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The Buddha's Footprint: An Environmental History of Asia
A corrective to the contemporary idea that Buddhism has always been an environmentally friendly religion
In the current popular imagination, Buddhism is often understood to be a religion intrinsically concerned with the environment. The Dharma, the name given to Buddhist teachings by Buddhists, states that all things are interconnected. Therefore, Buddhists are perceived as extending compassion beyond people and animals to include plants and the earth itself out of a concern for the total living environment. In The Buddha's Footprint, Johan Elverskog contends that only by jettisoning this contemporary image of Buddhism as a purely ascetic and apolitical tradition of contemplation can we see the true nature of the Dharma. According to Elverskog, Buddhism is, in fact, an expansive religious and political system premised on generating wealth through the exploitation of natural resources.
Elverskog surveys the expansion of Buddhism across Asia in the period between 500 BCE and 1500 CE, when Buddhist institutions were built from Iran and Azerbaijan in the west, to Kazakhstan and Siberia in the north, Japan in the east, and Sri Lanka and Indonesia in the south. He examines the prosperity theology at the heart of the Dharma that declared riches to be a sign of good karma and the means by which spritiual status could be elevated through donations bequeathed to Buddhist institutions. He demonstrates how this scriptural tradition propelled Buddhists to seek wealth and power across Asia and to exploit both the people and the environment.
Elverskog shows the ways in which Buddhist expansion not only entailed the displacement of local gods and myths with those of the Dharma--as was the case with Christianity and Islam--but also involved fundamentally transforming earlier social and political structures and networks of economic exchange. The Buddha's Footprint argues that the institutionalization of the Dharma was intimately connected to agricultural expansion, resource extraction, deforestation, urbanization, and the monumentalization of Buddhism itself.
In the current popular imagination, Buddhism is often understood to be a religion intrinsically concerned with the environment. The Dharma, the name given to Buddhist teachings by Buddhists, states that all things are interconnected. Therefore, Buddhists are perceived as extending compassion beyond people and animals to include plants and the earth itself out of a concern for the total living environment. In The Buddha's Footprint, Johan Elverskog contends that only by jettisoning this contemporary image of Buddhism as a purely ascetic and apolitical tradition of contemplation can we see the true nature of the Dharma. According to Elverskog, Buddhism is, in fact, an expansive religious and political system premised on generating wealth through the exploitation of natural resources.
Elverskog surveys the expansion of Buddhism across Asia in the period between 500 BCE and 1500 CE, when Buddhist institutions were built from Iran and Azerbaijan in the west, to Kazakhstan and Siberia in the north, Japan in the east, and Sri Lanka and Indonesia in the south. He examines the prosperity theology at the heart of the Dharma that declared riches to be a sign of good karma and the means by which spritiual status could be elevated through donations bequeathed to Buddhist institutions. He demonstrates how this scriptural tradition propelled Buddhists to seek wealth and power across Asia and to exploit both the people and the environment.
Elverskog shows the ways in which Buddhist expansion not only entailed the displacement of local gods and myths with those of the Dharma--as was the case with Christianity and Islam--but also involved fundamentally transforming earlier social and political structures and networks of economic exchange. The Buddha's Footprint argues that the institutionalization of the Dharma was intimately connected to agricultural expansion, resource extraction, deforestation, urbanization, and the monumentalization of Buddhism itself.
192 pages, Hardcover
Published February 21, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 9, 2023
Goed geschreven, maar ben het met weinig dingen eens. Elverskog is boos op het boeddhisme. Gast, boeddhisme doet ook maar zijn best?
January 23, 2021
In 'The Buddha's Footprint', Elverskog counters the common narrative of Buddhism being, in essence, a eco-friendly religion. He does so by providing a history of Buddhism and its spread throughout Asia. The book uses excerpts from Buddhist scripture to show that early Buddhists were not in the slightest concerned about the environment. All in all, an interesting read, which might alter your views of Buddhism quite a bit. Although the book isn't too long, the Elverskog's thesis could have easily been conveyed in a short essay. He repeatedly uses the same arguments to make his case.
The argument the author provides is compelling, but would have been stronger if he also provided some counter-arguments. For example, the author frequently states that Buddhists pushed the market economy and, the consequent, urbanization in Asia, which led to a disregard for the environment. However, I'm not entirely convinced whether it is Buddhism per se, or rather the cultural context of Buddhism, which set this reaction in motion. I would have liked Elverskog to make this distinction (if evidence exists) more clear.
The book starts with an experience the author had in Tibet, whereby he came across two Buddhist monks who were carrying rucksacks made of snow leopard skins. The author presents this as a pivotal moment, where his views of Buddhism radically change: Because how could two Buddhist monks, who ought to have deep respect for nature, use the skin of an endangered animal for something as trivial as a rucksack?
I assume this encounter took place somewhere in the late 20th century. In the rest of the book, however, the author barely makes any reference to environmentalism and Buddhism in modern times. The book only seems to be concerned with the history of Buddhism and how this relates to environmentalism. This seems like a missed opportunity.
The argument the author provides is compelling, but would have been stronger if he also provided some counter-arguments. For example, the author frequently states that Buddhists pushed the market economy and, the consequent, urbanization in Asia, which led to a disregard for the environment. However, I'm not entirely convinced whether it is Buddhism per se, or rather the cultural context of Buddhism, which set this reaction in motion. I would have liked Elverskog to make this distinction (if evidence exists) more clear.
The book starts with an experience the author had in Tibet, whereby he came across two Buddhist monks who were carrying rucksacks made of snow leopard skins. The author presents this as a pivotal moment, where his views of Buddhism radically change: Because how could two Buddhist monks, who ought to have deep respect for nature, use the skin of an endangered animal for something as trivial as a rucksack?
I assume this encounter took place somewhere in the late 20th century. In the rest of the book, however, the author barely makes any reference to environmentalism and Buddhism in modern times. The book only seems to be concerned with the history of Buddhism and how this relates to environmentalism. This seems like a missed opportunity.
June 23, 2020
not quite convincing ... need to be read together with trevor lings book
December 13, 2024
Turned the framework I used to view Buddhism upside down. Very useful, and well-researched. Short and easy to read. Provides a great overview of history, religious scholarship, some comments on geography and of course environmental history as well.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews