Caring for the Earth, Weaving Faith: Constructing a Buddhist Eco-theological Framework for Responding to Climate Change

Abstract

Climate change poses ecological, ethical, and spiritual challenges shaped by human consumption, inequality, and interconnected suffering. Although Buddhist environmental ethics has received growing scholarly attention, a coherent framework linking spiritual transformation to collective ecological action remains insufficiently developed. This study constructs a Buddhist eco-theological framework through a qualitative literature-based examination of the Pāli Canon, Mahāyāna Sūtras, contemporary Buddhist ethical formulations, and empirical research on mindfulness and ecological behavior. Textual, conceptual, contextual, and integrative analyses identify ten interconnected foundations: paṭiccasamuppāda, anattā, mettā, karuṇā, ahiṃsā, sīla, appicchatā, santuṭṭhi, sati, and paññā. The Five Mindfulness Trainings are interpreted as a contemporary articulation of pañcasīla, linking Buddhist practice to respect for life, sufficiency, responsibility, dialogue, and mindful consumption. Synthesizing these perspectives, the study proposes the Relational Compassionate Mindful Ecological Action (RCMEA) model, which integrates relational awareness, reduced self-centeredness, compassionate care, sufficiency orientation, mindful agency, ethical commitment, and collective ecological action. This model explains conceptually how individual spiritual cultivation may inform ecological responsibility across communal, institutional, societal, and interfaith contexts. Rather than treating ecological responsibility as an isolated moral obligation, the framework positions it within transformative Dhamma praxis, connecting inner cultivation, ethical conduct, responsible consumption, and coordinated action. The RCMEA model offers a theoretical basis for future empirical investigation and context-sensitive environmental initiatives grounded in Buddhist ethics.