EVST 594 Spring 1997
Instructor: Fred Allendorf
Division of Biological Sciences
HS301, 243-5503
Scheduled Class Meetings: Tuesday, 3:40 - 5:00, LA 138
Thursday, 3:40 - 5:00, LA 138
Synopsis:
Ecology and Buddhism share a common primary theme of connections and interdependence among all living creatures. All species are connected by their evolutionary ancestry and ecological processes. The objective of this course is nothing less than the recognition of the unity of all life, the unshakable conviction that everything is intrinsically one. This principle is expressed below by the founding ecologist of the modern conservation movement and the founding monk of Zen Buddhism in Japan:
Aldo Leopold
To study the self is to forget the self.
To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things.
To be enlightened by all things is to remove the
Dogen
Description:
The recognition of the interdependence of all life is, in a sense, the end product of the scientific process to gain knowledge of the world. That is, science is a way of knowing. However, knowing intellectually that we are interdependent with other species is not enough to change our behavior. Buddhism is a process in which this intellectual knowledge is a starting point to lead to deep understanding and transform behavior. Buddhism works towards this realization that self and world are not separate through meditation and the cultivation of mindfulness.
This course will be organized by a "learning community" philosophy of education. We will all learn from each other's unique perspectives and experiences during the semester. Your attendance and active involvement throughout the semester is essential. Your absence from class affects everyone in the class. Therefore, you must tell me before class if you will not be attending a particular day.
We will have a different set of readings assigned for each week throughout the semester. In class on Tuesday, I will present a commentary on these readings and answer any questions on the readings. Class time on Thursday will be spent in an open discussion of the topic for the week. The participation of everyone in these discussions is important for the class to be successful.
I am also arranging for several guests to meet with us throughout the semester. To gain greater benefit from these guests, we may arrange some activities out of normal class time (e.g., in the evenings and on Saturdays). These meetings will be optional because I understand that we all have other obligations.
Evaluation:
Grades in this class will be based on the following:
(1) Class attendance and participation. You must complete the reading for the week or our discussions will not succeed! In addition, you must tell me before if you are not able to attend a particular class meeting. (40%)
(2) Three assignments each will require a short paper or some form of a hard-copy and in class discussion.
(20% each)
SYLLABUS
I. Introduction to the Course
Why? / What? / How?
II. Buddhism
All systems of thought are guiding means;
they are not absolute truth.
Impermanence
Interdependence (absence of a separate-self)
Karma (cause and effect)
Four noble truths
Eight-fold path
Meditation and mindfulness
Precepts
III. Buddhist Views of Nature
Interbeing
Identity (non-duality)
Relationships, not parcels of matter
Net of Indra
IV. Western Views of Nature: Our Roots
Technology and science
Humans and nature
Francis of Assisi
V. Ecology, Evolution, and Buddhism
Buddhism and the practice of science
Biophilia
VI. Living as if Nature Mattered
Society and Buddhism
Deep ecology
Transforming our daily behavior
Books:
The Sun My Heart. Thich Nhat Hanh. 1988. Parallax Press, Berkeley, CA.
What the Buddha Taught. W. Rahula. 1959. Grove Weidenfeld, New York.
Biophilia. E.O. Wilson. 1984. Harvard University Press.
Faculty Pack Articles:
Allendorf, F.W., and B.A. Byers. Submitted. Salmon in the net
Barash, D.P. 1973. The ecologist as Zen master. American
Berry, W. 1993. Christianity and the survival of creation.
Burnett, G. 1994. Spiritual footing for environmentalists. Pp.
Byers, B.A. 1992. Deep ecology and its critics. Trumpeter
Claxton, G. 1994. Involuntary simplicity: Changing
Cook, F.H. 1977. The jewel net of Indra. Chapter 1, pp. 1-19 in
Graef, S. 1990. The foundations of ecology in Zen Buddhism.
Keller, E.F. 1983. A feeling for the organism. Chapter 12,
Work of Barbara McClintock. W.H. Freeman and Co., NY. 235 pp.
Leopold, A. 1989. The land ethic. Pp. 201-227 in A Sand County
Meffe, G.K., and C.R. Carroll. 1994. Conservation values and
Motoka, T. 1989. Sushi science and hamburger science.
Rolston, H. III. 1989. Respect for life: Can Zen Buddhism help
Schumacher, E.F. 1973. Buddhist economics. Chapter 4, pp.
White, L. Jr. 1967. The historical roots of our ecologic crisis. Science 155:1203-1207.
Windle, P. 1992. The ecology of grief. BioScience 42:363-366.
ECOLOGY & BUDDHISM Spring 1997
EVST 594
DEEP EVOLUTION - Assignment 1
When did your life begin? We usually begin counting our "age" on the day we were born, but we existed as fetuses up to nine months before our birth. Perhaps our life began at the moment the sperm from our father and the egg from our mother united. However, at this time, our mother's egg had not yet completed the meiotic division that eventually produced the chromosomes our mother contributed to our genome. Moreover, the egg and the sperm that joined to form our zygote were already alive. Our life did not begin at fertilization; it was passed to us from our parents. This transmission of life from generation to generation has been going on for eons, since the beginning of life on Earth some 4 billion years ago.
Humans are fascinated by genealogy. We probably all know someone in our family who has reconstructed our family tree. I would guess that most of us at sometime in our lives traced our ancestry back at least a few generations. The object of this exercise is for us to experience the concept of "non-self" in time by tracing our ancestry in evolutionary time. Contemplate and describe your ancestors at the following points in time before the present:
10 years
100 years
1,000 years
10,000 years
100,000 years
1,000,000 years
10,000,000 years
100,000,000 years
1,000,000,000 years
10,000,000,000 years
Ten years ago your living ancestors probably consisted of your parents and perhaps some of your grandparents. One hundred years was several generations ago. How many of your ancestors were alive at that time? How many ancestors did you have 1,000 years ago? One thousand years is approximately 30-40 generations. The number of our ancestors in our pedigree doubles each generation; thirty generations ago we had 230, or approximately one billion ancestors! This is a rather surprising result considering that the total human population of the Earth one thousand years ago is estimated to be approximately 300 million.
Keep going: 10,000 years (the beginnings of civilization); 100,000 years (the beginnings of Homo sapiens). Well, you get the idea. If you are not familiar with evolutionary history, you should consult with an appropriate source (see attached summary).
In addition, I would like you to make some "hard copy" representation of your experience. In most cases, this hard copy will take the form of paper, but feel free as to the format. The hard copy could take some other form if you desire (e.g., a series of drawings).
This exercise occurred to me while sitting quietly on a backpacking trip in Jewel Basin. While tracing my own ancestry, I could almost see the DNA sequences changing over time.
ECOLOGY & BUDDHISM Spring 1997
EVST 594
INTERCONNECTIONS - Assignment 2
Buddhist environmental ethics are based upon the concept of dependent arising:
Dependent arising --> Emptiness --> Inter-relatedness --> Compassion
This recognition of interconnectedness, or non-self in space, leads to the conclusion that "what we do to the natural world we ultimately do to ourselves". We, therefore, should have compassion for all beings.
The articles that we have read discuss evidence from ecology and evolution of the interdependence of ecological communities. We also have discussed the Net of Indra metaphor for the interdependent structure of reality in class. We have compared this approach to Thich Nhat Hanh's concept of interbeing and his example of looking deeply into a single piece of paper and seeing the presence of the whole universe.
Our society is in the midst of great conflict over the proper relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world. There appears to be little common ground between those who view the natural world as multiple resources to be used by humans (e.g., People First) and those who view humans as an interdependent part of the natural world (e.g., Earth First).
It is easy for people involved on both sides of this dispute to see this dichotomy as "us versus them" or "good versus bad". However, it is important to recognize that from a Buddhist perspective those who take positions that will result in great environmental harm do not do so because they are bad or evil persons. Rather, their actions result from ignorance and false views, and, we must love them as we love all beings.
Pick someone who you find especially disturbing because they represent a particularly misdirected or vocal anti-environmental group or ethic. This person may either be a national or local personality (e.g., Rush Limbaugh or Conrad Burns) or a personal acquaintance of yours. Practice loving kindness or mett~ bh~van~ meditation directed at this person. Thich Nhat Hanh recommends envisioning the person upon whom we are developing loving kindness as a five year old child.
Contemplate the image of the person you have chosen. Regard the features you regard most disturbing or repulsive. Try to examine what makes this person happy and what causes suffering in his or her daily life. Contemplate the person's perceptions; try to see what patterns of thought and reason the person follows. Examine what motivates this person's hopes and actions. Finally, consider the person's consciousness. See whether his or her views are open and free or not, and whether or not he or her has been influenced by any prejudices, narrow-mindedness, hatred, or anger. Continue until you feel "compassion rise in your heart like a well filling with fresh water and your anger and resentment disappear". Practice this exercise many times on this person. Love is understanding:
Thich Nhat Hanh
Your assignment is a letter to this person in which you try to explain that we cannot separate ourselves from others or the world around us (non-self in space). (It is not part of this assignment to actually send the letter that you write.) We are all part of each other; when we hurt the environment we also hurt ourselves. Help this person to understand the principles of Buddhist environmental ethics.
This assignment has many objectives. One is for us to try to deeply understand and explain the Buddhist concept of non-self and the environmental ethics that arise from that understanding. Another objective is to reduce the anger, frustration, and hatred that we have in ourselves. "When we have peace and joy in ourselves, our peace and joy vibrate throughout the cosmos. So when we have hatred and anger in ourselves, they too will rebound to all quarters." Finally, this is an exercise in environmental activism. We need to learn how to communicate with others in a way that will be effective. The way we speak and the kind of language we use should not alienate people, but rather should encourage them to listen and understand what we are saying.
ECOLOGY & BUDDHISM Spring 1997
EVST 594
COUNCIL OF ALL BEINGS - Assignment 3
I am lichen. I turn rock into soil. I worked as the glaciers retreated, as other life-forms came and went. I thought nothing could stop me...until now. Now I am being poisoned by acid rain.
Your pesticides are in me now. The eggshells are so fragile they break under my weight, break before my young are ready to hatch.
Listen humans. I am racoon, I speak for the racoon people. See my hand? It is like yours. On soft ground you see its imprint, and know I've passed. What marks on the world are you leaving behind you?
We have spent much of this class recognizing and understanding the Buddhist principle of non-self (emptiness). Assignment 1 was an exercise in non-self in time, and Assignment 2 was an exercise of non-self in space. In this assignment, we will shake off our human identity and imaginatively enter the experience of another life form. This assignment has been modified from a ritual described in Thinking Like a Mountain: Towards a Council of All Beings by John Seed, Joanna Macy, Pat Fleming, and Arne Naess (New Society Publishers, 1988) and World as Lover, World as Self by Joanna Macy (Parallax Press, 1991).
The first step in this assignment is to choose -- or let yourself be chosen -- another species. Let another life-form occur to you during meditation. Don't try to make it happen. Just relax and let yourself be chosen by the life-form that wishes to speak through you. It could be a plant or animal, or even an environmental feature like a piece of land or a body of water. It is not a question of selecting a species you know a lot about, but rather allowing yourself to be surprised.
Next, become your chosen life-form. Meditate on how it feels to be your life-form. Enter it, sensing its body from within. Do an evolutionary meditation for your life-form analogous to the one we did for ourselves as humans in Assignment 1. Imagine how the effects of humans in the world today are affecting your life and the chances of survival for your species. It may be helpful to consult appropriate sources that provide information about your life-form.
The beings who coexist with us in the web of life are deeply affected by our actions, yet they have no voice in our deliberations and plans. Come to class during the Final period prepared to speak for your life form. You will first be asked to introduce yourself and express how it feels to be who you are. Then we each will tell how life has changed for us under the present conditions that humans have created in the world. Lastly, we will offer particular powers or gifts to humans to help them stop the destruction that is going on.
In addition, I would like you to make some "hard copy" representation of your experience, as in Assignment 1. In most cases, this hard copy will take the form of paper, but feel free as to the format. The hard copy could take some other form if you desire (e.g., a series of drawings). Feel free to express yourself however you wish, ranging from the scientific to artistic, or some combination of the two.
It would be helpful if we have as many species as possible represented at our Council of All Beings. Therefore, I would like everyone to tell me as soon as possible what life-form they have become for this exercise so that we can avoid duplication.