The image many people in the west have of Buddhist monks is one of contemplation, meditation, and restraint. Yet some monks in Thailand also engage in environmental activism. In response to the negative impacts of rapid economic development and the commercialization of agriculture, they work with rural farmers to find ways to end their debt to multi-national seed companies, reduce clear-cutting the forest to expand their fields, and find ways to produce food more sustainability. One approach the monks use is to adapt rituals to focus on people’s relationship with the forest and water. This talk examines the empirical case of one monk who experiments with different forms of agriculture to minimize space and environmental impact as well as helping farmers create cooperatives for marketing their products. In the process, I explore questions of the relationship between Buddhism and environmentalism and the role of monks in promoting sustainable agriculture.
Bio of the speaker:
Susan Darlington is an anthropologist of religion with a focus on Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia and environmental anthropology. Her research questions examine cultural and spiritual responses to environmental issues. Her book, The Ordination of a Tree: The Thai Buddhist Environmental Movement (SUNY Press 2012), was published in Thai in 2015. Sue received her PhD from the University of Michigan. She currently teaches at and is president of Deep Springs College in California, USA.
Commentators:
Nguyen Nhung Lu, PhD candidate at IKOS; her PhD project is entitled "Engaged Buddhism, Folk Religion, and Environmental Activism in the Mekong Delta".
Lu Chen, PhD candidate at IKOS; her PhD project is entitled "Taking Political Ecology to China: An Ethnographic Study of Social and Political Responses to Climate and Environmental Change in Zhejiang Province".
Organizers:
This workshop is co-organized by Transsustain and Whales of Power.
