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A Study on the Relationship Dependent Origination and Ecological Practice: Focusing on the Conversion

  • PHILOSOPHY·THOUGHT·CULTURE
  • 2022, (40), pp.112~137
  • DOI : 10.33639/ptc.2022..40.006
  • Publisher : Research Institute for East-West Thought
  • Research Area : Humanities > Other Humanities
  • Received : October 22, 2022
  • Accepted : November 30, 2022
  • Published : November 30, 2022

Lee, Myoung-Ho 1

1경희대학교 종교시민문화연구소

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The ecological crisis is no longer a radical slogan of some extreme environmentalists. The analysis that the Earth has reached its acceptance limit as a residence of humankind is not a hasty prediction. There are movements and discourses to turn from a way of life that considers growth and development as the best, developing resources without restraint, and pursuing human needs to a sustainable way of life. And as one of the alternative civilization paradigms, the Buddhist worldview, especially the dependent origination worldview, is drawing attention. On one side of these expectations, there is also a question of whether Buddhism's worldview can drive the transformation of civilization into reality. For example, in terms of ecology, the everyday life of Buddhists are not very different from that of others. This study focuses on this phenomenon. Ecological discourse presupposes that religions will affect individual perceptions, then those affect personal attitudes and practices. However, religious doctrines affect individual perceptions, but perceptions do not immediately lead to attitudes and practices. In this study, the phenomenon was considered through the concept of 'conversion.' Unlike the interpretation of Dependent Origination in ecological discourse, there are various interpretations of that. In the Korean Buddhist culture that values individual enlightenment, various interpretations tend to be reduced to individual mind action in the conclusion. As such, it was confirmed that there is a disconnect in the real Buddhist community that prevents ecological conversion.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.