Is Colorado Buddhism Green? A Study of the Interaction of Buddhist Practice with Environmental Concerns

<p>The human community is paying more attention to our growing environmental crisis. Religious beliefs are often proposed as effective ways to address environmental ethics. It is often supposed that Buddhism is a "green" religion because of its intimate associations with nature. My research focuses on whether or not Buddhism in Colorado influences Buddhist practitioners' environmental awareness by identifying and evaluating Buddhist ecological attitudes and values. My research questions include: (1) what aspects of Buddhist practice refer to the elements of natural environment, (2) do Buddhist practitioners profess different attitudes and behaviors than non-Buddhist practitioners, and (3) If so, how does Buddhism influence Buddhist practitioners' environmental consciousness? Through a case study of Shambhala Meditation Center in Denver, Colorado, I seek to answer my research questions to understand if Buddhism in Colorado is"green" and how Buddhist practice connects with the natural environment. I also conducted a comparison of environmental attitudes and behaviors between Buddhist practitioners and non-Buddhists to analyze whether (1) Buddhist practitioners have more environmental concerns about the earth, and (2) their daily activities reflect their pro-environmental behaviors.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Year dc:date.available

2015

Author dc:creator

• Liu, Mengye

Contributors dc:contributor

• Richard Clemmer-Smith, Ph.D.
• Erick Gould, Ph.D.
• Alejandro Ceron Valdes

• Buddhism
• Buddhist practice
• Colorado
• Ecology
• Environmental concerns
• Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
• Religion

Statement dc:rights

• <p>Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1080

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:etd-2080