To echo the ecological concerns in Tzu Chi’s 2010 forum on Environment and Religion, this paper offers explanations and suggestions about nature conservation and environmental protection related to the Tzu Chi Movement. After contrasting the Chinese concept of “the harmony between man and nature,” and the idea that “man can conquer nature” with western ethics about environmental protection, the author briefly analyzes the history of ecological conservation and environmental protection in Taiwan and proposes that the most significant feature of Tzu Chi’s environmental protection movement lies in the fact that it provides the general public a vital way to pursue the true value of life, that it takes care of the public's needs in spiritual dimensions where neither political nor economical authorities have been able to gratify in the history of Taiwan. It introduces a movement in the society where people start to re-examine their roles in the society, their identities, the affirmation of their functions, and a major trend to return to the interest of the collective self. As a counterweight to the egoism that used to be the mainstream of our society, Tzu Chi has set a landmark movement that inspires and recreates good conscience and responsible social actions among the public.The author affirms that Tzu Chi is a religion among religions. And it is now generating goodness and new universal ethics and values that have not existed in our human world. At the same time, the author suggests that the natural ecology and native culture of Taiwan can be the fundamental sources for Tzu Chi to establish a long lasting lineage. What it needs would be thewisdom and courage to face major issues about right and wrong, the courage to take up responsibilities, and a strong foothold rooted in Buddha Dharma, where it begins and where it shall return.
