A Sri Lanka Japan Collaboration by Jonathan S. Watts September 28, 2025 A Holistic Buddhist Development Lineage For three days in early September 2025, the holistic Buddhist development world came full circle at a workshop entitled “Urban Dhamma in Action: Empowering Temples for Sustainable Community Development”, co-hosted by the Sri Lanka Network of Engaged Buddhists…
04
June
Interview with Rev. Hidehito Okochi August 1, 2024 This is an interview with Rev. Hidehito Okochi, the chief abbot of Juko-in and Kenju-in temples and founder of the Rita Citizen Asset Foundation, previously posted in Japanese on the Rita Foundation homepage. Rev. Okochi has been engaged in “supporting community/civil society activities by utilising the temple’s…
05
March

4 Days in Auroville Eco-Temple Trip Report Dexter Cohen BohnDec 14, 2024 Hey there, heads up that this is a longer post than usual! Take your time with the photos, videos and links - let me know your thoughts and if these deeper dives tickle your fancy. I respect your attention so for the TLDR (Too Long…
12
August

Cédric Boudry
June 2021
Phra Sangkom Thanapanyo Khunsiri, designer of the Kok Nong Na model
Kok Nong Na or “New Theory Agriculture”
Over the past year Thai monk Phra Sangkom Thanapanyo Khunsiri has made unprecedented progress in his holistic sustainable development initiative. For over 20 years now, he has been dedicating his time to social development…
03
September
International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB)
September 3, 2020
In recent decades, Thailand has been facing the consequences of mass deforestation caused by the expansion of industrial agriculture and commercial lumber. Today, Thailand’s forested areas account for 37% of land surface, ranking lowest in South East Asia. This percentage has been rising, however, since the…
15
May
Bangladesh is an over populated country with few open spaces of land. Because of the huge pressure from over population, it’s natural environment, biodiversity, and ecosystem maintenance are at risk as consequently so is sustainable livelihood and environmental peace. It is important for building greater resilience and sustainable communities in Bangladesh to ensure a cleaner,…
14
May
By Kanchana Weerakoon
Founding President Eco Friendly Volunteers (ECO-V) Sri Lanka. Co-Founder/President Journeys for Climate Justice (JCJ), Australia. Co-Founder Edible Routes Foundation (ERF), India
The first Metta Garden was established in Colombo Sri Lanka in 2015 as a contribution to the INEB Eco Temple network. Since I started living in New Delhi, India a few…
06
November
Shift the Power
by Jonathan S. Watts[1]
November 10, 2018
Here you can find a 2024 interview with Rev. Okochi about his work as well as his journey as a religious leader and engaged citizen.
He has helped develop a micro-credit “Future Bank”, constructed temples and houses to last 100 years, and is working for…
28
October

Rev. Ryogo Takemoto
Rev. Ryogo Takemoto is the abbot of Saisho-ji, a Jodo Shin Hongan-ji Pure Land denomination temple located in Katsuragi City in Nara Prefecture. In June 2018, he established a new company called Tera Energy (tera=Buddhist temple) based in Kyoto City, which in April of 2019 began selling electricity within Hiroshima prefecture. He…
06
September
Eco-Temple: Built small and ecologically from ancient Buddhist tradition of forest hermitages-->
Surrounding Environment: Regeneration of water table/watershed by building check dams--> Reforestation and rehabilitation of environment-->
Education for Ecology and Dharma: establishment of eco-school in which children learn about practical livelihood, environment, and sufficiency values-->
Sufficiency Economy: Planting and harvesting forest products for self-sufficiency and marketing ecological…