The Rev. Jana Drakka is a senior Zen Buddhist priest, calligrapher and community activist. She provides meditation, memorials and harm reduction groups for marginally housed people and those who work with them in San Francisco. She also advocates for the rights of those living in poverty.

Eric Reinders is an associate professor of religion at Emory University in Atlanta. He has written about Buddhist attitudes toward animals.

Shabkar promotes vegetarianism as a way of life for Buddhists of all schools. It is based on the teachings of Shabkar Tsodruk Rangdrol (1781-1851), a Tibetan yogi who espoused vegetarianism.

Read an Aug. 31, 2010, article from the Los Angeles Times about the Dalai Lama’s environmental message to chicken farmers.

Koichi Shinohara is a senior lecturer in the department of religious studies at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. She wrote the entry “Changing Roles of Miraculous Images in Medieval Chinese Buddhism” for the publication Images, Miracles and Authority in Asian Religious Traditions.

Ethan Nichtern is the author of One City: A Declaration of Interdependence (2007), a Buddhist political treatise about, among other things, youth and political activism in a post 9-11 world. He is the founder of the Interdependence Project in New York City.

Stephen C. Berkwitz wrote “History and Gratitude in Theravada Buddhism,” which appeared in the September 2003 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Religion. He heads the department of religious studies at Missouri State University in Springfield.

Sharon Salzberg has taught insight meditation worldwide for more than 30 years. She is a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society and the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Barre, Mass. Her many books include The Force of Kindness: Change Your Life With Love & Compassion and Loving-Kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness.

Zen Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh has taught and written extensively on the Buddhist understanding of love. His books on the subject include True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart and Teachings on Love. Nhat Hanh lives in Plum Village in France , but teaches around the world. Read an excerpt from True Love at Beliefnet.com. Nhat Hanh’s organization in the U.S. is […]