Meditation and Mass Civil Disruption: How “Engaged” Can an “Engaged Buddhist” Be?
Journal of Global Buddhism December 17, 2025 Zoe Zielke
Extinction Rebellion Buddhists, a subgroup within the environmental movement Extinction Rebellion, represent a distinct phenomenon in contemporary UK Buddhism: participation in direct-action activism. Through public, collective meditation, the group emphasizes mass civil disruption. Based on nearly two years of ethnographic fieldwork, this paper explores how they challenge perceived limits of Buddhism's involvement in social concerns, pushing the boundaries of what constitutes an engaged Buddhist. The analysis situates their practices within ongoing dialogue about the limits of engaged Buddhism, arguing that this group exemplifies the ever-diversifying relationship between Buddhism and social change.