Third Thursday at CEIE |Dialogue

Spirituality and the Environment - Part 2
Buddhist and Islamic perspective

Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries, as part of its environmental lecture series, presents the second in a series of two panel discussions with respected spiritual leaders to examine the role of spirituality in protecting the environment at the Institute's Center for Environmental Innovation and Education at Denning's Point in Beacon, NY.

On Thursday, September 15 at 7pm a lively and engaging discussion will take place with Buddhist and Islamic theologians; the talk is designed to transcend differences amongst belief systems to find common points of intersection and hope.

Bonnie Myotai Treace, founder and head Sensei of Hermitage Heart and the Bodies of Water Society in Garrison, NY, and Faraz Khan, a Senior Environmentalist with the New Jersey DEP and Muslim Chaplain at Rutgers University will explore the similarities and differences between Buddhist and Islamic sacred texts and traditions as they relate to environmental challenges within the context of today's world, as well as examine the role of humans as stewards of the earth. Beacon Institute's John Cronin  an internationally renowned environmentalist and a former Thomas Merton Fellow, will moderate the discussion.

Faraz Khan is a Senior Environmentalist with the New Jersey DEP and is Muslim Chaplain at Rutgers University.  Mr. Khan is a social activist and a thinker who holds a M.A. in liberal arts from Thomas Edison State College, NJ and a B.A. degree in Environmental Geology from Rutgers University, NJ. He is a frequent speaker on Islamic Ecotheology and Environmental Ethics in Islam on various college campuses in the Tri-state area. Aside from his professional career as a wetland scientist for the State of New Jersey, his interest lies in Islamic art, history, philosophy, environmental ethics, and sharia'. He teaches at the Department of Religion and Philosophy as an adjunct professor at St. Francis College, NYC. His work focusing on American Muslims is available online www.liberalartsforum.com and http://faraz-khan.artistwebsites.com.

Bonnie Myotai Treace, Sensei, is the founder and head priest of Hermitage Heart; she teaches at Gristmill Hermitage in Garrison, New York.   "The Water Mala," a Buddhist right action project on water awareness and meditation initiated by Hermitage Heart in 2007 is now established on all five continents. Serving for almost two decades as vice-abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery, the largest Zen monastery in the West, she has led over 500 retreats and conferences, and is particularly known for her work in women's spirituality, poetry, and the nexus of mind and environment. Sensei was the establishing teacher and first abbess of the Zen Center of New York City, has advanced degrees in literature, and worked as an analyst with the Potomac Research Institute specializing in hydromechanics.

Publications include: chapters for Water: Its Spiritual Significance (Vons Fitae Press), The Art of Just Sitting: Essential Writings on the Zen Practice of Shikantaza, and Lotus Moon: The Poetry of Rengetsu.