The Green Impact of
Humanistic Buddhism
About Fo Guang Shan and the Buddha’s Light International Association
Fo Guang Shan (FGS) is an international Mahāyāna Buddhist organization, founded in 1967 by Venerable Master Hsing Yun. The counterpart for laypeople, founded in California in 1992, is Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA), an international NGO committed to equality, respect for others, and social progress. At BLIA, monastics and laypeople work globally to encourage collective action to scale solutions that benefit our environment and future generations.
BLIA and the United Nations
In 2003, BLIA joined the UN ECOSOC with special consultative status, in recognition of BLIA’s work in promoting health, education, and sustainability globally.
Participants all over the globe take part in VegRun events hosted by Fo Guang Shan, showing immense support for vegetarianism and charity.
BLIA projects and programs support the Sustainable Development Goals, recognizing that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
Sustainable Initiatives
VegePlan A
The action-oriented Vege Plan A encourages people to adopt a vegetarian diet, which can help to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, halt and reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss, and promote sustainable consumption and production. Vege Plan A engages the community and businesses through outreach and workshops, cooking demonstrations, meal deliveries, and activations, including the popular fun-run VegRun.
T-Earth
In partnership with the Pure Green Foundation and working with local communities and the private sector, the T-Earth reforestation initiative aims to mitigate the impacts of climate change and preserve biodiversity. Nature-based solutions leverage nature and the power of healthy ecosystems to protect, manage, and restore a stable and biodiverse future. T-Earth also aims to develop economic opportunities through skills training and jobs.
