2023.09.07
2023 LJM Monastic Training Conference: Solving the Ecological Crisis through Spirituality
Our present mission is to establish the University for Life and Peace to preserve the ecosystem and save the Earth. The mission of the Museum of World Religions is to facilitate dialogue that enables one religion to understand others and learn from their respective virtues. The emergence of the Museum of World Religions has fostered mutual appreciation among religions regarding the imperative of harmony and coexistence for the collective benefit of all sentient beings. We now seek to unite various religions in collaborative efforts toward ecological peace.
What constitutes ecology? Ecology encompasses all species, and only when species thrive can humanity flourish. Without their provision of sustenance, how could we survive? When the four seasons maintain their natural order—spring initiating the growth of all life, summer bringing flourish growth, autumn yielding bountiful harvests for gathering and storage, and winter allowing all things to retreat underground in anticipation of the coming of a new cycle—these ecological processes form the foundation that nurtures all existence. However, due to human destruction, polar ice has melted, the distinct climatic patterns of spring, summer, autumn, and winter have vanished, and species have lost their inherent memory and when to grow properly. When this memory becomes disrupted, species face extinction, and with their demise, humanity cannot survive.
What is spiritual ecology? Through our interaction with all living things, we come to understand that every species possesses spirituality and memory, allowing life to flow in an ever-renewing cycle through this spiritual essence. Therefore, spirituality is ecology, and ecology carries spirituality. Since spirituality constitutes ecology, it represents a spiritual memory system wherein each species maintains its functional purpose and intrinsic value for existence.
As monastics serving as guardians of all beings, we must approach our mission through spiritual ecology, protecting the ecosystem to ensure maximum and optimal benefit for all beings. Therefore, we must begin with “respect the intrinsic value of all beings, embrace the space for coexistence, and together build a world of shared fulfillment.” An understanding of ecological value leads to respecting every being's intrinsic value, thereby acknowledging their presence. By embracing the space of their existence where they play their roles in the ecosystem, they can share the sweet fruits with us and other inhabitants. These three principles constitute our methodology for preserving nature.
Therefore, protecting the ecosystem must begin with spirituality—this represents the fundamental approach and the educational mission that the University for Life and Peace aims to deliver: to recognize biodiversity as an interdependent biodiversity characterized by interconnectedness, and mutual support to thrive. This principle defines the path we must now pursue.