ABSTRACT
Buddhism has many ideas and practices that can be naturalized, and these should be of great interest to Religious Naturalists. As Buddhism interacts with modernity, with its secular and scientific viewpoint, certain aspects of historical Buddhism will need reconsideration. There are two major teachings of the Buddha that will cause difficulties for Naturalists, namely, karma and rebirth. For the Religious Naturalist, accepting Buddhism in its traditional form is impossible. Just drawing on the practices of Buddhism leaves a world of philosophical ideas behind. For the Religious Naturalist, explains Donald A. Crosby, nature is the focus of ultimate concern. Although Buddhism tends to be more environmentally friendly than some religions, primarily because of its teaching of interdependence, nature is not its ultimate concern. Buddhism forms a conceptual framework that is adjusted, rethought, and reconstructed based on the best available evidence. One of the interesting teachings of Buddhism, as it relates to science and ecology, is dependent co-arising.
