From Awareness to Action: The Five Mindfulness Trainings as a Pillar of Sustainable Modern Buddhist Life Amid the Global Climate Crisis
Yusmiati Liau, Troi Dao Bi
Jurnal Kajian & Reviu Jinarakkhita Jurnal Gerakan Semangat Buddhayana October 30, 2025 DOI: 10.60046/jgsb.v3i2.235 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative literature study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism Meditation |
| Keywords | Operationalization Ignorance Ecological crisis Climate change Sustainability Pillar Environmental ethics Global warming Lagging Sustainable development Qualitative research Anthropocentrism |
| Key findings | Proposes that Buddhist ethics, particularly the Pañcasīla and the Five Mindfulness Trainings, provide a framework for addressing climate change by transforming greed, hatred, and ignorance. Identifies five operational indicators and concludes that Buddhism can be operationalized as a global ethic for sustainability. |
Abstract
This study examines the contribution of Buddhist ethics, particularly the Pañcasīla and the Five Mindfulness Trainings (FMT), as a moral and practical framework for addressing the global climate crisis. The research applies a literature study with a qualitative descriptive approach, analyzing Buddhist texts, academic works, and prior studies on mindfulness and ecology. The findings highlight that Buddhist teachings stress the transformation of greed, hatred, and ignorance as the roots of ecological degradation. Five operational indicators are identified: ecological awareness through mindfulness, universal compassion, restraint of greed through simple living, intergenerational responsibility, and inner transformation toward sustainable behavior. The FMT reinforces these indicators with practical applications such as mindful consumption, nonviolent lifestyles, responsible communication, and ecological solidarity. The study concludes that Buddhism can be operationalized as a global ethic that guides lifestyle changes at both individual and community levels toward sustainability.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists Western Buddhist meditation practitioners and experts in Theravāda, Zen, and Tibetan... | 2017 | Qualitative study with mixed-methods | |
| A phenomenology of meditation-induced light experiences: traditional buddhist and neurobiological perspectives American Buddhist practitioners | 2014 | Qualitative study | |
| Common Core Thesis and Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Mysticism in Chinese Buddhist Monks and Nuns Chinese Pure Land and Chan Buddhist monks and nuns | 2011 | Mixed-methods study | n = 139 |
| Anger regulation in traumatized Cambodian refugees: the perspectives of Buddhist monks. Buddhist Cambodian monks in Massachusetts | 2011 | Qualitative study | n = 6 |
| The Lived Experiences of Experienced Vipassana Mahasi Meditators: an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Experienced Vipassana Mahasi meditators | 2018 | Qualitative study |