Greening the Monasteries

Cecile van Hezik

Greening the monasteries means to make the monasteries and other Buddhist institutions more environmentally friendly. This implies educating and enabling the nuns and monks that live in the monasteries and who are responsible for the temples and other holy places to become more ecologically sensitive and responsible

Monasteries have to deal with several challenging issues that indirectly have an impact on Buddhist practice: waste, sanitation, energy, and other issues. Garbage tends to be deposited without any recycling or re-use, often directly adjacent to the monastery, temple, or other holy places. This creates negative karma, as toxic and other non-natural waste causes soil, water, and air pollution. In addition, it causes health problems. Often waste is either combusted outside or burnt in a domestic stove, again causing air pollution. In many places people have the habit of dumping the waste in the local river, thinking that the next rain will wash it all away. In some parts of Tibet, it is believed that the local deities residing next to the river are pleased with the waste.

All monasteries tend to have similar needs in terms of waste handling, sanitation, and energy. Therefore, it is our intention to create a new organization that advises and assists monasteries, lamas, nuns, monks, and others with waste, sanitation, energy, and other environmental issues, with the hope to bring two major benefits. First, it will reduce environmental degradation and all the negative karma that is created as a result of it. Second, it will make the monasteries and other Buddhist institutions living examples of environmental and sustainable development for this and generations to come.

With increasing population density, especially in Buddhist countries, more and more people are concerned about the environment. As environmental toxins increase and natural resources run out, the quality of life becomes affected and social tensions increase. Buddhist institutions can actively anticipate and contribute to a sustainable world, instead of making it worse. This will appeal to many people. In addition, environmental programs can lead to local development and benefit the local society.

In this presentation, I give an overview of experiences in different monasteries and present some solutions that are suited to the specific needs of monasteries and other Buddhist institutions. Examples include renewable energy solutions for electricity, heating/cooling and hot water, ecological construction methods and materials, sanitation options, garbage reduction, collection, and recycling and re-use options. One aim is to identify collective needs that may be eligible for funding, for example, renewable energy projects that may be eligible for subsidies.