The accelerating climate crisis is no longer a distant abstraction. It is a lived experience of record-breaking heat waves, erratic seasons, disappearing species, and communities uprooted by fire and flood. In the last month, devastating wildfires have gripped parts of Italy, France, Greece, Portugal, Spain. Each new season brings new climate catastrophes. Scientific advances and international agreements remain indispensable. Yet, as many leaders and activists have begun to acknowledge, the roots of this crisis extend beyond carbon emissions, biodiversity loss, and deforestation. They lie within the human heart.

Environmental scholar Gus Speth, reflecting on decades of policy and scientific advances, concluded: “I thought with 30 years of good science, we could address those problems. But I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed, and apathy . . . and to deal with those we need a spiritual and cultural transformation.” (The Washington Post)

For the late Buddhist eco-activist Joanna Macy, whose life’s work fused Dharma teaching, systems theory, and grassroots activism, this spiritual transformation begins not in turning away from despair, but in turning toward it. Her Work That Reconnects invites us to recognize grief for the world as a sign of deep love, and to transform that love into sustained, compassionate action. “The key,” she once said, “is in not being afraid for the world’s suffering. Then nothing can stop you.” (The Washington Post)

This inner grounding is not a retreat from action, but rather a foundation from which wise action can flow spontaneously. Costa Rican diplomat Christiana Figueres, aptly described as a “climate activist and Dharma exemplar,” attributes her capacity to lead the negotiations for the 2016 Paris Agreement to a period of personal renewal rooted in Buddhist practice.* She has spoken of turning to the teachings of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh during a time of deep personal upheaval, working with those teachings until she regained the stability needed to support her professional work.

Figueres has consistently framed optimism not as naïveté but as a daily intentional discipline. “Anger that sinks into despair is powerless to make a change,” she has famously said. “Anger that evolves into conviction is unstoppable.” (Medium)

Her approach reminds us of a central Buddhist insight: that clarity, compassion, and equanimity are not by-products of favorable conditions, but cultivated capacities—particularly essential in moments of collective crisis.

If Figueres offers an example of Dharma-aligned leadership in the political realm, many Buddhist monastics are modeling the same integration of inner and outer work in the way they inhabit the land itself. At Birken Forest Monastery in British Columbia, Ajahn Sona and his community have designed an off-grid facility that combines traditional Buddhist simplicity with advanced ecological design. Solar energy, passive heating, and robust insulation reduce the monastery’s energy needs to a fraction of that of typical Canadian households, as BDG columnist John Harvey Negru informed us in 2023.**

Ajahn Sona notes that environmental responsibility is not an optional modern add-on to monastic life. The Vinaya—the ancient code of conduct for Buddhist monastics—contains explicit rules against harming plants, animals, and the natural environment. In this sense, Birken’s sustainability measures are an extension of long-standing commitments to non-harming and restraint.

Such communities offer more than technical inspiration. They embody a form of refuge, demonstrating that it is possible to live well within ecological limits while nurturing the mind and heart. In a world where environmental degradation is often normalized, these examples stand as living reminders that simplicity and care for the Earth are not sacrifices, but expressions of the Dharma itself.

Macy often spoke of what she called the “Great Turning:” a societal shift from exploitation toward life-sustaining practices. She was clear-eyed about the uncertainty of outcomes, yet unwavering in her insistence that our task is not to measure the likelihood of success, but to show up fully.

Hope, in the Buddhist sense, is not wishful thinking about what might be, but the resolve to act in this moment with clarity and compassion. “When you’re worrying about whether you’re hopeful or hopeless or pessimistic or optimistic, who cares?” Macy once said. “The main thing is that you’re showing up, that you’re here, and that you’re finding ever more capacity to love this world because it will not be healed without that.” (The Washington Post)

Cultivating eco-spiritual resilience need not be complicated. From Macy’s workshops to monastic daily life, several shared practices emerge:

• Acknowledging grief: rather than suppressing fear or sorrow for the Earth, give these feelings space in meditation or community dialogue.

• Reconnecting with interbeing: reflect on the countless ways your life is supported by soil, air, water, and all living beings.

• Living simply: reduce consumption where possible; not as denial, but as an affirmation of sufficiency.

• Acting with conviction: channel concern into specific, sustained action, whether in advocacy, ecological restoration, or community education.

Each of these can be understood as expressions of the paramitas: generosity in reducing harm, ethical conduct in mindful consumption, patience in sustained action, and wisdom in recognizing our interdependence. Compare these with the practices outlined in our recent tribute to Joanna Macy by BDG contributor Ratnadevi—which begin in grounded appreciation and move through difficult emotions and shifting our mindset before moving toward wise action—and we see the complexity and beauty of the path before us.***

In the Pali Canon, the Buddha describes the natural world not as a backdrop but as part of the moral community in which humans participate. This sense of relationship between ourselves and the Earth systems that sustain us arises naturally through prolonged practice, but can also be the object of one’s practice at any step along the path. The Earth responds to human virtue and vice, flourishing in times of justice and withering under exploitation. Today, this ancient insight meets modern ecological science in a shared conclusion: our well-being and the planet’s well-being are inseparable.

As the climate emergency deepens, the call is clear. Policy, technology, and science are essential, but without the transformation of values and the cultivation of compassion, they will fall short. The Dharma offers both a diagnosis of our inner obstacles—craving, aversion, ignorance—and a path for working with them.

To meet this moment is to recognize that ecological renewal and spiritual renewal are one and the same. It is to understand, as Joanna Macy did, that love for the world is not a sentiment to be guarded in private, but a force to be enacted in public life. In this way, eco-spiritual resilience becomes not merely an individual aspiration, but a shared lifeline for all beings.

* Ajahn Sona, Off the Grid (BDG)

** Christiana Figueres: A Climate Activist and Dharma Exemplar (BDG)

*** Walking into the World as into Our Own Heart: A Tribute to Joanna Macy (BDG)

See more

Wildfires fanned by heatwave and strong winds rage across Europe (Reuters)
What if we need spiritual revival, not technology, to address climate change? (The Washington Post)
Overcoming Climate Overwhelm — the game that is out to change the world (Medium)

Related features from BDG

The Future Is Canceled Until Further Notice
Buddhistdoor View: Overcoming Our Denial of Responsibility for Climate Change
System Change, Not Climate Change
Dharma in Action: Tackling the Climate Change Crisis
Truth and Consequences: Capitalism, Climate Change, and the World We Created

Related news reports from BDG

Buddhist Teacher and Environmental Activist Joanna Macy Has Died, Aged 96
Wildfires in South Korea Take 26 Lives, Destroy Buddhist Temple and Heritage Sites
Engaged Buddhism Special Report: Ven. Pomnyun Sunim and JTS Conduct Emergency Relief in Assam after Severe Floods
Buddhists in Australia Offer Relief after Devastating Floods
Historic Buddhist Temples Lost in Devastating Maui Wildfire
Ancient Buddhist Temples in Thailand Hit by Historic Floods
Tassajara Zen Mountain Center Threatened by California Wildfires
Dalai Lama Extends Condolences to Japan for Loss of Life in Catastrophic Floods