Ecological restoration projects provide the opportunity for individuals to reconnect with the natural environment. However, the actions and approaches of some ecological restorationists should be brought into question. The concern is that while restoration projects often feature a great deal of public input, hard engineering and site manipulation, they are still based on human-centered priorities. Several scholars in the emerging field of Buddhism and Ecology have applied Buddhist teachings to studies in ecology to advocate a selfless, interconnected approach between humans and ecosystems. However, there has been no work devoted to interconnectedness between Buddhism and the practice and promise of ecological restoration. In this thesis we follow the path of the Buddha, Bhikkhu Buddhadasa and the practitioners and philosophers of ecological restoration to discover if Buddhadasas’ teachings and interpretations of paţicca-samuppāda (dependent origination) and anattā (no-self) will be able to help restorationists approach ecological restoration in a more interconnected and selfless way.

Ecological restoration projects provide the opportunity for individuals to reconnect with the natural environment. However, the actions and approaches of some ecological restorationists should be brought into question. The concern is that while restoration projects often feature a great deal of public input, hard engineering and site manipulation, they are still based on human-centered priorities. Several scholars in the emerging field of Buddhism and Ecology have applied Buddhist teachings to studies in ecology to advocate a selfless, interconnected approach between humans and ecosystems. However, there has been no work devoted to interconnectedness between Buddhism and the practice and promise of ecological restoration. In this thesis we follow the path of the Buddha, Bhikkhu Buddhadasa and the practitioners and philosophers of ecological restoration to discover if Buddhadasas’ teachings and interpretations of paţicca-samuppāda (dependent origination) and anattā (no-self) will be able to help restorationists approach ecological restoration in a more interconnected and selfless way.