Journal of Dharma

EDITORIAL: Eco-Sanctuaries Amid Green Sacrifice

Mathew Attumkal — 2025-06-30

The twenty-first century confronts humanity with a profound paradox. Even as global awareness of the sacredness of nature deepens across cultures and faith traditions, the very ecosystems we revere are increasingly imperilled by industrial expansion, climate instability and development-driven interventions. This tension—between biophilia, humanity’s innate affinity for life, and theophilia, its reverence for the divine—gives rise to what may be called a spiritual hybrid dilemma. At this crossroads stand eco-sanctuaries: spaces of reverence and protection that are simultaneously threatened by narratives of sacrifice invoked in the name of progress. Historically, eco-sanctuaries such as sacred groves, rivers, wetlands, forests, mountains and revered landscapes, have embodied a harmonious convergence of spirituality, culture and ecology. Across civilizations, human communities have intuitively recognized that certain places possess intrinsic value beyond material utility. In India, sacred groves have preserved endemic species, stabilized soil and water systems and functioned as ecological corridors within human-dominated landscapes. Rivers such as the Ganges, the Jordan and the Nile were ritually protected through religious observance, sustaining both ecological processes and social cohesion. In Africa, sacred forests and cultural taboos have long safeguarded biodiversity, while in East Asia, temple lands and mountain sanctuaries have quietly conserved habitats for centuries. These examples reveal an enduring truth: conservation has never been driven solely by policy or economics. Moral imagination and spiritual worldviews have historically shaped ecological behaviour. Sacred spaces function as living laboratories where human values, ethical commitments and empirical ecology intersect, offering generative models of sustainable land management and responsible stewardship

Farming With Faith: The Nexus Between Creation/Environment and Religion

Jijimon Alakkalam Joseph — 2025-06-30

Environmental protection is a critical component of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Farmers worldwide play a pivotal role in safeguarding the environment, often drawing upon their religious traditions to inform their practices and worldviews. These traditions profoundly influence their relationship with the more-than-human community and their environmental consciousness. Despite this influence, secularization theories have posited that science and rationality would gradually supplant religion in modern societies. Some environmentalists have critiqued anthropocentric religious narratives for exacerbating environmental degradation. Hence, until recently, religious entities have been largely absent from discussions on sustainable development. This paper examines the role of religious communities, spiritual leaders, and sacred texts in shaping the environmental consciousness of Buddhist and Christian farmers in Taiwan. The findings reveal that religious beliefs remain central to shaping individuals’ worldviews and environmental consciousness. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that when religious narratives are interpreted through a lens of reverence for creation, they can foster ecological stewardship

Soundscape Ecology and Posthumanist Music Practice: An Approach Towards Ecological Healing

Xiahong Qiao — 2025-06-30

The world is gradually awakening to the severity of contemporary ecological crises. Among these, noise pollution has emerged as a silent yet devastating threat, damaging the environment since the dawn of industrial modernity. The replacement of human labour with heavy machinery, the expansion of large-scale technological installations, and the transition from agricultural ecosystems to highly industrialized landscapes have introduced a new and troubling dimension to ecological degradation. These developments have not only inflicted profound harm on natural ecosystems but have also alienated humanity from the very sounds of nature that once nurtured calmness, relaxation, healing, and an intimate sense of connection with the natural world. Today, people have become more accustomed to the noise of factories and vehicles than to the harmonious acoustic environment of nature. The pursuit of technological advancement and economic gain—whether through deforestation, industrial emissions damaging the ozone layer, or the relentless acceleration of scientific intervention—continues to exacerbate ecological decline. This study proposes soundscape ecology as a crucial corrective lens for addressing the current ecological crisis. It argues that the lyrical heritage of musicality carries significant potential for ecological restoration, and it highlights the need for posthuman music practices that centre the well-being of the environment. In doing so, it calls for a renewed music-literary consciousness that rekindles humanity’s connection with nature

The Principle of Bal Tashchit in Deuteronomy: A Sacred Call for Wartime Eco-Sensitivity

Biju Karukappallil — 2025-06-30

This article provides a closer look at the prohibition of cutting down fruit trees in Deuteronomy 20:19-20 in the context of two challenging crises that threaten the stability and wellbeing of the whole humanity: armed conflicts and environmental destruction. Briefly analyzing the historical context of the wartime scorched-earth tactics, and having considered similar texts in the Pentateuch, the injunction in Deuteronomy is pointed out as one of the earliest legislative attempts to execute environmental restraint during armed conflicts. This prohibitive precept is the basis of the rabbinic principle of ‘Bal Tshchit’ - ‘do not destroy’- by which the ban on violence was broadened to all spheres of life. Situating this within the contemporary context of international conflicts shows the necessity to re-consider the Biblical foundations of ecological sensitivity that helps define environmental protection as a sacred duty. In this light, the ancient commandment offers a sacred call for integrating environmental reverence into modern visions of peace and justice.

Cross-Cultural Moral Ecology in Sportsmanship: A Comparative Study of the Bhagavad Gita and the Analects

Qiang Liu, Yingyuan Zhang, Hong Zhang, Xin Sheng & Chunying Zheng — 2025-06-30

This article compares the Bhagavad Gita and philosophy in the Analects from a cross-cultural perspective in relation to ecology and sportsmanship to demonstrate how both texts can theorize the notion of balance, harmony and interconnectedness in sports. The Bhagavad Gita is concerned with three environmental constituents, namely: karmayoga, dharma and samatva. Where the Analects stresses on ren, li and yi. In addition, this paper examines the divinity and philosophy of these ideas through the ecological viewpoint by using Susan Bassnett’s (1993) theory of comparative literature to identify the intersection of these traditions and locate and seek harmony and balance. Moreover, the research indicates that social virtue must be accompanied by the spiritual disconnection as one of the ethical principles that must be developed by athletes and coaches to favor clean, humble and respectful sportsmanship. The study is driven by the fact that sport is an ecological laboratory to build a universal ethical discourse, which evokes conscience and compassion. The paper concludes that both traditions are eco-conscious, wherein self-discipline, reciprocity and equilibrium are bound together and provide trans-civilizational ethic of responsibility and restraint which resonates with the ecological consciousness of the present and evolution of sustainable virtue.

The Hills Have Eyes: An Approach Towards Eco-Marxism Policies and Land Ethics

Youliang Chen — 2025-06-30

The world continues to grapple with economic challenges as ancient as human civilization itself. Recent scholarship increasingly explores ecological crises through socio-economic perspectives, particularly within Marxist frameworks. Yet, one crucial dimension often remains overlooked—the notion of predestination that subtly shapes human interpretations of environmental devastation. From certain Christian viewpoints, ecological destruction is sometimes misunderstood as a divinely predetermined consequence of the original sin of Adam and Eve. Such a misreading, grounded in fatalism, risks portraying ecological degradation as inevitable rather than as the moral and material outcome of human action. This study extends the discourse by integrating the concept of predestination into eco-Marxist critiques of self-interest—the very force driving humanity’s destructive pursuit of profit at the expense of ecological balance. In this context, the idiom “The Hills Have Eyes” is reinterpreted as an ecological metaphor, suggesting that nature itself bears witness to human excesses and responds through environmental retribution. Hence the author argues for a synthesis of eco-Marxist theory with land ethics and sustainable policy frameworks, urging a shift from human-centered exploitation toward ecological responsibility and collective stewardship.

The Purpose and Promise of Creation According to the Letter to the Romans: A Contribution to Christian Environmental Ethics

Christoph W. Stenschke — 2025-06-30

This article offers an exploration of how Paul’s references to creation in his Letter to the Romans can contribute to Christian environmental ethics. After an introduction to the debate and a survey of research, Romans 1:19–21; 8:19–22 and 11:26–27 is treated in detail. For each passage, the article discusses its implications for the environment and for human interaction with it. As creation testifies to its creator, humans need to do all to preserve it so that this testimony is also available to future generations. In its present suffering, creation is portrayed as participating in the human longing for the consummation of the Kingdom of God. As we wait together, humans are to treat creation as carefully as possibly as their co-heir of God’s promises and comprehensive salvific purposes. Built on this expectation and in view of Old Testament and early Jewish eschatology, there is the prospect not only of the salvation and restoration of all of Israel but also of all of creation. Read in this way, Romans can contribute to Christian ecological ethics.

The Yellow River Basin, Ecological Migration and Cultural Adaptation

Guorui Zhou, Zheng Gong, Yifang Fan & Liuji Gong — 2025-06-30

Contemporary Research indicates a clear convergence and exchange between ecological migration and cultural adaptation in the Yellow River Basin (YRB). The findings show that ecological restoration initiatives have effectively increased vegetation cover and improved soil stability. However, relocated communities continue to experience cultural and social disruptions. Despite these challenges, migrants have demonstrated resilience through adaptive cultural practices, interethnic cooperation and the preservation of traditional ecological knowledge. Participatory approaches appear vital, as they support both ecological success and cultural continuity, with governance emerging as the decisive factor. The study concludes that sustainable development in the YRB must balance ecological rehabilitation with cultural vitality, recognizing that human adaptation and environmental restoration are mutually reinforcing pillars of socio-ecological sustainability

Miroslav Imbrišević. Sport, Law and Philosophy: The Jurisprudence of Sport

Weidong Zuo — 2025-06-30

The richness and integrity of sports culture constitute one of society’s most important forms of collective engagement. Although often dismissed as mere entertainment, sport—and the philosophy that underpins it—plays a vital role in shaping social development. The scholarly contributions in this volume highlight how philosophical reflection on sport, combined with legal frameworks, can guide players and institutions toward more meaningful participation in society. This relationship echoes a core principle: rules are inseparable from the spirit of the game. A player who ignores the rules cannot truly take part; likewise, sport and its regulatory structures work together to advance the cultural and developmental dimensions of sports culture. The question, however, is how the rules of sport intersect with legal norms and social theories: do they stand apart, contradict them, or reinforce them? Sport, Law and Philosophy: The Jurisprudence of Sport, edited by Miroslav Imbrišević, engages directly with these questions through the still-emerging field known as the “Jurisprudence of Sport” (JOS).

Dominik Zechner. The Violence of Reading: Literature and Philosophy at the Threshold of Pain

Qingchao Jia — 2025-06-30

This Book Review examines Dominik Zechner’s The Violence of Reading, a philosophically rigorous exploration of how reading itself becomes a site of violence, pain and linguistic rupture. Drawing on thinkers such as Walter Benjamin, Werner Hamacher, Roland Barthes, Maurice Blanchot and Gilles Deleuze, Zechner destabilizes naïve assumptions of linguistic referentiality and exposes the wound inherent in literary representation. Through close readings of philosophical, literary and rhetorical case studies, the author argues that pain is not merely represented in language but conditions the very possibility of meaning. The book offers an original contribution to literary philosophy, phenomenology and critical theory by rethinking reading as an ethically and affectively charged encounter.