Kaza, Stephanie. 1997. American Buddhist Response to the Land: Ecological Practice at Two West Coast Retreat Centers, in Buddhism and Ecology: The Interconnection between Dharma and Deeds, eds. Mary Evelyn Tucker and Duncan Ryuken Williams, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997, pp. 219-248. American Buddhist Responseto the Land: Ecological Practice at Two West Coast Retreat Centersr StephanieKaza From a theoreticalperspective, Buddhist philosophy appears to be highly congruentwith an ecologicalworldview. Respected Buddhist teacherssuch as His Holinessthe Dalai Lama andVietnamese Zen masterThich Nhat Hanh frequentlypoint to the interdependenceof human life and the environment.2American Buddhist scholars, includingmany of thosein this volume,show the basesin text and principle for a Buddhist environmentalphilosophy'3 But how do iheselinks translateinto actualpractice'l Do American Buddhists "walk their talk"? In this articleI look at two AmericanBuddhist centers to assess the extent of ecologicalpractice at an institutionallevel. Retreat centersact as fbcal pointsfor transmittingBuddhist values both to committedBuddhist practitioners and to the visiting public. To the extentthat practiceplaces reinforce ecological caretaking with spiritualprinciples, they provide a foundationfbr moralcommitment to the environment.It is clear to many leading environmental thinkersthat science,technology, and economics alone will not solve the environmentalcrisis.a lnstead, they call for cultural transfor- mation basedon religigus,moral, or spiritual valuesof deep care of and concernfor the earth.How do American Buddhistcenters contributeto this cultural shift? What in their efforts is distinctly Buddhist and what reflectsthe existing culture or reactionto it? Where are the points of tension around ecologicalpractice in Buddhistcenters? And on what institutionalelements do these practicesdepend? 220 Buddhism and Ecologl- This articleis a preliminaryreport of work in progressassessing environmentalpractices at diverseAmerican Buddhist centers in the UnitedStates. The first two centersI havelooked at areGreen Gulch Zen Center,north of San Francisco,and Spirit Rock Meditation Centernear San Rafael, in Marin County,California. Both are rural centersresponsible fbr sizableportions of land. Though each has been establishedrelatively recently,each has made some efTorts towardappropriate land stewardshippractices. I providea brief land history of each center and a comparisonof their similaritiesand differences.lnformation is drawn from center newslettersand journals,site visits,and interviewswith staffmembers. I reviewthe centers'current land practicesin the contextof Gary Snyder'score ethical guidelinesfor reinhabitation.I describesome points of tensionand arenasfor f'urtherethical exploration. Much of what is reportedhere represents a dialogueunfolding. This paperitself may prompt further discussionand commitmenttoward turning the Dharma wheel anotherround. Land Histories Green Gulch Zen Centerlies in a beautiful coastalvalley in the narrow flood plain of Green Gulch Creek,just north of San Francisco.The land extendsalmost to the Pacific Ocean at Muir Beachand is surroundedby the public open spaceof GoldenGate National RecreationArea; nearby lands are protectedby Mount TamalpaisState Park and Marin County WaterDistrict. The valley is f-lankedon the north and south by open, grass-coveredridges; remnantsof redwoodforest understory line the sidecanyons. In the next valley over lies Muir Woods NationalMonument, home to someof the tallestcoast redwoods in the San FranciscoBay area. Green Gulch Farm was purchasedin 1972 from owner and rancher George Wheelwright ten years after San FranciscoZen Centerwas formally incorporated.Bay areaZenstudents had begun sittingwith ShunryuSuzuki Roshi in 1959when he arrivedat Sokoji Templeon Bush Streetin Japantown.By 1966Zen Centerhad becomea stablepractice community and Suzuki Roshi was inter- ested in finding rural land for a retreatcenter. With exuberant fundraisingefforts (including generousrock and roll benefits),in 221 AntericartButldhist Respttnse to theLantl Center'a former hot 1961Zen Centerbought Tassajara Mountain Zen Center moved springsresort in the Eig S" area' Soon after' Street'which Suzuki from Sokoli to a new i"ity facility on Page Zen Centergained named Hoshinji, tseginners'Mind Temple'5 Roshi'sbook' Zen notionutpublicity witi the publicationof 'suzuki EspeBrown's I/re Mind, Beginners'Mincl,and,shortly after' Edward TussaiaraB reutl Bttok.6 in 1971;before his Suzuki ROshi'shealth beganto cleteriorate place'The following deathhe suggestedthe icleaof a farm practice Baker took rhe lead in orchestrating fear his dnZlmo heir Richard which becameGreen 2en Center'spurchase of GreenGulch Farm' had ownedthe-land DragonTempie. George and HopeWheelwright wasbuilt' when Muir for ihirty y"orr, long iefore the ioast highway Georgeraised Beachwas a small village of Portuguesefishermen' prize bulls' To improve cattle there, including award-winning on the hills to pasturagefor his cattlJ, he sprayed2-4D herbicide to producea seriesof limit shrubgrowth. The creekwas channeled bearstracks of cattle reservoirsfor water storage'The land still ditch for much of the trails; the creek passesthiough a concrete stretchthrough the valleY'7 neighboringFranks Comparedwith the woodedside canyons of the San Francisco Valley,Green Gulch was heavily cut over after firs weretransported 1906earthquake. Many redwoodsand Douglas rebuild the city' To out of Big Lagoon Aoct at Muir Beachto help lines of non-native reforestthe lower valley,Wheelwright planted Zen Centerbecame the eucalyptusalong the roacl'When "n,'unt" significantelTorts to GreenGulch land steward,students undertook organicgarden' To build a twenty-acreorganic f'arm and a one-acre of Monterey protectand restorethe land, they plantedwindbreaks fields' Since .ypr"r, and Monterey pine betweenthe agricultural yearly and non-native I'g175tree plantings [uu" b""n carried out culled back' Field invasiveplants (acacia,broom, ivy) have been compost-makingand soils have been improved by large-scale certifledorganic legumecover crops.The farm grows and markets greens'The garden lettuce,squash, pumpkins, potatoes, and kitchen iris' androses' along supportsa varietyof perennialdahlias' Siberian larkspur'and Peruvian with annualssuch as sweetpea' anemone' and nativeplants are lilies. In the greenhousesflowers, vegetables' propagatedfor communityand privategardeners'o -A _______--- 222 Budtlhismantl Ecology Spirit Rock Meditation Center lies in San Geronimo Valley, a connectinglink betweenthe urbancorridor of SanRafael, north of SanFrancisco, and the openspace of point ReyesNational Seashore and SamuelB. Taylor Statepark. The valley is relativelysparsely settled,remaining in rural ranchlanclsand clairy farms. Intensive developmentpressure has been held at bay due to the fiercely protectiveconservation and planning efforts of the san Geronimo valley PlanningGroup. The centeris namedfbr a prominentoutcr'p of rock thoughtto be sacredto the local Miwok tribes.Rising up behind Spirit Rock lie rolling grassyfbothills gracedby scattered coastlive oaks and bay laurels. In the 1960sa numberof westernstudents traveled to Southeast Asia to studyvipassana, or insightmeditation practice. In the 1970s they returnedhome and beganteaching at variousretreat centers. includingNaropa Institute in Boulder,cororado. on the Eastcoast. in 1976 a groupof seniorstudents and teachers led by JackKornf-eld and JosephGoldstein purchased a catholic seminaryin Barre, Massachusetts,and establishedthe Insight Me<iitationSociety as a permanentretreat center. on the west coast, interesttn vipassana practicegrew with the nationalpublication of the Inqttiring Mincl newsletterand an increasingnumber of retreatsat various local centers(including Green Gulch). In 1983a small group of califbr- niansbegan meeting regularly to considerestablishing a retreat centeron the west coast. Three yearslater, Jack Kornf-eldfound a four hundred-acreparcel in San GeronimoValley fbr saleby The Nature Conservancy,which wanted to contributethe purchase moneyto Amazonrain fbrestpreservation. The land seemedideally suitedto their purposes-classes,daylong retreats,staff housing. After extendednegotiations with the lanclownersas well as repre- sentativesof the SanGeronimo valley planningGroup, the dealwas closed.e This land, in contrastto Green Gulch Farm, was undeveloned. with l'ewprevious buildings. ong.ing fundraisinghas generated enough support to build the necessaryinfrastructure for hosting regularretreats. Several temporary trailers were installedin 1990 to housea meditationhall andofrlce. In r995 a dining hall wasbuilt so mealscould be servedon the premises.Future designplans includefour residencehalls for eighty-fourretreatants, a largcr meditationhall to seattwo hundred,staff housingfbr twenty resiclent Americ'an Buddhist Re sPonse the Land 223 staff, a<lditionalparking areas'a family programbuilding, four family apartments,teacher housing, a council Housewith meeting l.o,rlnr,and an adjacenthermitage with eighteenprivate huts, a small meditationhall, and two teacherrooms. In early 1996the plan receivedapproval from Marin county Departmentof Publicworks and all other necessaryofficial agencies.The next building phase is expectedto beginsoon.lo A brief comparisonof thesetwo rural Buddhistcenters shows a numberof strongsimilarities and diffbrencesthat are significantin the evolutionof ecologicalculture and valuesat eachplace. Roth