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28 EASTERN HORIZON | FACE TO FACE
A Cry for
Mother Earth
By Cynthia Trone
The author and the Tibetan monks
Benny: You wrote about Buddhism and the
environment for your MA thesis. How did you get
interested in Buddhism?
Cynthia Trone lives in Camden, Maine. She is the Cynthia: I was deeply inspired when I hosted the Sacred
owner of Symmetree, Provisions for the Conscious Arts Tour in 2014, with a group of Tibetan Buddhist
Explorer, a small business that features her monks from Drepung Gomang Monastery. Their sense
son’s creative designs, environmentally friendly of peace and compassion, along with a global awareness
of unity and collaboration, spoke to my heart. I traveled
products and a meditation studio. She earned
to Tibet in 2017 to see for myself the oppression that
her Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from
these kind people have endured, and then I attended
Colby College in 1983, and her Master’s Degree
His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 2018 Kalachakra teaching
in Mindfulness Studies from Lesley University in in Bodhgaya to better understand my commitment to
2017. A mother of three children, she is the former Buddhism. My academic pursuit of a Master’s Degree in
manager of paddleboarding outfitters in Jupiter, Mindfulness Studies was motivated by the curiosity of
Florida, and the former Director of Education how Buddhist wisdom applies to current environmental
at Lighthouse ArtCenter in Tequesta, Florida. crises. I have always had a deep love for, and connection
Returning to Maine to care for her parents in to, the natural world. Even as a child, I loved to wander
their final years, she developed youth programs alone in the woods. The joy of the vibrant mystery
at the Langlais Sculpture Preserve in Cushing, that flourishes in the natural world, along with the
Maine, and is involved in teaching and learning attunement of the senses on outdoor adventures, is very
at her local sangha, The Dancing Elephant, in similar to the clarity I feel when I meditate. Focusing
Rockland, Maine. Her work as local coordinator on this love of our planet in a way that is full of the
for the Drepung Gomang Monastery’s Sacred Arts compassion and poetry, became the focus of my thesis.
Poetics of the Wild explored how ancient Buddhist texts
Tour in Florida and Maine continues to foster a
celebrated the natural world, while my own poetry
deep connection with Tibetan Buddhism in local
is a way for me to express the deep connection and
communities. Benny Liow reached out to Cynthia
concern I feel for our planet and future. The ongoing
on what we can learn from Buddhism regarding exploration of my beginner’s mind, especially as it
the environment and sustainability of planet earth. relates to my responsibility for caring for all sentient
beings, including the earth, continues to open a pathway
for joy and connection. Being a part of a sangha has
supported my path, and created opportunities to
explore Buddhism with curiosity and community. I am
