Episode Details

Imagine growing up believing that at the heart of existence is a Primordial Mother—and that She is the Earth.

For Dekila Chungyalpa, that idea is not metaphor. It’s inheritance.

In Tibetan Buddhism, the feminine divine appears as Prajnaparamita, or Yum Chenmo—the “Mother of All Buddhas.” As the daughter and granddaughter of nuns, Dekila was raised in a world where spiritual teaching and healing was often female, and where land itself—especially the sacred Himalayan landscape of Sikkim—was alive with presence, meaning, and obligation.

Today, she is a global conservationist and founding director of the Loka Initiative, building unlikely partnerships between climate scientists and religious leaders across traditions—from Buddhist monastics to Catholic clergy, Indigenous elders to Muslim clerics and Evangelical pastors. Her work suggests that the climate crisis is not only scientific or political—but spiritual.  

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• UW: About the Loka Initiative 
• Loka Initiative website
• Center for Humans and Nature: Dekila on ecology and the Buddhist concept of interdependence

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0:00 Introduction
4:05 Sacred Mountains of Sikkim
10:20 The Sacred Feminine
16:30 Rituals and the Land
21:25 Scientist by Day, Buddhist by Night
28:25 Bridging Faith and Science

Wonder Cabinet is hosted by Anne Strainchamps and Steve Paulson. Find out more about the show at https://wondercabinetproductions.com, where you can subscribe to the podcast and our newsletter.