Buddhist village monks in Laos initiate environmentally aware development

BEUNGSANTHUENG, Laos: A quiet revolution is taking shape in rural Laos, where environmentally conscious village Buddhist monks are teaching people morality and meditation to spearhead a movement mobilizing the people to economically develop their communities for living in harmony with nature rather than destroying it in the name of development.

At the Ban Beungsanthueng community, in Nongbok District in Khammouane province, about 400 km south of the capital Vientiane, monks educate the villagers in sila (Buddhist morality) and the way to live a good life (right livelihood), while protecting the environment. In this nominally communist country, the monks explain the linkage between humans and nature to villagers, and its importance to their livelihood and well-being.