CAPAS RESEARCH PROJECT - ROLF SCHEUERMANN Buddhism in a Changing World: Exploring Buddhist Eschatology Amidst the Climate Crisis
With increased heat waves, droughts, floods, and other natural catastrophes, climate change can no longer be neglected, not even in the Global North. It influences and impacts public discourse, film, literature, and art. Apocalyptic sentiments increasingly enter the associated narratives, even attributing to climate change the status of an ecological apocalypse that could eventually lead to the extinction of human life on Earth. The Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, for example, proclaims that we are already ‘living in the end times’ since ‘the global capitalist system is approaching an apocalyptic zero-point’ (Žižek 2011). In this environment, eco-activist groups like the global movement Extinction Rebellion (XR) or the German Last Generation emerge and gain momentum. Eschatological thought is deeply embedded in Buddhist philosophy and practice, and it is essential to understand how Buddhist groups concerned with the environment interpret and recontextualize these narratives.
The study applies a five-part framework to categorize end-time narratives based on their function: preventive, curative, rehabilitative, palliative, and transformative. It further explores the effect of these adaptation processes on Buddhist soteriology, shifting the focus from liberation from the world to preserving the world. Additionally, it investigates how Buddhist and eco-Buddhist approaches can inform broader strategies for addressing the climate crisis. A methodologically pluralist approach will combine textual analysis with qualitative research, including fieldwork and interviews in Germany and other countries. The project builds on prior research on Tibetan Buddhist eschatology and recent fieldwork on Extinction Rebellion Buddhists in Germany. By analyzing Buddhist end-time narratives in the context of the ecological crisis, this study deepens our understanding of religious adaptation in times of crisis It will contribute to scholarship on Buddhist responses to climate change and offer insights into how religious movements evolve in response to existential threats.