World as Lover, World as Self: Courage for Global Justice and Planetary Renewal

by Joanna Macy, Joan Halifax (Foreword), Thich Nhat Hanh (Foreword)

An enduring classic of the ecology movement by the founder of the Work That Reconnects, now more timely than ever
Humanity is in an existential crisis. Facing the magnitude of our global situation as individuals leaves us feeling alone, disempowered, and despairing. Who better to listen to for wisdom and solace than Joanna Macy, one of the originators of modern environmentalism, whose life's work has been to hear and heal our pain for the planet?

World as Lover, World as Self draws on a lifetime of wisdom to offer a re-focus on the natural world, where readers can find the strength and spiritual nourishment to envision a new future for humanity built on a sustainable relationship with the earth. Rooted in the Buddha's teachings of paticca samuppada or interdependent co-arising, Macy's reflections are especially relevant for activists who want to address the underlying mindsets of fear, greed, and selfishness that give rise to overconsumption and the ultimate destruction of our world. Both heartbreaking and uplifting, this definitive edition of World as Lover, World as Self will give a new generation of readers the tools and understanding with which to meet today's challenges and crises.

Genres: Buddhism, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Ecology, Nature, Environment, Philosophy

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Dr. Joanna Rogers Macy (1929-2025), activist, ecologist and author, was one of the pioneers of engaged Buddhism. Her online work includes the article "World as Lover, World as Self"; "Bestiary" (an ode to wildlife); Nuclear Guardianship, her testimony at the World Uranium Hearings in Salzburg, 1992; and The Vegan Vision, on the ethics of a vegan diet. Her other books include Mutual Causality in Buddhism and General Systems Theory: The Dharma of Natural Systems, World as Lover, World as Self and Rilke's Book of Hours.

Reviews

[Litbitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this weeks ago, but I've struggled to write a review that does this justice.
I'm now giving up and just writing.

I've been enrolled in a socially engaged Buddhist course all year. It's been enlightening and exhausting and mindblowing, and it started with Joanna Macy. As we've worked our way through the program, the wisdom that has been recalled by students most often was this 90+ year old treasure saying that if our role turns out to be bearing witness to the end of the world as we know it, then that is what we must do. It took my breath away when she said it, and many of us have been moved to tears when repeating it.

It sounds contradictory, but in Buddhist activism the means IS the end, because we have no control over the end. Lovingly fight like hell to save this gorgeous ecosystem, and accept that it may not be possible.

If you want to connect Buddhism and activism, or Buddhism and environmentalism, then I can't think of a better book. She digs in and digs in, whether it's Buddhist philosophy, systems theory, deep ecology, or radical empathy. Spiritual, radical, intellectual, and wise as fuck.

[Kate Savage · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was taken by the first section of this book. It helped me think harder about forming my own spiritual practice around caring for the Earth.

But then it became a long text on the nuances of different forms of Buddhism, and their superiority to Hinduism, and I'm not really here for that.

[Silvio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just wow. I actually finished this book almost a month ago, just before I immersed myself in 3+ weeks of inner and outer exploration, connection, opening, surrender, rebirth... A yoga/embodiment & rewilding/nature connection retreat, an Ayahuasca retreat, and a spontaneous meditation retreat at a Zen temple in the forest. This book blew my mind when I read it, now it blows my mind that in these weeks I've actually come to understand its wisdom - to a certain degree - on a completely different level, through the Wisdom of my body, the Wisdom of the moment. And I realize how much it expresses what my pure inner Wisdom wants to unfold into. In some ways, this whole book could be a mantra for my life. Coming back to it now feels not like a closing but a stepping forth. Empowered, inspired, so so grateful. Please, everyone, do not only read books, get embodied! In, through, and as this beautiful world! As the Heart, Here, Home.

Just like the first retreat (actually hugely inspired by Joanna Macy's work), this book was a course in embodied reconnection and union (with everything), in the Beauty and Wisdom of Interbeing - here viewed from both the East (Buddhism) and the West (Systems Theory). This book is about expansion: the expansion of the self to include the whole world, and to love it as oneself. It is about realizing this fundamental Truth: "I am my experience. And my experience is beautiful. I am the world, and I love myself, I care about myself, I want to help and heal myself."
From ego to eco.

Interbeing means Interdependence, and this concept was beautifully examined, again, through both Buddhism and Systems Theory. Here I realized how well these two actually go together, hand in hand. Everything helps everything happen. Everything happens, hand in hand. How lovely.

This book was also about choice, and free will. Action = choice = identity. We are God's choice, and we can choose Love. It's in our hands, literally.

Let me please, here and now, invite you to listen to my maybe favorite heart-opening song, "In Your Hands" by Nick Mulvey.

By the way: expansion, embodiment, empowerment - that's the tantrik approach I love.

[Christopher Heimarck · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was this book that brought me back to a respect for, and belief in, buddhism that i had years ago, before i left it and went the direction of the Bible and Christianity. and though i am primarily a Christian, i am also a buddhist. this book might be considered to be "eco-buddhist" in the sense that it reflects an understanding of buddhism, but also a deep love for the world, the creatures and plants in the world, and a desire to help do whatever possible to help human beings survive indefinitely into the future. at one time i believed salvation was my responsibility for myself, to go to heaven. now i believe, as the bodhisattva believes, that one's task is to save everyone. i believe in universal salvation. and when you combine that concept with ecology, then what you desire is for every natural place to survive, with all of the trees, all of the plants, all of the animals, free of pollution or threat from human beings' destructiveness. we need to build a society for the long run. we need to build a society that does not pollute the air/water/soil or spread radioactive waste in containers that will corrode quickly. there is great wisdom in this book and i highly recommend it. what are you doing for the human race? do you understand human survival itself is in question? get this book and ask yourself those questions and do what you can to heal the world.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very thought provoking but the first part was dense and hard to get through. Overall kind of preachy, still good though!

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

The parts of this book that deal with Dependent (or Interdependent) Co-Arising, the history of Buddhism, and the parallels between Buddhism and Systems Theory are very good. Joanna Macy's approach to the problem of radioactive waste, however, suffers from her own admitted fear and despair of the issue. I'm not eager to be critical of that fear: radioactive waste is a scary-ass problem; however, in order to see the issue more clearly, I think it's important for readers to be willing to do widen their perspective beyond Macy's.

The book also suffers a bit from excerpt-itis; that is, a lot of material has been gathered from papers, articles, and pieces of books that Macy has written. Little effort seems to have been put into unifying these pieces for this particular book. This is not to say that the pieces contradict each other or make for incoherent reading; the exact opposite is the problem: the text becomes repetitive as she comes back to the same points in different excerpts.

This is the second time I've read this book. I'd read Parts One and Two, which deal primarily with Buddhism, a third time. I think two reads of Parts Three and Four, which deal primarily with the author's experiences in Asia and her social activism, is enough for me.

My copy is the 1991 edition. The book was reissued in 2007, and appears, from the table of contents, to have been reorganized and reworked to some extent.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Thinkgirl.net review:
World as Lover, World as Self is a uniquely large scale meditation on social justice and ecology. This newly revised and entirely relevant book may inspire activists of all causes and backgrounds. Buddhist philosophies inform Macy's work, which realistically depicts the world's devastations. At the same time, it promotes philosophical approaches to despair, shares heartening poems, and guides readers through meditation exercises. For example, she does not shy away from discussing death; she situates us as ancestors who must act on behalf of future generations. Since I slowed down and immersed myself in this book, I have found my own thinking to be more holistic. I have been mulling over the intersections of feminist, anti-racist, anti-poverty, environmental, and holistic health movements. As she writes, "we can take on isolated causes and fight for them with courage and devotion...we tend to fall into the same short-term thinking that has entrapped our political economy...What a difference it makes to view our efforts as part of a vaster enterprise."
--Review by Julie Fiandt

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book. So rich, so deep, so inspiring. Written by an eco-Buddhist, who uses her deep understanding of Dharma to mobilize our energies and compassion toward healing the earth. I will be reading this book again and intend to attend workshops that the author runs or others run based on her Work that Reconnects. I also was so taken with Joanna Macy that I am now reading her memoir. She has written other books as well; I will be reading them all! If you have any itch to do something - anything - that might get us out of our current fix regarding our planet and conflicts, read this book!

[Pirkko Holmberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suosittelen tätä kirjaa vakavasti kaikille ahdistuneille ympäristöaktivisteille, jotka eivät ole allergisia henkisyydelle.

[Krystal Baculinao · Rating 3 out of 5]

A spiritual take on the impact the industrial revolution has had, and how we must expand our sense of self to include the world around us. Macy guides the reader to envision centuries from now, whether there will be an Earth left that is livable, and probes for an action plan cultivated out of compassion and empathy for future generations. Her writing is vivid and lyrical in tying her academic knowledge of Buddhism, social science, and ecology while she recaps anecdotes of her various community projects on sustainability from rebuilding temples in Tibet to nuclear prevention in New Mexico. Much of the book is written in prose, including several meditations to follow and poem excerpts from other authors, which makes it less straightforward than a purely environmental science-based text. I enjoyed her fusion of eco-philosophy nonetheless. Would say this is a good book for inward reflection on how we can shift our individualistic culture, consumer habits, relationship to time, and awareness of our universal connection to all life forms on Earth, in order to make an effort in slowing down the damage of climate change.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book as much as I loved Joanna's memoir, Widening Circles. Perhaps this is because I am coming to her work a little later in the game, having already seen it come alive through the voice of Bill Plotkin (and likely the work of others). I appreciate Joanna's efforts to emphasize the necessity of having a spiritual practice if one wishes to engage successfully and mindfully in social activism, yet found her guided imagery exercises a bit tedious and unconvincing. Her writing in World As Lover, World As Self was a little dry and mechanical for me, whereas the descriptions of her experiences and insights in the context of her life as captured in Widening Circles had me captivated and wishing she'd lived for 1,000 years. I would recommend this book as a primer for those serious activists and nascent Buddhists, as well as a resource of insight for those exploring the connection of social activism and spirituality. Those without a Buddhist leaning may drift.

[Kirsten D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, inspiring, and empowering. I feel so blessed to be alive at the same time as Joanna Macy and to be graced by her work. This book will have a lasting influence on me for the rest of my life. Specifically, thinking about myself as an ancestor to future people— and understanding my obligations to them— has been revolutionary to me. The meditations at the end of this book moved me to tears.

“Life is a dynamic process, self-organizing to adapt and evolve. Just as it turned scales into feathers, gills into lungs, and seawater into blood, so now, too, immense evolutionary forces are at work. They are driving this revolution of ours through innumerable, molecular, intersecting alterations in the human capacity for conscious change.”

[Joey]

"The Great Turning is not an alternative to collapse; it is the vision and commitment that will bond us and move us through collapse... What stories will we take with us? What songs will release our laughter and love?"

Although the book's emphasis on Buddhist history and teachings didn't resonate with me, I still got a lot out of this revised edition of Joanna Macy's classic work. This includes learning about The Great Turning as a concept and how acknowledging the interconnectedness between the self and the world can facilitate positive action in the struggle against climate change, economic injustice, ecological destruction, and more.

[Floppydisk · Rating 2 out of 5]

the format - academic essay like, putting "direct quotes of other scholars" in the middle of sentences all the time, as X described Y in Z - just isn't really my thing. What she's writing is still valuable, but I personally found it difficult to get through this book.

[Mandy Haggith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather crowded with Buddhist doctrine, but with some great insights about how to survive as an environmental campaigner. I tried a bit of 'despair work' with some colleagues and it was insightful.

[Websterdavid3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

(i want to thank Goodreaders for their opinions-- you ARE this "review")

World as lover, world as self; readers’ responses to Joanna Macy’s words

This is a collation of Amazon and Goodreads readers’ responses to Joanna Macy’s book, “World as love, world as self. (up to Oct., ‘13). My voice, in italics, structures and adds comments. Joanna’s voice is mostly indirect, seen through the mirror of her readers; readers identified by initials. The average reader ratings of Joanna Macy’s book were sky-high for both Goodreaders (n=126) 4.35 of 5, and Amazon rankers (n=11) 5.0 of 5.



Joanna Macy’s work* brings my mind, spirit, and action home. She writes, 
“The one question threading through my life here on this beautiful Earth is about how to be fully present to my world—present enough to rejoice and be useful—while we as a species are progressively destroying it. This book is my attempt to answer this preoccupation, as well as insight into the relief and guidance I have found in the teachings of the Buddha.” Intro, p. 11

Her words invite us to learn our world anew, to notice, to feel deeply, to change, and to act.


Learning from Joanna Macy’s words:

“I can’t even begin to put into words how important this book is. It focuses on our interconnectedness with the natural world, the psychology behind our apparent disconnect… and how to begin to change it, to come back to our rightful place in nature. If you want to heal your relationship with the planet, this is a must read. “ (MK)

” …uniquely large scale meditation on social justice and ecology…. At the same time, it promotes philosophical approaches to despair, shares heartening poems, and guides readers through meditation exercises.” (JU)

“Macy merges Deep Ecology, Buddhism and systems theory to address the many environmental crises we face.” (NM) “ The book’s title… suggests [that] people tend to view the world in one of at least four ways: as battlefield, as trap [‘in which the world is viewed as a tempter, ensnaring us in its web, and that our job is to transcend this existence to free ourselves from it’-TOD], as lover or as self.” (RG)

“Her foundation is firmly in Buddhist thinking and practice, and she spends the first half of the book giving us a compelling history of Buddhist thought and its place among other religious and spiritual traditions. “ (KC) “The parts of this book that deal with Dependent (or Interdependent) Co-Arising, the history of Buddhism, and the parallels between Buddhism and Systems Theory are very good….” (CHA).

She teaches a challenging philosophy–“There’s a lot of fairly technical stuff about early Buddhist doctrine, which I probably didn’t understand at all.” (SAR)

Mutual causality: “Part Two discusses the contemporary relevance of classic Buddhist teachings, especially the concept of ‘mutual causality’ (RG). Joanna speaks of “deceptively simple” dependent co-arising/mutual causality, “…things do not produce each other or make each other happen, as in linear causality. They help each other happen by providing occasion or locus or context, and in so doing, they in turn are affected.” [p. 33]

Gaia is a self-regulating world: “I loved her [quoting] Australian rainforest campaigner, John Seed: ‘I try to remember that it’s not me… trying to protect the rainforest. Rather , I am part of the rainforest protecting itself.’…This book connects ecological activism, psychology and Buddhism together in a wonderfully encouraging way. I particularly like the guided meditations that are found throughout the book, especially the ‘Meditations in Deep Time’ section where we reconnect with the beings of the past and the future and ultimnately with Gaia herself.” (JG)

*including Active Hope, Mutual Causality in Buddhism and General Systems Theory, Coming Back to Life, and Widening Circles: a Memoir. [move to bottom of page]



Noticing

Engaging mind through learning demands active noticing. “Macy writes about the Buddhist practice of “Sarvodaya” – which means ‘everybody wakes up.’” (RM) “We say “everything is interconnected” but what does that mean?… These are the questions I have — and this is the book for them.” (GD)

Time,a friend in peril

[This book is] “mostly about future looking. A new idea for me was ‘reinhabiting time’ to be responsible to future generations.” Joanna Macy asks us, through the voices of the Haudenosaunee (Iriquois Confederacy) to listen to the voices 7 generations back and the voices of those 7 generations forward. She contrasts this view with a pervasive “hurry sickness.” (AM)

Capitalism can reward acting at this reckless speed. Yet, we truly are about to become dust and ashes. Can we contribute to our world as we go? Joanna’s political engagement led her to say, “both the progressive destruction of our world, and our capacity to stop that destruction, can be understood as a function of our experience of time.” [p. 171] We are grounded richly by acting for the longer-run, rather than with a temporal horizon of the next micro-trade or even profit-loss goals three years down the road.

“The most powerful point Joanna Macy makes is that we DON’T have to feel sure of success, or certain of failure, to rise up and try to save the world for our grandchildren. There are no guarantees. She provides stories of Tibetan monks who have rebuilt destroyed monasteries even in the face of future destruction. In that same spirit, cheerfully, we need to rebuild our precious planet, with a smile on our face, no matter how unlikely the result. Any effort will do – there are a thousand ways to help. “ (KC)

We can act with ease if, only if, we trust ourselves. as teachers and trust our students, our offspring, as part of us. My passing is the passing of one water drop in a river.

KC found Macy broadening ‘Be Here Now.’ “This author challenges the holy grail of most meditative traditions: the ‘present moment.’ Joanna Macy is impatient with those of us who are content to feel good and be ‘in the now.’ The future, she argues, must be ever-present in our minds, meditations, and actions. Our minds must visualize future generations, who are depending on us to wake up in time to salvage and rejuvenate life on earth. “



Deep Feeling

Joanna has a “… deep love for the world, the creatures and plants in the world.” (CH). “Our job is to be both fully aware in fully in love! Thank you, Joanna Macy, for this wonderful gift to all humankind. “ (TOD).

Joanna Macy teaches, in World as Lover and in Active Hope that the road to hope and connection is through despair for the world. “The cause of our apathy… is not indifference. It stems from a fear of the despair that lurks beneath the tenor of life-as-usual…. The refusal to feel takes a heavy toll. It not only impoverishes our emotional and sensory life– flowers are dimmer and less fragrant, our loves less ecstatic– but also impedes our capacity to process and respond to information. The energy expended in pushing down despair is diverted from more creative uses, depleting the resilience and imagination needed for fresh visions and strategies.” [Joanna Macy, pp. 92-93]

Despair to hope is not easy for CHA to swallow: “Joanna Macy’s approach to the problem of radioactive waste, however, suffers from her own admitted fear and despair of the issue. I’m not eager to be critical of that fear: radioactive waste is a scary-ass problem; however, in order to see the issue more clearly, I think it’s important for readers to be willing to do widen their perspective beyond Macy’s. “



World as Lover… is a catalyst; we are changed by it

“I read an earlier version of this book when I was nineteen, sitting in a college library. I remember writing ‘the forests are my lungs outside the body’ and understanding a little bit and reeling. For a week, I staggered around like a man hit on the head with a plank.” [GD]

“This book will change the way you think.” (MK)

“I can work against depression on an individual self level (AM)…but that there was something else…. bigger.” “Since I slowed down and immersed myself in this book, I have found my own thinking to be more holistic. I have been mulling over the intersections of feminist, anti-racist, anti-poverty, environmental, and holistic health movements.” (JU)



What you see teaches you, can brace you, and determines how you act…

“Macy provides a road map for the rest of us so that we can see the infinite extent of our relations and develop the compassion to act wisely and not get lost in despair.” (NM) “For real spirituality, for a view of the self and the world both exhilarating and useful — see Joanna Macy…. She is helping us re-imagine time, the world and the self.” (GD) “Buddhist, Environmentalist, Philosopher, translator of Rilke all wrapped into a book that helps you when you feel so discouraged by the state of the world.” (AM)

[Joanna Macy promotes the] “desire to help do whatever possible to help human beings survive indefinitely into the future. At one time i believed salvation was my responsibility for myself, to go to heaven. Now I believe, as the bodhisattva believes, that one’s task is to save everyone…. What are you doing for the human race? Do you understand human survival itself is in question?” (CH)



Four readers spoke of action implications:

“If our species and civilization are going to survive, we have to take a humungous leap. Recycling cans and eating blueberries is not going to be enough. Al Gore, Thomas Friedman, Lester Brown are lined up with suggestions but where does the strength and vision necessary for transformation come? For that, Joanna Macy is the best guide I have found.” (GD)

“[Macy’s] careful understanding of Buddhism leads beyond the self and the moment, and requires a focus on the well-being of the world. Come down from your ashrams; rise up off your meditation cushions! Well-being of the world requires political awareness and courageous activism. “ (KC)

“I appreciate Joanna’s efforts to emphasize the necessity of having a spiritual practice if one wishes to engage successfully and mindfully in social activism,” (AL)

“The environmental problems we’re witnessing today will require as much spiritual transformation as economic change.” (RM)

Part 2: “World as Lover…” is crafted….”is a personal and beautifully written book.” (NM)

“The most interesting part for the non-Buddhist were the essays on her experiences studying and doing community work in Tibet and Sri Lanka.” (SAR)

“Not an autobiography, it nevertheless conveys most clearly the author’s personal concerns in the fields of Buddhism, deep ecology and systems philosophy. Joanna says this book contains ‘so many pieces of my life that reflect the pursuits of my heart and mind.” (RG)



Two readers felt some disconnect: “Her writing in World As Lover, World As Self was a little dry and mechanical for me.“ (AL) “This book may be a bit slow going for those who are not particularly interested in Buddhist thinking, but the second half is astounding, motivating, comforting, fresh, and even exhilarating.“ (KC)

World as Lover….. embraces life changes that readers had already made. “I feel grateful when my experience is outlined by…[World as Lover….]. It makes me feel like I am on track.[AM]“ “this book … was like finding gold. I’ve been practicing meditation for years and my experience brought me to the same life-affirming conclusion that Joanna Macy expresses in this book.” (TOD)

Like food, the best compliment is hunger for more.

(CHA) This is the second time I’ve read this book.” (ED) I’m eager to read it again.” “I first read at the beginning of this decade and have reread several times since.” (CH) ”…there is great wisdom in this book and i highly recommend it.” (RM) “I would recommend this book as a primer for those serious activists and nascent Buddhists, as well as a resource of insight for those exploring the connection of social activism and spirituality.(AL) “If Eckhart Tolle… provide first-class “undergraduate work” in human psychology and meditation practice, Joanna Macy takes us to graduate school.” (KC)

“If you want to heal your relationship with the planet, this is a must read.“ (MK)

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Joanna Macy, bodhisattva, for remaining among us long enough to revisit this work, World as Lover, World as Self. It skillfully weaves together Buddhism, Deep Ecology and systems thinking in a manner of unrivaled accessibility. After a life time of concern, compassion and action for the larger World -- a formula so few attempt and even fewer master -- you present the state of our affairs well. I cannot separate myself from a sadness however, as I'm not yet unattached from my emotions sufficiently.

Your previous work in Active Hope was helpful in reminding readers to do the good work toward the Great Turning regardless of the longer term outcome, which we cannot control. That was helpful, but did not remove the sense of despair one might feel with each newly report finding of the assault on planetary systems that created and sustain in ever changing stasis (oxymoron intentional). Things overall are getting worse for those of us who revel in (or are too attached to) and given over to an awe in the power and beauty of Nature. Things are getting worse over the long term for everything else too.

But this new edition of World as Lover... contains a sadness or rationalization that perhaps we need to recognize all of our efforts of active hope in spreading awareness, education, protection, conservation, healing, restoration and reversal might only be recognized in the Great Healing or Great Rebirth after the current sociology-economic-political-philosophical systems have collapsed. Can we be content (darn it, another emotion of judgement and attachment) to be sowing seeds of values and beliefs to feed those species and values and system that come after the human species has managed in so short of time to destroy too much of what we have seen, have experienced, have needed for hundreds of thousands of years.

I couldn't help but wonder if there isn't in this book an underlying desire to pass the baton, having spent such a noble lifetime in trying to lighten the baton's weight and burden, but recognizing the race is too long and the course, at this point cannot lead to any victory. We have lost but can hope that which comes after will be nourished and improved by our efforts. That is, the efforts of those who have made them. So few have and so few are able to present a lifetime of example that there could have been a better way. Thank you, Joanna Macy.

[Peter Thwaites · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just didn't get on with this book. I'm struggling to articulate why. In theory it hit so many of my interests and concerns that it should have been a perfect fit. But I struggled so much to finish it. Maybe one reason was the sense that Macy wanted to argue that despair is the only logical response to the climate crisis - that we need to feel the despair and the pain of what's happening to our planet before we can respond to it fully. But then again, as I write that, it doesn't seem a contentious thing to say at all. Maybe instead it was that the book made statements like the above - and many others - without fully explaining them or giving evidence. I had the sense that the book was written for people who already accepted the arguments it was making - that it is a source book for people already on the path that Macy is describing.

I don't know. I just didn't get on with it. For me, Gary Snyder's book The Practice of the Wild is a far more engaging, challenging, and enlightening book than this one, and covers much more ground with a far warmer, more generous tone.

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

"For us to regard the threat of climate catastrophe, nuclear war, the dying seas, or the poisoned air as a monstrous injustice suggests that we never took seriously the injunction to love. Perhaps we thought all along that Gautama and Jesus were kidding or that their teachings were meant only for saints. But now comes the daunting revelation, that we are all called to be saints - the good necessarily, or pious, or devout-but saints in the sense of just caring for one another. One wonders what terrors that this knowledge must hold that we fight it so and flee from it in such pain. Can our present capacity to extinguish all life tell us this? Can it force us to face the terrors of love? Can it be the occasion of our birth?"

[Joshua Glucksman · Rating 3 out of 5]

What ways of thinking can help us come home again to the physical world? Marxism, capitalism, and classical science offer little help in healing the separation, because their materialism gives no weight to subjective experience.
When we turn instead to major theistic religious tradi-tions, we find the same split-a stifling dichotomy between matter and mind. Behind their theologies and symbol systems, we detect a revulsion against the flesh. As I became acquainted with Buddhism and experienced the luminous beauty of its teachings about the mind, I began to wonder what the Dharma had to say about the body. Did it accord reality and dignity to the physical? Was it free of contempt for matter? 67

[K.S.C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part of this book is very strong and ahead of its time, which is to say, Macy speaks in terms that I’ve only recently heard in common conversation. She jumps right into a view of ecology and environmental awareness that is definitely happening now, but wasn’t nearly so talked about when the book was written.

Unfortunately though, as the book progresses, I found her concepts falling a bit short. She differentiates emptiness from systems theory, instead of viewing them as different packaging for the same thing. And some of the essays in the second half are quite dated.

It was an interesting read, but I can think of many stronger books on this subject matter.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars. While a lot of the assertions about dharma weren't new to me, I loved her incorporation of systems theory and deep ecology with dharma. She wrote about very complex issues in a simple, easy-to-understand way that I really appreciated. This is also a great read for anyone suffering from burnout from confronting, again and again, just how dour a state the world is in right now. Learning to accept one's despair and feel compassion for the world (and the self) as it is, is a seriously powerful teaching.

[That show will never end]

Robię dnfa po 100 paru stronach. Nie ma powodu abym się męczyła dłużej z tą książką. Zdecydowanie mimo dobrego punktu wyjścia, a mianowicie pielęgnacja relacji z ziemią i pewnego rodzaju unifikacji tejże rozjeżdża się ona okropnie z głównym corem problemu. Jest straszliwie przegadana, a główną konkluzję po tych 100 stronach dałoby się zamknąć w jednym zdaniu. Jest to pierwsza książka z tego wydawnictwa na której się zawiodłam ale mogłam się trochę tego spodziewać. Prawdopodobnie zwyczajnie nie jest dla mnie.

[Amie Whittemore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I got 2/3 through and realized I was never going to finish it, at least not by the time it should go back to the library. Macy's thoughts are brilliant, and she does a fine job of highlighting climate crisis as a spiritual crisis, and providing ways for us to enter our despair without having to pretend hopefulness. I learned a lot from this book. A bit sad to have to let it go, but it was time to move on.

[Withmanyroots · Rating 5 out of 5]

The serendipity was strong with this one. I don't think I could have read it any earlier and yet when the book appeared on top of a pile I knew I needed to read it right away. My first Joanna Macy book and certainly won't be my last. There is A LOT in here - it will keep whirring around my mind for a while. She covers a lot of stuff I'd been thinking about, the notion of man vs nature, future thinking, our issues with time etc.
LOVED IT.

[Gustaf Palm · Rating 5 out of 5]

WALWAS offers deep insight into our inner and outer natural states, how human beings function in relation to their selves, others people, and whole world. Easy to read and captivating in its narratives, this book offers something for everyone - folks with an interest in buddhism, ecology, and psychology in particular.

[Mercedes Talvitie]

No rating because this book wasn’t for me but Macy is very knowledge and I would’ve gotten more out of it if I was engaged in a spiritual practice. I found some insight from a few chapters but I thought it would have more regarding climate anxiety. It was in 2007 so feels kinda dated given the current status of the world

[Kalina K.]

To kolejna książka Wydawnictwa Współbycie, która zmusza do refleksji, zadawania sobie pytań o to, co się wie i którą by w pełni zrozumieć i przyswoić trzeba przeczytać więcej niż raz. Przynajmniej według mnie ;)

[Barry S. Camson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtful Ways of Approaching the Future

Very profound and fascinating view of how to approach the climate-challenged future. Nice mix of Buddhist, Deep Ecology thought seen through the eyes of Joanna Macy;.

[Paul Keogh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly mind-expanding read

For everyone looking for meaning beyond self-interest and to expand awareness beyond time and space. A strong call to action in these troubled times.