Is Our Practice Enough?

CLAIR BROWN on how Buddhists’ vow to end suffering must go beyond the individual to a global understanding of how our suffering—and happiness—is connected to all living beings on our planet.

AS A BUDDHIST and an economics professor, I continually aspire to integrate my spiritual practice and my economics work, with the intention of creating a better world for all beings. Today, we face a number of interrelated crises on a monumental scale: climate catastrophe, widening social and economic inequality, and seemingly endless wars resulting in the deaths of countless individuals, combatant and civilian alike. Species are becoming extinct at an unparalleled speed. Family farms are unable to survive in the face of extreme heat and unproductive soil. Small island nations are at risk of sinking into the ocean as our sea levels rapidly rise. People everywhere are suffering from flooding, fires, droughts, and life-threatening heat waves. In the midst of all of this, how do we, as Buddhists, live ethically, in accord…

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Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly (Digital) - 1 Issue, Summer 2024

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