Shown by the Marron’s Claw: Ecological Receptivity as Mindful Praxis

Abstract

On the wooded hillside of the Origins Centre, a small retreat centre in Western Australia with a strong ethos of active care, the appearance of native animals, especially those that are scarce or sporadic, is interpreted as indicative of spiritual and ecological health. Conversing with human-animal relationships within other Buddhist traditions, this article explores the resonances between the presence of animals and ideas of successful labour, both physical and contemplative, amongst Australian Buddhists in a time of ecological crises. In conversation with notions of ecological health and renewal, native animals are often seen as companions, tutelary beings, and as being indicative of successful practice. At a centre where regenerative work to re-establish disrupted ecologies is considered collaboration, receptivity to the movements, moods, and activities of animals, and of ecosystems more broadly, is cultivated to support the flourishing of life, and is coupled with a culture of dedicated work.