「心靈環保」，為聖嚴法師於1989年以來，將漢傳禪佛教的觀念和方法轉化，所提出的新概念。「心靈環保」的主張，不但是一種生活理念和社會運動，更是漢傳禪法的現代化。「心靈環保」，轉化印度涉及安心法的次第禪定，將禪宗擔水砍柴、著衣喫飯，生活日用的禪法修持，融入現代人的生活和環境，運用在當代社會生活中。此外，「心靈環保」更將禪法開展至社會倫理的實踐層面，乃至於全球倫理如世界宗教、和平、經濟、環保等社會議題，為淨化人心、淨化社會而努力。然而，目前社會和學術界，多將「心靈環保」放置於社會運動和生活理念實踐範疇討論，「心靈環保」與禪佛教的關聯，卻少有研究探討。本文將就聖嚴法師之思想根源、禪法修行和當代倫理三方面，探討「心靈環保」與漢傳禪佛教的思想和修行方法之間的關係。

In 1989, the internationally well-known Chan Master Sheng Yen elaborated a new concept which he called “Protecting the Spiritual Environment.” Protecting the Spiritual Environment, based on the philosophy and practice of Chinese Chan Buddhism, is not just a notion about a new lifestyle or the promotion of a social movement but, in itself, is a Chan device utilized in modern life. In the gradual approach of Indian Buddhism, practice is cultivated in sitting meditation. Through a transformation of the gradual approach, Protecting the Spiritual Environment can be applied to everyday life and developed into a new form of practice relevant to modern society. Moreover, Protecting the Spiritual Environment extends Chan practice to the realm of social ethics as well as to issues such as world religions, peace, mental health, economics and environmentalism etc. However, whereas media and researchers often focus on Protecting the Spiritual Environment in the context of social movements or as a novel lifestyle, the relationship of Protecting the Spiritual Environment to Chan Buddhism is seldom explored.