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Monasticism and EnvironmentalismMonasticism and Environmentalism (en EspaƱol)As the climate crisis continues to escalate, one becomes much more aware of how lifestyles contribute to the current planetary state. As a monastic I appreciate the simplicity of life here at the Abbey where the community makes very intentional choices on how we live and how we utilize our planet’s resources. So it was a pleasure to attend Gethsemani III, an interfaith dialogue on environmentalism between about 40 Catholic and Buddhist monastics, where we all shared what our communities are doing to lessen our “carbon footprint”.
Recycling is part of everyday life in most of the communities as are the ethic of harmlessness in regard to other living things and a gentle and caring stewardship of the land. Sparse use of vehicles was a common rule, particularly in the Buddhist monasteries. Many participants shared that changing cultural habits of consumerism is the number one challenge in regards to environmental awareness within their communities.
It was very exciting to find out that many of the monasteries have implemented alternative technologies into their infrastructures with varying degrees of success. A number of the Catholic monasteries have wind power as a source of their electricity as well as geo-thermal and hydro electric. On the Buddhist side, a number of them use solar power for most of their electricity, backing it up with propane or wood.
The most interesting difference between Buddhists and Catholic communities that I observed was in regards to the sustainability of the communities themselves. Following St. Benedict’s Rule, many of the Catholic monasteries raise their own food, including chickens and cows, making their own cheeses and such. One of the monasteries makes musical instruments and Gethsemani is noted for its cheese and fudge. St Benedict was very specific about monastic communities fending for themselves. At present many of these communities are aging and keeping the “farm” going has become quite a challenge.
However from the Buddhist side, the Buddha set up the monastic communities so that the monks and nuns were dependent upon the lay community for their 4 requisites Unlike their Catholic brothers and sisters who are dealing with large, aging, vacant buildings, the Buddhist communities are growing slowly and are careful to use existing buildings if at all possible and to keep simplicity, energy efficiency and longevity in their planning.
Although we all shared that we were not perfect and had a ways to go in making our “footprint” much smaller, we all agreed that the monastic life of contentment with sufficiency is a wonderful model for the world now and in the future. We closed the conference with the following statement of intent, which sums up beautifully how monastic life can have a positive influence on the world.
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