Insight Environmentalists discussion

My teacher, the venerable Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh says in his book The World We Have, "we human beings have no existence separate from all else." The key to knowing what to do lies in knowing who we are. The planet is also our body--without separation. Therefore, we are to treat all things like they are an extension of ourselves. This is the Buddha's teaching on inter-being, or non-self.

What is the most challenging thing about living up to this spiritual standard?

What does your spiritual tradition say about humankind's relationship to the earth?

Work. When you need to focus on just feeding yourself, it is hard to go beyond the physical realities of survival.

There is a great word in Japanese, en. You can translate it as fate or destiny, but it also takes the meaning of luck. When you meet someone in what seems as a random encounter that benefits one or both, you say that those people had en--they were meant to meet and share this experience.

This can be extrapolated to larger spheres. And with en come gratitude.

Yes, I agree. People living in life-eroding, extreme poverty do not have the opportunity to nourish themselves let alone the planet. Unfortunately, there are many living and working outside the realm of poverty--especially in the United States--who think they need more money to buy non-essential things. They consume natural resources unnecessarily. It is so easy to confuse need from want--a distinction I reckon with often!

William--do you have a gratitude practice? How does it relate to this notion of en?

Sorry Heather. I have been off somewhere--unfortunately, in my mind.

Yes, I do. It really is a type of mindfulness. It really amounts to slowing down and looking at where you are. Thinking about how fortunate your life is. It is tough when you need to replace both your wheel bearings, but those are annoyances. I think where gratitude really becomes deep is when nothing can shake it. It is easy to feel grateful in positive moments, but to have gratitude is tougher times is hard. But I have found, at least if you are going the right way, that your can see a greater arc going thorough your life that trumps the small stuff.

En is really a recognition of fate. It certainly is related to gratitude as if you recognize the meeting with someone is somehow beneficial to either you or them, then that is something to be grateful for.

I really have not thought about how those two things relate. Gratitude is a type of still point. En is showing that everything in interrelated.

Nice! Thanks.