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- UAB Specialisation Course
- Code: 5384/1
- 1st edition
- Modality: Online
- Credits: 4 ECTS
- Start date: 02/04/2027
- Finish date: 25/06/2027
- Places: 50
- Orientation: Professional
- Price: 120 €
- Teaching language: Spanish
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Location: Online.
Timetable: Synchronous teaching on Fridays from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm (Barcelona, Spain time).
The contemporary ecological crisis is one of the defining challenges of our time, prompting the search for new ethical, cultural, and doctrinal frameworks to rethink the relationship between human beings and the natural world. In this context, Buddhism has gained increasing relevance as a source of reflection and action in response to socio-environmental issues, giving rise to a variety of currents, movements, and practices collectively referred to as ecological Buddhism or Eco-Buddhism.
This specialization course offers a critical and interdisciplinary approach to the study of ecological Buddhism and its development in Latin America. To this end, it examines its doctrinal foundations, historical antecedents, contemporary expressions, and the principal academic debates surrounding the field. Throughout the course, participants will explore different manifestations of Engaged Buddhism in Asia and the West, the role of Buddhist organizations in promoting ecological initiatives, and the contributions of key figures to the dialogue between Buddhism, sustainable economies, and social transformation.
Alongside theoretical analysis, the course incorporates opportunities for reflection and contemplative practice, enabling students to explore the relationship between personal experience, ecological awareness, and collective action. It also engages with critical perspectives and dialogues with other contemporary approaches, including ecofeminism, Indigenous worldviews, and environmental sciences, in order to assess both the potential and the limitations of ecological Buddhism as a response to the challenges posed by the global climate crisis.
The aim of this specialization course is to introduce students to the development of ecological interpretations of Buddhism, referred to within the framework of the programme as ecologically engaged Buddhisms. In doing so, it explores their core principles, the philosophical traditions that inspirethem, and their emerging dialogue with selected scientific perspectives.
The course also examines Buddhist environmental thought and activism through its contemporary expressions in Buddhist communities across Asia, the West, and Latin America. From a critical and interdisciplinary perspective, it analyses the role of Buddhism in fostering ecological awareness, individual and community-based environmental activism, social transformation, and collective well-being.
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the foundations, possibilities, and limitations of contemporary ecological Buddhism in the context of the twenty-first-century climate crisis. They will also be able to critically analyse the different expressions of Eco-Buddhism and Engaged Buddhism, evaluate the contribution of Buddhist organizations to sustainability and social justice, and relate Buddhist ethical principles, rituals, and contemplative practices to the development of both individual and collective ecological awareness.
- Doctrines, Practices and Rites: their influence on ecology
- Nature in Dōgen and Zen Buddhism in general
- Engaged Buddhism (Theravāda): Sustainable Economy
- Engaged Buddhism (Mahāyāna): Thich Nhat Hanh
- Engaged Buddhism (Mahāyāna): Ecological movements in Taiwan and Japan
- Western Eco-Buddhism and its key figures
- Experiential workshop: Contemplative practices and discussion
- Critical analysis of ecological Buddhism
- The climate crisis and the dialogue between Buddhism and science
- Contemporary Buddhist ecofeminism
- Dialogue between worldviews: indigenous thought and Buddhist principles
- Ecological trends and ethnographic perspectives in Latin American Buddhist communities
Furthermore, the programme may prove useful for project management in Buddhist centres, interfaith organisations, organisations dedicated to spiritual ecology, and social or environmental organisations that incorporate ethical, contemplative or community-based dimensions. It may also provide tools for advising communities interested in integrating ecological practices and for specialised communication on religion, the environment and sustainability.
This specialization course offers a critical and interdisciplinary approach to the study of ecological Buddhism and its development in Latin America. To this end, it examines its doctrinal foundations, historical antecedents, contemporary expressions, and the principal academic debates surrounding the field. Throughout the course, participants will explore different manifestations of Engaged Buddhism in Asia and the West, the role of Buddhist organizations in promoting ecological initiatives, and the contributions of key figures to the dialogue between Buddhism, sustainable economies, and social transformation.
Alongside theoretical analysis, the course incorporates opportunities for reflection and contemplative practice, enabling students to explore the relationship between personal experience, ecological awareness, and collective action. It also engages with critical perspectives and dialogues with other contemporary approaches, including ecofeminism, Indigenous worldviews, and environmental sciences, in order to assess both the potential and the limitations of ecological Buddhism as a response to the challenges posed by the global climate crisis.
The aim of this specialization course is to introduce students to the development of ecological interpretations of Buddhism, referred to within the framework of the programme as ecologically engaged Buddhisms. In doing so, it explores their core principles, the philosophical traditions that inspirethem, and their emerging dialogue with selected scientific perspectives.
The course also examines Buddhist environmental thought and activism through its contemporary expressions in Buddhist communities across Asia, the West, and Latin America. From a critical and interdisciplinary perspective, it analyses the role of Buddhism in fostering ecological awareness, individual and community-based environmental activism, social transformation, and collective well-being.
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the foundations, possibilities, and limitations of contemporary ecological Buddhism in the context of the twenty-first-century climate crisis. They will also be able to critically analyse the different expressions of Eco-Buddhism and Engaged Buddhism, evaluate the contribution of Buddhist organizations to sustainability and social justice, and relate Buddhist ethical principles, rituals, and contemplative practices to the development of both individual and collective ecological awareness.
Contents
- Introduction, conceptual and methodological framework, and historical context- Doctrines, Practices and Rites: their influence on ecology
- Nature in Dōgen and Zen Buddhism in general
- Engaged Buddhism (Theravāda): Sustainable Economy
- Engaged Buddhism (Mahāyāna): Thich Nhat Hanh
- Engaged Buddhism (Mahāyāna): Ecological movements in Taiwan and Japan
- Western Eco-Buddhism and its key figures
- Experiential workshop: Contemplative practices and discussion
- Critical analysis of ecological Buddhism
- The climate crisis and the dialogue between Buddhism and science
- Contemporary Buddhist ecofeminism
- Dialogue between worldviews: indigenous thought and Buddhist principles
- Ecological trends and ethnographic perspectives in Latin American Buddhist communities
Career opportunities
Students who complete this course will be able to pursue careers in teaching, public engagement and research in fields such as religious studies, philosophy, environmental ethics, Buddhist studies, the anthropology of religion and the environmental humanities.Furthermore, the programme may prove useful for project management in Buddhist centres, interfaith organisations, organisations dedicated to spiritual ecology, and social or environmental organisations that incorporate ethical, contemplative or community-based dimensions. It may also provide tools for advising communities interested in integrating ecological practices and for specialised communication on religion, the environment and sustainability.
Scholarships and financial aid
Chek all the information on the possibilities for grants and scholarships in the page for UAB financial aids, grants and calls.
Coordinating centres
Facultad de Traducción e Interpretación
Collaborating centres
Fundacion Dharma-Gaia
Contact
Gustavo Pita Céspedes
Phone: 34 93 586 8901