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Planetary Crisis Summit participants, April 24, 2024. Photo courtesy of Jamyang London Buddhist Centre.
In April 2024, Jamyang London Buddhist Centre hosted the first Planetary Crisis Summit, an event that brought together a range of voices from across FPMT Europe to engage in a deep conversation about what it means to be a Dharma center during this time of social and environmental collapse. Since this time the team has been busy collating the outputs from this inspirational event, which you can now learn more about below. Here we share a brief report from Ven. Thubten Drolma, Center Director of Jamyang London, plus links to a fuller report and video of this momentous event.
Dr. Aaron Thierry’s keynote presentation, “This is Where Things Are.” Photo courtesy of Jamyang London.
The Summit took place four months after the hottest year on record. A leading NASA scientist was quoted saying: ‘we’re frankly astonished’. The Met Office expects 2024 to exceed that record potentially marking the first 1.5C year. Although one year alone won’t breach the 1.5C threshold, it is now clear this will happen than the Paris Agreement predictions.
The Buddha taught that suffering stems from distorted views. To the extent we can align ourselves with reality, to that extent we can remove the causes of suffering. Our actions will align themselves to the way things are and therefore be appropriate and in harmony with nature.
When it comes to the Planetary Crisis, our ignorance is vast with significant consequences for all sentient beings. Humans comprise 0.01% of life yet our unsustainable lifestyles impacts the other 99.99% of mother sentient beings. Moreover, those who emit the most often suffer least. The UN and other bodies warn of potential societal collapse. As Mahayana Buddhists, this should deeply concern us.
Panel discussion with Jan Willis, George Marshall, Aaron Thierry, and Rob Hopkins. Photo courtesy of Jamyang London Buddhist Centre.
In April at Jamyang, we convened to confront this reality, together. We explored the question: “what if dharma centers were catalyst for change in the planetary crisis?” The discussions stimulated engagement, creativity and collaboration rather than fix-it solutions. The answers were as diverse as there were communities and individuals asking the question.
The crisis faced by our communities are unprecedented. How can we help and support through the lens of rich our Buddhist tradition. Whilst the impact any one center or community can have may be limited, the Summit showed we are not alone in the journey. We have each other, guided by our lamas. We are 132 centers, projects and services in 31 countries around the world, under the spiritual leadership of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe.
We hope this report continues this vital conversation.
Please enjoy this short film about the summit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mlAOUH1fBY
Read a full and beautifully designed report of this event.
Foundation for the Preservation of Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), is a Tibetan Buddhist organization dedicated to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service.