Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, known as Thay by his followers, has been an activist more than sixty years and he has been talking about taking action on global warming and climate change for as long as I can remember. As early as 1985, I heard him say, “If the West stops drinking alcohol by 50%, we can feed the whole world.” This inspired me to pledge not to drink alcohol any more. I have kept that pledge, but I may have a sip of champagne at my son’s wedding next October!
Thich Nhat Hanh in Plum Village, 2000 – Photo Jerome Freedman
“We don’t have to sink into despair about global warming; we can act. If we just sign a petition and forget about it, it won’t help much. Urgent action must be taken at the individual and the collective levels. We all have a great desire to be able to live in peace and to have environmental sustainability. What most of us don’t yet have are concrete ways of making our commitment to sustainable living a reality in our daily lives. We haven’t organized ourselves. We can’t only blame our governments and corporations for the chemicals that pollute our drinking water, for the violence in our neighborhoods, for the wars that destroy so many lives. It’s time for each of us to wake up and take action in our own lives.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh from “Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth” (p. 27: 2013).
Here are some ideas of how you can participate:
- Sign up to receive updates about what is going on locally, regionally, nationally, and globally on the Buddhist Climate Action Network website, http://globalbcan.org and like our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/buddhistclimateactionnetwork. There are also local groups there that are growing stronger every day.
- Sign up to receive updates from Earth Holding Here and Now to see what is going on in the Plum Village (the place where Thay lives) tradition. Also, join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1437526213206658/.
- Give generously to organizations like 350.org, Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Ecological Buddhism, One Earth Sangha, Buddhist Global Relief, and others.
- Take part in local rallies and actions.
How will you participate in the growing number of actions to help reduce global warming?
Books by Thich Nhat Hanh
 |
Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earthby Showing the deep connection between our present ecological crisis and our lack of awareness of the sacred nature of creation, this series of essays from spiritual and environmental leaders around the world shows how humanity can transform its relationsh… [Read More…] |
You must be logged in to post a comment.