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Rated The Buddha's Footprint: An Environmental History of Asia 6/10

In 'The Buddha's Footprint', Elverskog counters the common narrative of Buddhism being, in essence, a eco-friendly religion. He does so by providing a history of Buddhism and its spread throughout Asia. The book uses excerpts from Buddhist scripture to show that early Buddhists were not in the slightest concerned about the environment. All in all, an interesting read, which might alter your views of Buddhism quite a bit. Although the book isn't too long, the Elverskog's thesis could have easily been conveyed in a short essay. He repeatedly uses the same arguments to make his case. <br><br>The argument the author provides is compelling, but would have been stronger if he also provided some counter-arguments. For example, the author frequently states that Buddhists pushed the market economy and, the consequent, urbanization in Asia, which led to a disregard for the environment. However, I'm not entirely convinced whether it is Buddhism per se, or rather the cultural context of Buddhism, which set this reaction in motion. I would have liked Elverskog to make this distinction (if evidence exists) more clear. <br><br>The book starts with an experience the author had in Tibet, whereby he came across two Buddhist monks who were carrying rucksacks made of snow leopard skins. The author presents this as a pivotal moment, where his views of Buddhism radically change: Because how could two Buddhist monks, who ought to have deep respect for nature, use the skin of an endangered animal for something as trivial as a rucksack?<br><br> I assume this encounter took place somewhere in the late 20th century. In the rest of the book, however, the author barely makes any reference to environmentalism and Buddhism in modern times. The book only seems to be concerned with the history of Buddhism and how this relates to environmentalism. This seems like a missed opportunity.

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Published 2026-08-06 08:08 UTC · bridged from Atmosphere