Buddhism and Ecology Workshop

Deer Park Institute organized its second “Buddhism & Ecology” residential participatory workshop on the 2^nd & 3^rd of December, 2009. This workshop was aimed at encouraging the practice of Zero Waste and educating the monasteries & nunneries about the increasing global environmental problems. It also aimed to collaborate with them in solving the problem of plastic waste, with waste segregation as the first step in managing our own waste.

The workshop was attended by a total 16 monks and nuns and 2 lay people. There were 8 participants from Gaden Choeling, Kirti Monastery, Dolmaling Nunnery, Gyuto Monastery and 2 lay representatives from H.H Karmapa Labrang in Dharamsala. We also had 8 participants from DGL Nunnery, Nyingma Monastery and Dzongsar Monastery in and around Bir.

The workshop schedule included games, film screenings, presentations, eco-walk, group and open discussions. The Buddhist philosophy of Four Noble Truths and Interdependence was brought into the activities as a base for understanding the true nature of environmental problems: touching on the suffering, causes, cessation and the path towards the sustainable existence of lives on Earth.

One of the interesting heated discussions we had was about the offering of 'tsog' (ritual food offerings) which has become a source of waste generation because of all the plastic packaged offerings used in pujas. The concept of Zero Waste Puja was introduced to the participants by suggesting various alternatives available. We agreed to collaborate among monasteries and nunneries in taking action towards the solution of waste problems. We hope this workshop will bring some positive changes in the way things have been carried out hitherto.