,temperate-tropical, vertebrate-invertebrate. The third fJature is the logic of domination,the argumentthat justffies sub- ordination of one oppositeby the other. To uphold this logic requires consid' erablemental and soCialcooperation with oppressivecultural conditioning.One can seethis logic at work in rationalizing intolerable conditions for laboratory andfactory-farm animals (Kheel 1989). The samedominating, objectifingmind that useswomen for sex objects also justifies the use of land for strip-mining and forests for clear-cutting. Those with international power promote development projectsfor lessindustrialized nations that contribute not only to environment"l degradation,but also to the oppressionand further inpoverishment of women(Shiva 1988). In highly industrializednations, women are subjected to aggressivedomination by powerful market advertisingthat manipulatestheir desiresfor consumerProducts. Both Buddhismand feminismprovide critical tools for examiningdeeply the roots of antirelational thinking that support environmentaldestruction. Both insist on thoroughreview of all aspectsof the conditionedmind that perpetuate ACNNAWTTT]COMPASSION 57 mentaland phpical patternsof domination.However, because Buddhism has been transmitted abnostentirely through patriarchal cultures, its investigation of genderconditioning is underdeveloped.This weakensthe Buddhist argument for ecologicalinterdependence, because it missesthe critical link betweenpat- terns of oppressionof women and the environment. The feminist Buddhist position includesthe connection,observing the nature of mind in women and men that sustainsa separateself, capableof dominating humansand environment.

Tle Truth of Intcnelatcdtteris The fundamental law in Buddhism is the Law of Dependent C-o-Arising: that all eventsand beingsare interdependentand interrelated. The universeis describedas a mutuallycausal web of relationship,each action and individual contributingto the nature of many others (KalupahanaL987,26), The Pali word for this law, Patbca-samuppada,explains the truth in its literal meaning. Paticcameans "gtounded on or on account of'; sarnis "together," anduppada means "arising." Thus the whole phrase can be translated "the being-on- account-of-arising-together."Or in the text,

This being that becomes; from the arising of this, that arises; this not being that becomesnot; from the ceasingof this, that ceases.2

An imagefor this cosmologl is the Jewel Net of Indra, from the Mahayana Buddhisttradition (Cook 1989,213-30). The multidimensionalnet stretches through all space and time, connecting an infinite number of jewels in the universe.Each jewel is infinitelymultifaceted and reflectsevery other jewel in the net. There is nothing outsidethe Net and nothingwhich doesnot rever- berateits presencethroughout the web of relationships. This law is one of the mostobvious connections between Buddhism and the environment.As ecologistspoint out in exampleafter example,ecological sys- temsare connectedthrough water, air, and soil pathways.Impacts of chemical pesticideson agriculturallands carry to adjacentwetlands; industrial carbon emissionsaffect global atmosphericclimate patterns. Interdependenceand interrelationshipare central starting points for ecologicalresearch of foodwebs, nutrient cycles,and forest succession. Indra's Net, however,contains more than the ecologicalsum of biosphere,atmosphere, and lithosphere.The Buddhist principleof interdependenceincludes human thought, perception, and values, and their impactson the ecological-evolutionaryconversation. This critical dif- ferenceis what makesit possibleand necessaryfor peoplein the Net to act ethicallyout of regardfor the other beingsin the Net. In the contextof humanrelationship, feminist ethicist Mary Grey descnlbes the metaphysicof connectednessas "revelatoryparadigrn" and "moral imper- ative."She suggests the ethicsof careand responsibilitynaturally develop from a person's experience"trying to be faithful to relation or connection" (Grey 58 STEprIANIE,CATA 1991,13). A number of feminist ethicists and writers point to mutuality and solidarityas keyvalues for the feministmovement (see Farley 1986; Daly 1989). Thesevalues spring from the needfor sisterbonding as a sourceof strengthin facing the internalizedpain of the victim of sexismand in organizingfor insti- tutional and socialchange. Full mutualityor interdependenceis not possible for one dominatedby the absolutizing,individualist "I." Thus to experiencethe richnessof full mutuality, one must transcendor break through the limitations of the thought habit of individualism reinforced as the dominant ideology in the Westernworld. For tle womanwho has sufferedphysical, economic, psychological, or spiritual oppression,freedom from the rigidity of the fixed "I"/self and releaseinto the web of relationshipsmeans the choiceof manymore nourishingoptions for in a sharedcontext $owth and development.Because this maturationoccurs with othersalso suffering isolation, the feministexperience of interrelatedness is a processof mutual becoming,born out of mutual vulnerability. The joy and satisfactionof this experiencemay then be a foundationfor "passionatecaring for the entiretyof the relationalnenrs" (Grey 1991' 13). Awomanwho uncovers her own capacityfor mutuality can then (and often does) extend her efforts and empathy to the many other women in different cultures and placeswho also suffer from lack of freedom of choice. For both Buddhismand feminism,the core truth of interrelationshipor mutualbecoming is centralto individualliberation or freedomfrom falserei- ficationof an independent"I." FeministBuddhists who understandthis path of liberationcan b! extremelyeffective and compassionateparticipants in the strugglefor environmentalconsciousness. Acting from deep-rootedexperience in thi freedomto chooseoptions other than oppression,they can work crea' tively and skillfully to oPenup environmentalconversations that have been frozen by loss of relationalitY.

EmotlonalEnergg as Source of Heating The Buddhisipracticeof investigatingconditioned body, speech, and mind includesdetailed observation of the nature of emotions.In the Sutra on the Four Establishmentsof Mindfulness,for example,the meditatoris instructed to practiceawareness of pleasant,painful, and neutralfeelings as they arisein thi mind and body. ln ttrictr Nhat Hanh's modern-daycommentary on this Sutra, he suggestsexercises for identifing and acknowledgingfeelings and seeingthe ptrlnicat,physiological, or psychologicalroots of particularfeelings natureof anger,grief, $haiUanh iSSOUl.-nybecoming fully familiarwith the iear, desire,denial, or the blockingof thesefeelings, a practitionergains con- fidencein living throughthe sweepof emotionalresponses that naturallyarise from momentto moment. The first step of healing from the suffering of difficult emotionsis to recognize and fully claim the rich information and energyresponse of the body/ nind. In the investigationand mindfulnesspractice itself, energyis released andbecomes availabie for healingthrough attention and understanding. Rather than suppressingdeep emotions,Buddhist practice can help a person develop ACTINC]WMCOWA,SSION 59 the capacity to consciouslyuse this enersf to reliwe zuffering. Much of the responseto the current environnental crisis is an emotional response,filled with gdef, fear, and angerat the lossand destnrctionof plants, animals,forests, and watersheds.The depth of responsemay be so overwhelmingthat people becomeimmobilized and unableto act. Buddhistpractices to validate and move through thesewaves of emotion can be extreme$ helpful in freeing up energ/ to take action on behalf of the environment(see Nhat Hanh 1990a;Macy 1983, 1s8-61). Western feminists also recognizethe importanceof emotional responsein the processof awakeningto oppression.Most Westernwhite womenhave been conditionednot to expressanger overtly. Strong displaysof empassionedemo- tion have been marginalizedand viewed as unacceptableby the ruling patri- archyand its male model of "cool" and reservedemotions. Anger at sexualand environmentalabuse qualifies as an "outlaw emotion," invalidated by those who wish to avoidhearing other experiences(Jaggar 1985). Feninists, however, are well awarethat powerful social and gender conditioning can only be over- thrown by a strongsurge of energt and desirefor change.Anger is very effective in marshalingthe energt necessaryto dismantlethe stnrcture that perpetrates violence againstwomen and the ernrironment. If one beginswith the fundamentaltnrth of one's own elperience, rccrlgoa' ing that perceptionand conceptionare intimately relate4 it becomesnecessary to know how we feel in order to act morally. As feminist theologian Beverly Harrison asserts,"The failure to live deeply in'our bodies,ourselves' destroys the possibility for moral relations betweenus" (Har:ison 1985,13). For Har- rison, anger is a "feeling-sipal that all is not well in our relation to others or the world around us" (Harrison 1985,14). Powerftrl emotion is a sip of resis- tance to the unsatisfactorymoral quatity of our social and environmentalrelationships.This sigrralis the wake-upcall to look more deeplyinto the situation at hand. Harrison arguesthat the power to respond is the power to create a world of moral relations. This is the work of spiritual and religious practice, the transformativework that can sen'e to slon'environmentaldestruction and heal the woundedbiosphere. The combination of Buddhist mindfulness practice and feminist moral responseis a powerful antidote to widespreaddeqpair and depressionover the possibilityof nuclear annihilslisa, environmentalcatastrophe, or out-of-control corporate greed. This practice does not remove the threats or mitigate the devastatingconsequences of irresponsibleactions, but it doeshelp to generate the tremendo$ energf neededto addressthe complexitiesof the global environmental situation (seeMacy 1983).Anger, despar, or other strong emotions alone are not enoughto stop environmentaltragedy' because they causepolar- ization and defensivereactions thatblockcommunication. Environmental activists alreadyhave a history and bad namein somecircles for misusingemotions in the serviceof battle strategy.Habitual unexaminedanger can harden into ideologl that further erodesopportunities for working together. By otltivating a deeper,more fully informed emotional response,one cultivatesgreater pos- sibilities 161ftsalingtrauformation of relationshipsbetween hunan beinp and the environnenL L 60 STEPI+ANIEIazA -RelatlonalEtldcs of the Law Buddhist ethics are groundedfirrrly in the tnrth and experience are central to or p"p"nJ"ot co-arisilg. sih, or sriqrnes_tor moral action, are vos'sto refrain noCafirt pt""tice in all tr-aditions.fie Three Pure Precepts act out of under- to. trtat igrroreinterdependence, to make an effolt to web'3 standing"rtio*of inteneiationship,-,i to serveall beingFin tle interdepending kill' lie' not steal' not Th" fi"; (fheravada) preso'iptive prgcepts t9 not not possibletoward plant tionsnip."uo,e,"*"tityorintoxicantsspringtonafundamentalrecognitionofrela.one aimsto act t"spe.u.tuy and inclusivelyas "r animal, and human comPanions. Bodhisatffa In tie Mahayanatraditions, the model oI enlightelTent is the in ordei to serve all beings. This is-in contrast to the cycle of endless "ilg"ilttrrio"a* "*e["ringgoal of ichieving liberation to be freed from the beliefs that ron"tiog anirebirths in a hrfran body. Buddhist or other religious from the pr"., on otherworlriliness, or some version of escaping dete- "O*Jg"ry'.it"ipn.sis this world, are not helpful for r-espondingto the escalating this earth ,ior"ioo of the environment.Foreits can only be replantgd hereon The Bodhi. uy oo'"'uno five here, not thosewho havetranscended the world" as a mesns sattvamodel encouragesthe practicesof compassionfor all others can specifically of accomplishinga piofound senseof interrllatedness. One all relations *tti*t" ir.o-Uiani&tt"" or the mind of enligbtenmentthat serves of-- the environment(Ross 1991). to feel fnr experienceoi *.p*ti6" for others' suffering is what .tt-*tt-* species,distressing the connectionswith disturbed ecosptemsand threatened of human rela- * tnry ."y be.asensitivity and moral @ncern for the health clouds, stones, and ti;rbip;fu extend *eU to plan]s, animals, forests, "t that one cannot r.ora pfu.".. Buddhist relationalethics are basedon knon'ing to.live outside the actwithout affecting otner ming Seingsrthat it is impossible is sustainedand *ri, of interconnectedness.ThJb"aniiful Jewel Net of Indra facets ty the quality of moral intention and commitmentto the many setting "nrru*"dof the Net. To act t ooi tni, senseof relatednessis deeply empowering an'- ethical examplefor others to consider' associatedwith dmpassion in western culture, in contrast, is freErently prtfandpowerlessness-anaretegatedtg$edomainofwomen'snurturing researchers rSse;. n westi:r psychologicalyalue-s' feminist iriei" "*u.ining iave challengedthe traditlonal stagei of mrc4 *d psygloJg-grcal-fleloFent 1981)'In this basedon mate socialization,as desiribed by Kohlbeig Qtuhlberg to universalrules .oar1 moral maturity J""riopr through in&easing allegiance wolb in contrasL *-ptinJpfr. of justice and iniividuat rigbts. Carol Gilligan'! is based on maturing ,"gg"ririft"t *6."o r .oral developdent in the West in moral choices ,"froitiu"""ss to relationships and of others 1-nsi{eStion ethic ori- 1982).Kohh.rgr q4g- model.reinforcesan environ:nental idfiltg; an euviron' )t"a"t" rights and justile; 6illigan's alternative model supports mental ethic of care and responsibility' writ- Relational ethics as Jescribedby both Buddhist teachinp and,feminist

"*.igntabobecalledcontextualethics.Acontextualethic,aslusetheterm'

l 7

AC1INQWqTHCO|4P/SSTON 61 reflects both the divenity of human voicesin a given place and time (Warren 1990,139), and the specific emrironmentalrelationships in which the human dilemma is embedded(Cheney 1987). Built into this approachto ethics is the rejection of any single authoritative ethical voice or posited human nature that exists independent of historical context. Abstract individualism is seen as ungroundedand relatively unhelpful in addressingthe tensions of a specific environmentalconfl ict. Environmental moral dilemmasoccur in a web of relationships.Each situation has s unique history basedon very particulat causesand conditions.A contextualethic representsa shift from emphasison rights, rules, and prede- terminedprinciples to a conceptionof ethicsgrounded in specificrelationships. Environnental actions based entirely on rules as moral guidelines inevitably leave out some aqpectof the situation that is not included in the legal frame- work Rules generalize;relationships are infinite and complex A relational ethic calls for compassionfor all the relationshipsinvolved in the situation- parent-chil4 tree-animal, bird-human, soil-rock Relationshipsare not something outside of who we are; they, in tact" defirv who we are to a large extent as moral agentsin a social and historical context. As Warren argues' "Rela- tiOnshipsof humansto the nonhumanenvironment are, in part, constitutiveof what it is to be human' (Warren 1990,143). Relational morality is not simple; it is extremely difficult to make sound environmentaldecisions when relatively little is knovm about ecologicalrela- tionships. The stakes are often very high when tle @nsequencesof human actionsmean the lossof millions of plant and animal lives.Trade-offs in tropical environments,for exanple, are almost a matter of triage today. The practices of compassionand contextual reflection generatea deep appreciation of bio- logical and cultural complexityand of the long-standingties between humans and all other membersof the biofic community. I believe this is an essential foundationfor critically neededreevaluation of what we are doing on the planet and what is ethically acceptableand life-sustaining.

The RoIe of CommtnlW All Buddhisttraditions venerate the three Jewels-the Buddha,Dharma, and Sangba.In environnental terms, the Buddha can be interpreted as all beings who teach, or the teacher within, or tle Buddha as environmental teacher.To seeall bein$ as teachersmeans one can learn from wolf, redwood, buffalo,river, and mountain(see Dogen Zenji 1985,97'127). To seethe Buddha as teacherwithin meansone learns from one's own experiencewith the environment. The Buddha as environnental teacher is the one who points to the truth of interdependenceand co-dependentarising of all life forms. Dharma is the truth of the teachingsin their many forms, perceptions,and experiences.Each plant and animal, as well as human, is an embodimentof evolutionary truth, a testimony to thousandsof years of living more or less successfullyin convenationwith the environment.Each experienceof connection with memben of the environrnentalweb is a taste of the deep truth of the natue of reality as mutually causaland interdependent. 62 SIEPIIANIEIAzA The Third Jewel,the sanSha,is traditionally describedin Buddhist literature asthe monasticcommunity, or thosewho Factice within a retreat setting.Rules for sanghabehavior are extensive,nunbering over 300 in sone traditions, with specifi;des for nuns, often in subordinaterelationship to monls. For most finerican Buddhists,some of theserules are inappropriatebecause of cultural differences,but evenmore, they are not specificto lay or nonmonasticpractice, *li.tt it the prevalent form oi practice in the United States.Deep ecologist Bill Devall proposesthe conceptbf "eco-sangbq"in which peoplepractice with all the nenteis of their bioregion or watershedarea and consciouslyidenti$ with and include the environmentas community (Devall 1990).One then sits in meditation not only with others in the human community,but also with the surroundingoals, maples,ja1n, warblers, anq wildflowers' Feninisiguaahisf Rita dross suggeststhat sanghais the "indispgnslble natrix of spiritual existence"necessary for human liberation (Gross L99t'73)' Sh; ;tid. the historical tendencyin Buddhismto emphasize-tle.lonelypath io freedom, suggestingthat too much alonenessis not a good_thing-,for it is not, in itself, inJtructive in hon' to get along with othe$. Her feminist recqn- r"pto"tirutio" of sangharests on the valuesof community'nurturing commu- oiig;tion, and relatioriships,traditionally cared for by women in many sultues. Wth notheistic Ultinate Other in Buddhismto provide guaranteedrelation- ship to the person experiencingisolation, the]e is no alternativebut to provide relationstripfor one anotler. Shesuggests, "It is necessaryt9 cr9al9 the social' communal,and compassionatematrix of a societyin which tien$|1t and relationship are taken ai categoriesof utmost spiritual importance" (Gross 1991' 78). A. feminist interpretation of sanghavalidates and deepeastle key feminist political and psychologicalvalues of solidarity and mutuality. C-ompanionship and sharedactiuities, including dialogtreon environmentalethics, are then cen- ttJ to spiritual Aevetopmeniand need to be cultivated as prirnary virtues. Women'sfriendships and loue for each other and the mutual gfowth process may Ue threatening and mnfusing to some,because they challengetraditional einics Uaseain inliviAuatism. I believe that the friendship-sanghamodel is a relation- rrerpturand appropriatebasis for refinding and redefiningour !un1n sn$s wittr ptants,animals, and ecologicalcommunities. It is both enjoyableand ,ort"in.blr, and can se*i as a sigrificant counterpoint to the recent history of industrializedattack and plunder.

A FEIT/POSStsLE LIMNANONS

Thesesix areasof philosophicalsimilarity or conpleTlntaritybetween Bud- dhism and feminism offer a solid foundation for a Buddhist feminist approac! to environmentalissues. I believethe environmentalethics generated flom such p*itioo recommendrestraint in human activitiesthat causedestruction and toss" of habitats,species, and emrystens, with the aim of reducingsuffering_ for .aoy totms otiiti. However,foriffective evaluationof thesetwo approaches, it iri".tt..ty to keep in nind the historical traditions and limitations of each ACnNAWIfttcoMPltsSIoN 63 sourcephilosophy. There are severalpotential weaknessesof traditional Bud- dhismtiat may sirve either to limit Buddhistinvolvement with the environment or, through aialogue and activity, may actually help define the evolutionary edgeof American Buddhism.

Egocentisnt-3o6dhist as Cental ConcePt philosophyand religiouspractice emphasjzebreaking through the limited peniective and mnditioning of the small self or human ego, in order to the boundlessinterreiated nature of reality. The route to liberation"rp"tirn& assumes an ovewaluation of self or ego, which distorts perception and perpetuatesself-centeredness. This fundamentalapproach maynot be-asappli- point iabie for marginalizedgroups of people,includingwomen. Te_lchings that to the falsely constructedslpatate ego may be receivedas disconnectedftom for the actual lived experienceof opprlssion, or as a paternalistic strateg/ others experielcing social mes- pacification'sages or assimilation.tFor *omen and that continually devaluethe self, the Buddhist emphasison egolessness person' miy onty serveto further erode the not yet fully formed and validated Practicesthat suppressthe egomay be misinterpretedas a denial of personhood which can be used as a metiod of subjugationand denigrationof marginalized gloups. - in Fiminism has taken a strong position on self-advocacyas a key principle fighting abusivepatterns of soJiit conditioning,whether in malnagg, work, or hialthlnauers. Sefi-advocacyis critical to women speakingup for their rigbts' or their existence,and more humanestandards of behavior.The marginalized oppressedwoman is encouragedto find her_voice,her dreams,her capabilities, t it in""t strength.This is ess-entialspiritual worl! the challengeof distinguish- ing the t ,r" r"[ from the many layersof social and genderpatterns that deny the self. This critique of Buddhismis relevant to environmentalwork in at least two a tendency respects.Oni, in the realmof ecofeministspirituality, there may !e to overemphari4 tht subjectiveexperience of environmentas universal,in the enthusiasmfor a women'snature-based religious practice. However, this may more accuratelyreflect the need to simply establishthe existenceand validity Bud- of women,speisonhood, long overlooked by many religionl, including dhism.I suggestthat Buddhisi feministsseeking ecological spirituality examine aswell the teachinli in depth to recogrize healthy aspectsof self-development asthe blocksto egolessness. plants' Second,,"cognitiott of the full "personhood" or intrinsic existenceof animals,n,ouotiins, and rivers dependson one's capacity to fu-llf recognize guOAhist may be ;r;il; personhood.For the woman student,personhood aisptaceOty ttre UriUiantexperience of boundarylessnessbefore the self is fully and developed.'thisthen diministresthe person'scapacity to deeplyreflect standin solidaritywith the full existenceof anyparticular envir-onmentalother' teflective powel oj calling up the image of Indra's Net, this suggeststhat the of all ,urft:"r*if within tjre Net directly enhanceJthe beauty and perception guides the oiher jewels.It is the quality oi this reflection and existencethat then 64 STEFUANIEIcEA our choice of environmentalactions; an ethic of restraint expressingtespect and appreciationfor the beautyof the other membersof the web is not possible if one doesnot first fully and deeply appreciatethe self.

Power Relatlorc Analgsls The socialconditions of power, status,and privilege critically affect environmental decisions,law and treaty making, and natural resource negotiation. Social aspectsof Buddhist religions are riddled with power relations, as much as any other organizedreligion. The social glue of power roles determinesthe nature of attitudesand actionsof thosein power and thosenot in power. While Buddhistphilosophy clearly includes the relevanttools for examiningthe nature of power relations and the abuseof power, this area of inquiry is not a central emphasisin American practice today. Gender power relations, in particular, are not generallyaddressed, most likely becauseBuddhist philosophyand practice forms havecome through patriarchal cultureswith primarily male teachers and leaders.In many schoolsof Buddhism,there is a strong emphasison practice relationshipswith an authoritative teacher. This can be a relationship of respec! but it can also be a relationship of abuse,where power and status are usedto gain senral accessto women students.s Issuesof power relations have been raised by American feminist Buddhists trying to correct for Asian cultural influence in the historical developmentof Buddhism(see Boucher 1985; Gross 1986; Karabinus 1987). This inquiry into gender conditioning is not widespread and not necessarilywell-received by American Buddhist centersor teachen. By broadeningthe field of inquiry to areasof hidden gender assumptions,feminists challengethe statusof many of the governanceand religious forms transferred to America from Asian patri- archil cultures. Those who hold religious or administrativepower reinforced byWestern male favoritism are generallynot inclined to examinethe language' behavior, and psycholory of gender conditioning despite feminist research showingthe powerful capacity of gender conditioning to infuence all other forms of conditioning. This weaknessin Buddhist philosophyas it has arrived in the Westernworld could have significantdetrimental effects on the evolution of a Buddhist environmental ethic. The truth of interdependence,acknowledgtng the intrinsic value of each member of the web, is just a starting point for investigatingthe nature of specificrelationships. The environmentalcrisis is driven by the com- plexities of power distribution, giving preference and status to some govern' ments,some corporate ventures, some ecosystems, some species, some cultures over others. An effective Buddhist environmentalethic is strengthenedby the dimensionof power analysispresented by feminist theorists.Political, economic, and personalpower can servethe environment,if illuminated by awarenessand social consciousnessof the logic of domination. Without this awareness,the critical role of power can be overlookedby the Buddhist practitioner focusing on the beauty and miracle of interdependence.

Soclal Ethlcs and Engaged. Practlce Buddhist ethics traditionally emphasizebehavior guidelines and liberation for the individual, rather tlan stnrctural changeof social systems.The current AC'IINAWIITTcoMPltsstlN 65 Iiterature 6n luddhism and social changeis somewhatlimited in coveringthe history of mmmitment to socialissues (see Sivaraksa1991, Jones 1989). In @ntrast,Christian socialethics trace their origin to the earlieststories of Jesus' suffering and compassion,developing principles of social justice as central to Christian religious practice. In some cases,Asian Buddhist cultures reinforce the acceptanceof reality to the extreme of passivity.This can make it very diffisult for Buddhist religious or social leadersto advocatesocial change.T Feminism is fundamentallybased in a need, desire, and strong motivation for social change.This drive for changemight be seen as incompatible with Buddhism,presenting possible difficulty in mergingthese two approaches.The urgencyand passionbehind the feminist agendamay seemunmeditative to practicingBuddhists; the passiveacceptance of Buddhist religious culture may seemunmotivated or apatheticto committedfsminists. Yet eachhas something to gain from the other, particularly in developinga strong movementfor envi- ronmentaljustice and a new code of environmentalethics. Social environnental ethics are more than the sum of individual ethical practicesregarding the environment.They are the ethics necessaryfor dealing with the whole gntemic pattern of environmentd destruction,which hasa force and momentumof its own. A religious practice that only advocatesindividual improvement in environmental actions (such as recycling, vegetarianism,or birth control) does not go far enough in investigatingthe roots of socialized environmentaldestruction. The developmentof a social ethic to addressthe scaleof environmentalsystemic disorder requires a motivation to work with the systemas a whole and to uphold standardsfor the sJntemas well as for the individual(see Fourez 1982). In this task,the mmmitmeal qf feminismmay be a useful catalystfor inspiring Buddhist dialogueand activity necessaryto affect the environmentalsituation at any long-ts11116saningfullevel.

EXAMPLESOF BUDDHISTFEMINIST ENVIRONMEMAL WORK

Buddhist feminist activity on behalf of the environmentis not yet very extensive,primarily becausethe numberof peopleself-identified as Buddhist,fem' inist, and environmentalist is not large. However, examplesof their environmentalwork are sigrificant and are servingto inspire others around the world. These examplesreflect primarily American Buddhist concern for the environment,thougb certainly there are women in other countries expressing their feminist and environmentalconcerns through Buddhist practice.

Research and.Tluory TWoexamples of researchcarried out by Buddhistfeminists concerned with the environmentare the Perceptionof Nature Projectundertaken by Chatsu- marn Kabilsinghof Thailandand the comparativeanalysis of Buddhistphilos' ophy and Western systemstheory by Joanna Macy of the United States. Kabilsingh has reviewed the early Buddhist teachingsof the Pali Canon to catalogspecific references to the environment.Under the sponsorshipof the World Wildlife Fund, a number of these teachingstories have been compiled

5 66 STEPIIANIEIq:zA and distributed throughout SoutheastAsia (Kabilsineb 1990; Davies 1987). Many of theseearly discoursescover the central points of Buddhist philosophy with specificreferences to refraining from harming others in the environment and specificallyprotecting trees, rivers, and animalsof the forest. Macy'swork interprets the primary teachingof interrelationship in an environmentalcontext, developing her ideasof "the ecologicalself'based on analysisof the co-arisingof knower and known,body and mind, doer and deed, andself and society(May 1990,1991b, 1991c). Her carefulreview of the nature of causalitylays an important foundation for a Buddhist analpis of environmental power relations.She basesher definition of mutual morality in the dialecticsof personaland social transformation,laying out a Buddhistconstruc- tion of an environmentalphilosophy that is appropriatefor today'sinterdepen- dently created ecological crisis. This work builds on her earlier theoretical writing, in which she developsthe image/essenceof the Perfection of Wisdom as a feminineform, asthe pregnantpoint of potentialaction, light, space,and emptiness,calling this the author of the Tathagatas(Macy L977,3t5-37). Macy'swork is a major theoretical contribution to the evolution of an environmental ethic informed by Buddhist and feminist philosophy.

EnolronmentalActluLcm A secondarena of Buddhistenvironmental activity lies in greenpolitics and activism.The Buddhist PeaceFellowship (BPF) was founded in 1978to bring a Buddhistpenpective to the peaceand environmentalmovements and to raise issuesof socialconcern among Buddhist practitioners. In 1990,Doug Codiga, Margaret Howe, and I initiated a BPF campaignfor environmentalawareness by distributing to Buddhist centersand individualsover three hundred packets of materialsand postersfeaturing the Buddha sitting in peacefirlharmony sur- rounded by tigers, monkeln, tropical birds, and forest vines. The packets includedsuggested educational activities, a bibliographyof readings,chants, and prayers,and ideasfor environmentalizinglocal Buddhistcenters. The BerkeleyBPF chapter has been actively engaged in Buddhistantinuclear environmentalactivism at the localConcord Naval Weapons base.8 For the past five yearsthey have led a half-daysitting meditationon the railroad tracks, blockingthe passageof weaponsout from the base.The protestis nonviolent and nonaggressive;it is meant as a statementof sdtnessand solidarig both with other non-Buddhistactivists and with thosewho sufferfrom the threat or presenceof nuclearweapons in their countries.Feminist and ordainedZen priestMaylie Scott has consistently promoted these sittings, serving as an inspiration to others by the strength of her practice and commitment to social change. Another antinucleareffort, the NuclearGuardianship Project, protests the storageof nuclearwaste underground, where problemsare out of sight and difficultto manage.Joanna Macy, Charlotte Cooke, and others propose instead that wastebe storedabove ground, to be watchedover by "nuclearguardians" in monastery-likesettings (Macy 1991a).This radical solution drawson the Buddhist model of monastic life, where mindfulnessis the central practice, ACTINOWT|HCOMP&SSTON 67 developing consideration and consciousnessfor all beings in the nuclear- affectedweb of life. The guiding ethic for the project reflects a deep senseof relationalitywith beingsof the future who will inherit decayingnuclear isotopes in massivequantities. CharleneSpretnak's work in greenpolitics and spirituality reflect her belief that a spiritualinfrastructure is essentialfor the successfultransformation to a postmoderngreen society (Spretnak 1986, Capra and Spretnak1984). Spretnak drawson her VipassanaBuddhist practice to remain groundedand centered in the middle of inevitable political tension and strategizing.She has worked to incorporateprinciples of feminismand nonviolencein Green Partyplatforms in California. For Spretnalq environmentalactivism is a direct expressionof Buddhist practice, an embodiment of her spiritual commitment to serve all beings. BuddhistsConcerned for Animals (BCA), foundedin 1981,is an example of greenBuddhist politics. This group is committedto stoppingcruelty to animals, especiallyin the use of animals for scientific experimentation(Boucher 1985,288-93). They were instrumentalin pressuringthe University of Califor- nia at Berkeleyto improve their animal researchpractices. As Buddhists,they urge vegetarianeating to protest the inhumane conditions of factory-farmed animals.BCA raisesissues of domination by promoting cruelty-free cosmetics that do not dependon animal testing for safetychecls.

Enulronmenta.IEducatlon Among Buddhist feminists concernedwith the environment, a number of womenare professionalteachers or writers associatedwith academicinstitu- tions or spiritual retreat centers.As faculty in diversedepartments or schools, they are building bridgesbetween traditional subjectareas and current environmentalconcerns. Buddhist feminists Lisa Faithhornand ElizabethRoberts teach Deep Ecologr at California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) and NaropaInstitute, respectively; Joanna Macy teaches systems theory cross-cultural social activism,and spiritual practice in an environmentalcontext at the BerkeleyGraduate Theological Union, aswell as CIIS. I teachenvironmental ethicsin the EnvironmentalStudies program at the Universityof Vermont.For theseeducators, course desigr and content,as well as teachingstyle, reflect a groundingin Buddhistpractice and philosophyand a feministperspective on power and domination.Macy has led the way in working with the blocked energyof despair,gnef, fear, and angerto enablepeople to transformand free this energl for the healing of the world. Her teaching content and style rest solidlyon a feministanalysis of powerand a Buddhistpractice of compassion.e Another group of Buddhistfeminist teachersaddresses environmental issues in retreat or workshopsettings, where spiritual practice is the context for envi- ronmentalunderstanding. For example,Wendy Johnson,head gardenerat Green Gulch Zen Center since 1980,teaches classes in gardeningand tree plantingas mindfulness practice. Green Gulch, awell-established retreat center in central coastalCalifornia, supportsboth a garden and an organicfarm, with over twenty acres in lettuce, potatoes,squash, and other kitchen vegetables. 68 srEFHANrErazA Wendysees tree planting as part of a long-termplan for restorationof the once forestedhillside slopes.Joan Halifax combinesBuddhist mindfulness practice with modern forms of shamanism,to evokeconnection with the natural world (Halifax 1990).Drawing on her backgroundin anthropologl,she leadswork- shopsand trips to sacredsites to inspire spiritual grounding in the power of the earth itself. Severalwriters also contribute to the educationalliterature, offering a Bud- dhist feminist perspectiveon the environment. SusanGriffin's book Wotnan and Natureis an American ecofeministclassic (Griffin 1978).Griffin's Buddhist Vipassanapractice informs her poetry and creative writing, allowing her to e4pressin detail the illusory distinction between mind and body, mind and nature. She wites as a committed feminist, pointing directly and vividly to parallel examplesof oppressionof nature and woman.China Galland'swork on women in wildernesssettings, as well as her investigationof Tara and the Black Madonna,also reflect a seriouscommitment to Tibetan Buddhismand the importanceof women'svoices in reconnectingwith the environment(Gal- land 1990). Some Buddhist environmental education takes place through devotional practicesor ceremonies.At Green Gulch Zen Center,Wendy Johnson and I designeda BuddhistEarth Day ceremonythat includeda morninglecture on the environment, animal memorial service,and taking of the precepts in the presenceof the central oak tree.roWendy and others have also organizeda number of family practice days, in which children participate in harvesting vegetablesand planting trees.Earth Prayersand dedicationshave been col- lectedby ElizabethRoberts and Elias Amidon, subtlyand skillfully reflecting an orientationto Buddhistmindfulness and a senseof the ecologicalself (Rob- ertsand Amidon 1991).Mayumi Oda, Japanese 7nn student,educates by paint- ing largebanners and silk screensof earth bodhisattvassurrounded by garden vegetables.She transforms traditional male figuressuch as Manjusri into female forms,cutting through delusion with spiritedfeminine energr (Oda 1988).Her feminist art has gracedseveral conferences on Women and Buddhism held in the San FranciscoBay area; her drawingsfrequently appear in United States Buddhistpublications. This is only a sampling of examplesof women engagedin environmental work based in Buddhist practice and feminist awareness.Certainly there are other examplesfrom the wider international community.In contrastto so much feminist and environmentalpolitical work" which is combativein the desperate strugglefor women'srights and environmentalsustainability, a Buddhist non- dualist and nonviolent viewpoint can make a very valuable contribution to the healingof the world. Womenwho are strongin their practiceand understanding of Buddhism can bring a powerful intention to the difficult and sometimes overwhelmingwork of taking care of one another and the place where we live.

CONCLqSION

I believe these two streamsof thought and activity-Buddhism and feminism-benefit from the insightsand knowledgeof eachother in a way that can ACNNAWITHCO^a/ASION 69 nourish and sustainthe environment.The confluenceof Buddhist and feminist thought, practice, commitment, and communlty in the 1990s-off. ers_a strong contibution to the healingof environmentalloss and degradation.I opened this discussionin the contextof the spiritual lineageof the femininecompas- sionatepresence and the potentialfor healingshe represents. By acknowledging Kuan Yin and Tara, I a-cknowledgeall those who have drawn courageand inspirationfrom this aspectof their own Buddhanatures in respondingto the seeminglyinsurmountable suffering of the environment. Now perhaps these realizeJteings can be an inspirationand a sourceof guidancein taking care of the planet and each relationship in the complexbiological and geophysical web of Indra's stunningJewel Net.

NOTES

1. For further informationon the Congress,or to obtaina copyof the Women's Action Agenda,contact Women's Environment and DevelopmentOrganization' 845Third Avenue,15th floor, New York, N.Y. 10022. 2. Fromthe Pali canon,Samyutta Nikaya tr.28,65, quotedand interprcted in Kaza(1985). 3.'I wrote this versionof the Three Pure Preceptsfor the 1990Earth Day ceremonyat GreenGulch Zen Center.Much of the text is reprintednthe Buddhist PeaceFellanship Nantslener (Summer 1990)z 32-33. 4. JoannaMacy and John Seedhave developed a ritual council of All Beings, desigrredto draw out theseresponses. Councils have been conducted all over the *orft, in a vridedivenity of setiingS.The form is describedin Seedet al. (1988). 5. For an introductionto theseideas, see McCarthy 1990, with additionalcom' mentsfrom panelmcmber Yvonne Vowels. 6. Seeiurning llheel: Ioumal of theBuddhist Peace Fellowship (Summer 1991): Z2-2g,witharticlJsby JackKornfield and others and the formal statementof ethical Boucher1985' 210-58. -guidelines by SecondGeneration Zen Teachers.See also z. Thir was a key topic at a socialaction training for Asian monls and other Buddhistactivists I conductedwith PaulaGreen in conjunctionwith the Interna' tional Networkof EngagedBuddhists meeting in Bangkok,February 1991. 8. RegularupOatJsbt Berkeley chapter activities regarding the weaponsbase sittingsarJ availa'tlethrough tne Buaaniit peaceFellowship, P.O. Box 4650,Berke- ley,Calif.94704. 9. See,for example,inteliews of JoannaMaq in In4iing Mkd 5(2):1-3 and CatherineIngram,Ii the Footstepsof Gandhi (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1990), 141- 68. 10.Wendy Johnson's Earth Daytallq "sitting on Our Garbage,l'is reprintedin theBuddhisiPeace Fellowship Newsletter (Summer 1990), along with the text of the EarthDay ceremonies.