From green living to Buddhist environmentalism: Exploring Buddhism for a sustainable future

9:30am-10:20am: opening ceremony and conference introduction

• Graeme Earl (Dean of the College of Humanities, SOAS)
• Po-wen Yen (CEO of Tzu Chi Foundation)
• Representatives of the Jingsi Abode
• Stefania Travagnin (Chair of the Centre of Buddhist Studies, SOAS)

10:20am-10:40am: coffee break

10:40am-1:00pm: Panel one: Buddhism and Indigenous Traditions

• Chair: Mayfair Yang (University of California Santa Barbara)
• Presenters: 
  • Kalzang Dorjee Bhutia (Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies, Shiv Nadar University), "Generating New Worlds from Destruction: Combustions of Fire Knowledge in the Sikkim Himalayas”
  • Yih-ren Lin (Taipei National University of the Arts), “Sbalay: An Indigenous Concept for the Dialogue between Buddhism and Indigenous Culture in the Environmental Context of Taiwan”
  • Ven. Chao-Hwei (Hsuan Chuang University), “From conflict of positions to ecological balance, from ideological opposition to religious dialogue: The Buddhist perspective on the dispute between radicals and moderates on environmental protection”
  • Natasha Heller (University of Virginia), “Gratitude in Buddhist Environmental Ethics”
• Discussants: Aike Rots (University of Oslo), Adam Yuet Chau (University of Cambridge)

1:00pm-2:25pm: lunch break

2:25pm-4:10pm: Panel two: Dharma, Meditation, and Mindfulness

• Chair: William Edelglass (Barre Center for Buddhist Studies and Emerson College)
• Presenters: 
  • Marcin Fabjański (University of Silesia and Apennine School of Living Philosophy), "Cultivating an Ecosystem of Attention: A Buddhist Rebellion Against the Colonization of Awareness”
  • Brian J. Nichols (Mount Royal University), “Ecodharma Retreats in America: A Preliminary Investigation of their Methods and Impacts”
  • Mayfair Yang (University of California Santa Barbara), “The ‘Life of Things’ (物命): Tzu Chi Buddhist Recycling and the Transmigration of Plastics, Metals, and Human Bodies”
• Discussants: Martine Batchelor (Bodhi College), Mahinda Deegalle (University of Bath and SOAS)

4:10pm-4:30pm: coffee break

4:30pm-6:15pm: Panel three: Proposals from Modern Leaders

• Chair: Weishan Huang (Hong Kong Shue Yan University)
• Presenters:  
  • William Edelglass (Barre Center for Buddhist Studies and Emerson College), “Ambedkar, Water, Equality: Buddhist Environmental Justice in India”
  • Adrienne Minh-Chau Le (Columbia University), “Buddhism, Ecology, and the Planetary Vision of Thích Nhất Hạnh”
  • Rey-sheng Her (Tzu Chi Foundation; associate scholar of Harvard FAS CAMLab),“Master Cheng Yen's Perspective on the Economy of Goodness and Vegetarianism”
• Discussants: Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa (Occidental College), Martin Seeger (University of Leeds)

9:30am-11:20am: Roundtable one: Religion and Nature: Buddhist Practitioners in Dialogue

• Chair: Stefania Travagnin (SOAS)

• Participants: Mahinda Deegalle (University of Bath and SOAS); Dobdon Maksarov (SOAS); monastics from local Buddhist communities; representatives of other religious denominations; Rey-sheng Her (Tzu Chi Foundation; associate scholar of Harvard FAS CAMLab); Jamie Cresswell (Centre for Applied Buddhism)

   

11:20am-11:40am: coffee break 

11:40am-12:40pm: Panel four: Lessons from Material Culture and Archaeology

• Chair: Natasha Heller (University of Virginia)
• Presenters: 
  • Sonya Lee, (University of Southern California)“Building an Environmentally Engaged Viewership of Buddhist Material Culture in the Museum”
  • Julia Shaw (University College of London), “ Monastic Gardens, Ecological Ethics, and Global and Local Environmentalism:  material culture and landscape perspectives”
• Discussants: Chophel Dendup (University of Copenhagen), Christian Luczanits (SOAS)

12:40pm-2:00pm: lunch break

2:00pm-3:00pm: Panel five: Environmental Practices and Sustainable Development

• Chair: Brian J. Nichols (Mount Royal University)
• Presenters: 
  • Weishan Huang (Hong Kong Shue Yan University), "Sacred Service in a Secular City: Merit-Making and Moral Tensions in Tzu Chi’s Environmental Mobilization"
  • Stefania Travagnin (SOAS), “Que vivan las Recicladoras! Tzu Chi’s ‘Environmental Bodhisattvas’ and Local Sustainability in Latin America”
• Discussants: I.M. Dharmadasa (Sheffield Hallam University), Smith Ouma (University of Manchester)

3:00pm-3:20pm: coffee break 

3:20pm-5:40pm: Roundtable two: Scholars and Experts on Climate Change

• Chair: Stefania Travagnin (SOAS)
• Opening talk: I.M. Dharmadasa (Sheffield Hallam University) "Buddhism, climate change, and renewable energy: mindful actions within solar villages in Sri Lanka"
• Participants: Komal Aryal (Aston University); I.M. Dharmadasa (Sheffield Hallam University); Andrew Newsham (SOAS); Po-wen Yen (Tzu Chi Foundation); Lydia Wang (Tzu Chi Foundation).

5:40pm-6:30pm: closing remarks

• Po-wen Yen (CEO of Tzu Chi Foundation)
• Rey-sheng Her (Deputy CEO of Tzu Chi Foundation; associate scholar of Harvard FAS CAMLab)
• Representatives of the Jingsi Abode
• Stefania Travagnin (Chair of the Centre of Buddhist Studies, SOAS)