The document linked here―Practices for the Earth (PDF)―contains an essay written by senior Kootenay Shambhala Centre teacher Russell Rodgers outlining the teachings he presented at last summer’s Kootenay Public Weekthun 2009: Touching the Earth meditation retreat, and describing the approach used to deliver the teachings.

He submitted the document for the possible benefit of Shambhala teachers, environmentalists and others.

Topics include:
• Container Principle
• The Root of Ecological Problems
• The Senses: Our Gateways to the Natural World
• Making a Heart Connection to All Living Beings
• The Eco-dharma of Emptiness
• Drala: Working with Presence
• Introduction to the Lhasang

An “Afterthoughts” section provides additional material.

You can offer feedback by leaving a reply below, or by emailing Russell Rodgers at info@nelsonbuddha.com.

Responding to climate change effectively requires understanding it deeply.

For a Buddhist view on the roots of climate change, read the excerpt from the new book A Buddhist Response to the Climate Emergency, featured in yesterday’s Shambhala Times post Buddhadharma and the Planetary Crisis. Also, see the other Shambhala Times articles tagged Buddhist Response to Climate Change.

If you’d like to join in the Kootenay Shambhala Centre’s efforts to bring this view down to earth through practical action, locally and beyond, contact Russell Rodgers or Jim Northcote at info@nelsonbuddha.com.

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The Kootenay Shambhala Centre is hosting a “Sounds of 350″ gathering in support of a binding climate change agreement at the December United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

The gathering will include time for silent contemplation, chanting practices designed to clear obstacles, and 350 recitations of a mantra from the Heart Sutra, which helps dispel fixed modes of thinking.

Everyone is welcome.

For more information go to 350.org/node/13088 or contact Jane DiGiacomo at info@nelsonbuddha.com.

Buddhism and Green Living is one of the themes of the September issue of Shambhala Sun magazine. So: how can we go beyond platitudes and into collective and individual action that can make a real difference? Ethan Nichtern and his community, NYC’s The Interdependence Project, are doing just that, every day.

Listen to Ethan explain how—and how we can do the same—in this Shambhala Sun audio interview.

The message below was posted on the worldwide Shambhala email announcement service earlier today.

For information about the Kootenay Shambhala Centre’s environmental activity, click on any of the related subject tags in the sidebar―e.g., protecting the earth―or contact Russell Rodgers, our Touching the Earth liaison, at info@nelsonbuddha.com.

Dear sangha,

A cheerful summer to you! This spring and summer have been exciting times for environmental action within the Shambhala sangha. The Sakyong, Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche offered his mindful instructions on Protecting the Earth in support of Earth Day 2009 and in July urged sangha members to sign the Buddhist Declaration on Climate Change.

Along with the Sakyong’s encouragement, the Touching the Earth working group launched the 2009 Shambhala Green Commitment initiative. We have been delighted so far at the positive actions centers are taking throughout the world and eagerly await responses from the remainder of the mandala. Read the rest of this entry »

In an article posted on the Shambhala Times today, former Shambhala Europe Director Chris Tamdjidi discusses discovering the world’s magic as a key aspect of environmental protection. See Buddhism and Ecology: Environment as our Teacher.

In a talk at last night’s Kootenay Shambhala Centre Open House, senior teacher Russell Rodgers led participants in an exploration of the cultural and perceptual underpinnings of current ecological problems and described three Buddhist practices for addressing these problems at their root. Click on the icon below to listen to the talk.

Listen/Download “Buddhism and Deep Ecology,” with Russell Rodgers (MP3: 57.5 MB; 1 hr, 3 min)

To explore this topic more fully, please join us for this year’s annual Kootenay public one-week meditation retreat at our retreat land near Nelson, from June 27th to July 5th. A full program description is available on our Kootenay Public Weekthün 2009: Touching the Earth page.

Please consider reading (and following the Dalai Lama’s lead in signing) The Time to Act is Now: A Buddhist Declaration on Climate Change.

This declaration, composed as a pan-Buddhist statement by Zen teacher Dr. David Tetsuun Loy and senior Theravadin teacher Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi with scientific input from Dr. John Stanley, will present to the world’s media a unique spiritual view of climate change and our urgent responsibility to address the solutions in the run-up to the U.N. Climate Treaty Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009.

This article was submitted by Russell Rodgers, director of this summer’s Kootenay Public Weekthün 2009: Touching the Earth program, in response to a request for more information about the program’s theme.

Russell Rodgers writes:

One of the key commitments in vajrayana Buddhism is to experience the world as sacred. Sacred in this context doesn’t mean that some deity proclaimed it so; it just is, primordially, in the present moment of fresh pristine awareness. In our busy existence, however, we tend to see our thoughts and concepts about the world rather than the world itself. Therefore we lose touch with its sacredness and basic goodness. Our concepts can be so subtle and pervasive that we don’t even realize that they are there. We just feel deadened and disconnected from the magical, living quality in our surroundings. As a corrective, and because we have buddha nature wakefulness buried somewhere within us, we feel haunted by the feeling that something is missing. Read the rest of this entry »

This article is adapted from an email message to Kootenay Shambhala Centre members and friends from Centre member Russell Rodgers.

Russell Rodgers writes:

Happy Earth Day,

Since this is Earth Day, it seemed a good idea to talk a bit about our Centre and the environment. Here are some of the initiatives that are underway or planned:

The first step in an environmental audit of our Centre has already happened. Gregory Heming has been working on that with James Rodgers, an environmental auditor who has volunteered his time. We discovered that we need to plug some holes in ceiling joist spaces between the Centre and the stairway hall before a full audit can proceed. The full audit involves de-pressurizing the space so that air leakage from the outside can be measured and sources of leakage detected. We already recycle, compost, and use mostly environmentally friendly cleaning supplies. We usually avoid using paper and plastic eating utensils. Other ideas are most welcome. Read the rest of this entry »