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In line with The Gyalwang Karmapa, His Holiness Orgyen Trinley Dorje’s advice on the subject of environmental protection, TNG CENTRE® has adopted a clear policy to protect the environment and promote environmental awareness. 

This policy is regularly revised to incorporate new, environmentally-friendly practises to help run the centre in an ever more sustainable way, and focuses on progressively reducing the needs of the community by promoting the attitude of “being-content-with-less”. To put this philosophy into practise, the centre is committed to:

  1. Organic bio-gardening in order to make the community as self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables as possible
  2.  Wwoofing programs to share the Dharma along with its deep understanding of inter-dependence and compassion towards all beings, as well as practical organic food growing techniques
  3. Using eco-friendly cleaning products
  4. Using eco-friendly maintenance and building materials whenever possible
  5. Encouraging a policy to reduce, reuse and recycle among the resident and visiting sangha

In the face of increasing ecological disasters worldwide, we see Eco-Buddhism as far more than simply a new fashion resulting from a dualistic judgement-oriented attitude. Instead, it reflects a practical and responsible answer to the challenges faced by all beings on this shared planet, by promoting a sustainable lifestyle that respects and values all beings equally. 

Buddhism offers a profound understanding of human nature along with practical methods for countering the three poisons, specifically the afflictions of desire, aggression and self-absorption which are so devastatingly out of balance in our current self-centred consumer society. This puts Buddhism in a unique position to help promote a healthier attitude to both life and the environment around us in order to benefit all beings.

The middle path in dealing with the current ecological crisis lies not in advocating or promoting Western consumer development models, or even Western meat-heavy diets, as these are not only unsustainable but also out of reach for the majority of people around the world. Instead it encourages local solutions to local problems, in which communities work together to find their own sustainable answers adapted to their specific environment, rather than imposed generic solutions that are only really suitable for rich minorities.