Dear Friend,
You Must Act
This second part of Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet is titled, “The Action Dimension: A New Way of Living.” It was a semi-surprising read for someone whose familiarity with Buddhist practice often reflects the idea of inaction. Meditation, non-violence, and the like. When I think back more carefully on what I’ve read from Buddhist teachers, like Thich Nhat Hanh, I can recall countless examples of adages like, “don’t just do something, sit there!” Of course, that’s meant ironically.
What it means is that even the act of sitting quietly in meditation is an action. It’s an intention, and its results can lead to further actions brought about through careful thought. Right action, after all, might necessarily require right thought, and right thought might take some time to develop. As the title to one of the chapters in part two suggests, “non-violence is a path, not a tactic.” In other words, taking slow and considered steps might make it seem like we’re not doing much at all, but in fact we are on a steady path, always moving.
You Are Enough
My favorite chapter in this section might be “Deep Simplicity: You Are Enough.” In this chapter, there are discussions on love and happiness, and even the most important question, “what should I do with my life?” It seems like an awful lot to cover in one chapter, but these concepts are all related. The way to happiness–or peace–is through love. What should I do with my life? Love. As Nhat Hanh writes, “our practice is to live our daily life in such a way that every act becomes an act of love” (138). This reminds me of where my thoughts led at the end of my reflections on part one. The best way to save the planet is to be careful with it, and what could be a higher act of love than to give care?
Later in this section, in the last chapter, there is a more detailed examination of love. Nhat Hanh describes the Four Immeasurable Minds, which are four types of live: maitri, karuna, mudita, and upeksa. These stand for loving kindness, compassion, joy, and inclusivity; together, they are the four features comprising “true love,” as the Buddha defined it. Nhat Hanh adds two more, trust and reverence. On any given day, I’m thinking about kindness and compassion, and joy and inclusivity. It’s amazing to me, upon reflection, how many of my days are filled with thoughts of these, and what a special feeling it is to think that together these thoughts are the shape of love. I wish I could say that this means I’m always filled with compassion and loving kindness, or that I’m always joyful and inclusive, but being human, I’m still flawed. Still, maybe The Beatles were right, and love really is all we need.
Brave Dialogue
“In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.”
Does that sound unfamiliar to anyone else? If you live in the United States, as I do, the shape of the cultural and political landscape right now does not seem to reflect or foster a willingness to change. For quite some time, it seems the goal has simply been to be right, and to never apologize for–or admit to–being wrong. This might be a bit of an exaggeration, because it’s not true of everyone, but it does seem true in general, at least on the macro level. So, where does that leave us?
As Nhat Hanh says, “technical solutions have to be supported by togetherness, understanding, and compassion.” Even if someone develops a “cure” for what ails our planet, even if we discover that which can clean the water, harness the power of the sun, purify the air, and restore balance to our climate, is there any hope that we will enact these changes if we cannot champion others’ successes and be humble about our own failures? Certainly, there’s much else that gets in the way, including money and power, and that’s where strategies like deep listening and compassion come into play. Nhat Hanh suggests that our leaders need to practice deep listening so that they can properly hear the needs of their people, as well as the solutions that experts offer. I think that’s true, but woefully unlikely. So, I might take this a step further and offer, we need to cultivate a culture of deep listening and compassion in our youth while at the same time encouraging those wise hearts to pursue “the path” of action.
It seems less likely, to me, that we will change the leaders of today in the ways that are necessary, but by acting locally with love–compassion, mindfulness, joy, and inclusiveness–we might be able to foster a new culture in the young people who will become the leaders of a new journey.
Meditation
“We can imagine there are many doors leading to happiness. Opening any of those doors, happiness will come to you in many different ways. But, if you are attached to one particular idea of happiness, it’s as though you have closed all the doors except one . . . Remove the idea of happiness you have, and happiness may come right away.” -Thich Nhat Hanh
Love,
~Adam
Contemplative Reading Project 
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