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John Daido Loori is the resident teacher and spiritual leader of Zen Mountain Monastery in upstate New York. He has completed formal training in rigorous køan Zen and in the subtle teachings of Master Døgen's Zen. Drawing on his background as scientist, artist, naturalist, parent, and Zen priest, Abbot Loori speaks to Western students from the perspective of shared background. His books include The Eight Gates of Zen (Dharma Communications, 1992), Two Arrows Meeting in Mid-Air: The Zen Koan (Charles E. Tuttle, 1994), and The Heart of Being: Moral and Ethical Teachings of Zen Buddhism (Charles E. Tuttle, 1996).
Abstract of paper given at Buddhism and Ecology conference:
Teachings of Mountains
and Rivers: The Earth's Ethical Imperative
We will trace the development of a modern ethical
environmental imperative beginning with the teachings of the Diamond Net
of Indra from the Avatamsaka Sûtra of Buddhism, Chinese Hua-yen
philosophy, and the Five Ranks of Master Tôzan, down through the Zen
lineage of Zen Master Dôgen and the evolution of a moral imperative that
is essential to our survival as a species as well as the survival of this
great earth itself. Emphasis will be on the teachings of the insentient
and the unique ethical perspective this creates when viewed in conjunction
with the Zen Buddhist precepts as expounded by Zen Master Dôgen. We will
conclude with a look at the practical applications of some of these
principles in the monastery's ongoing environmental program, in operation
for the last fifteen years.