On the negative side, some traditional Buddhist teachings discourage us from social and ecological
engagement. If the spiritual goal is an individual salvation that involves not being reborn into this world of suffering, craving, and delusion, why should we be so concerned about what is happening here. In contrast to such an otherworldly orientation, however, many contemporary Buddhists doubt the existence of any transcendent reality and are skeptical of karma as an ethical law of cause-and-effect built into the way the universe functions. They understand the Buddhist path more psychologically, as a therapy that provides new perspectives on mental distress and new practices to promote this-worldly well-being. Otherworldly Buddhism (which aims to escape this world) and this-worldly Buddhism (which helps us harmonize with it better) seem bipolar opposites, yet they usually share an indifference to the problems of this world. Neither is much concerned to help it become a better place.
(from Introduction, p.4)
... So what does all this have to do with ecological engagement? In order to comprehend what Buddhism .. can contribute to understanding and responding to the eco-crisis, it has been important to clarify what
the spiritual path involves, in language avoiding cosmological dualism. If we view the ultimate goal as escaping from this world -whether the end of rebirth or dwelling in an emptiness indifferent to its forms and therefore immune to its troubles -or as simply harmonizing with the world and its institutions, then we are unlikely to engage fully with the social and ecological challenges that call out to us today.
One of my favorite Zen koans speaks to this. A student asks the master: "What is the constant activity of all the buddhas and bodhisattvas?" - what is special about how enlightened people live, moment by moment? Perhaps the student was wondering if they manifest some extraordinary powers. The master's reply is short and simple: "Responding appropriately." That's all.
How wonderful! But in order to respond appropriately, we need to understand our situation. lbn a Zen monastery it's easy to know what's appropriate: when the bell rings we put on our robes and go to the practice hall to meditate. But what about when we leave the monastery grounds and reenter the wider world, with its social and ecological problems? Realizing that our essential groundlessness is an inexhaustible potential enables us to respond appropriately to them.
Gandhi. famously said that our greatness as human beings lies not so much in being able to remake the world as in being able to remake ourselves -but are those transformations really so independent? His own example suggests not. As we begin to wake up and realize that we re not separate from each other, nor from this wondrous earth, we realize that the ways we live together and relate to the earth need to be reconstructed too. That means not only social engagement as individuals helping other individuals but finding ways to address the problematic economic and political structures that are deeply implicated in the eco-crisis and the social justice issues that confront us today. This reclaims the goal of enlightenment from an exclusively individualistic model. Engagement in the world is how our personal awakening blossoms, and contemplative practices such as meditation ground our activism transforming it into a spiritual path.
(From Chapter 2, p.72)