Love Letter To The Earth

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh on the Deck of his Hermitage in Plum Village.
Photo © Jerome Freedman, Ph. D.

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (known as Thay by his beloved followers) and Parallax press have announced the publication date of a new book titled, “Love Letter to the Earth.”

The book will be published on Tuesday, June 11.

The publication coincides with a meeting of International Vipassana Teachers at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California.

There is a possibility that the vipassana teachers will discuss global warming and climate change.

In a previous post, Three Numbers You Should Know About Global Warming on April 29, I pointed out the urgency of social, economic, and political action to reduce the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere below 350 parts per million. 350.org, the source of this information, recently informed me that the level of carbon dioxide has surpassed 400 parts per million on May 12.

According to Lyn Fine, a sharma teacher in the tradition of Thay and my personal mentor, this is what the book is about.

Love Letter to the Earth is Thich Nhat Hanh’s passionate appeal for ecological mindfulness and the strengthening of our relationship to the Earth. While many experts point to the enormous complexity in addressing issues ranging from the destruction of ecosystems to the loss of millions of species, Thich Nhat Hanh identifies one key issue as having the potential to create a tipping point. He believes that we need to move beyond the concept of the “environment,” as it leads people to experience themselves and Earth as two separate entities and to see the planet only in terms of what it can do for them. Thich Nhat Hanh points to the lack of meaning and connection in peoples’ lives as being the cause of our addiction to consumerism. He deems it vital that we recognize and respond to the stress we are putting on the Earth if civilization is to survive. Rejecting the conventional economic approach, Nhat Hanh shows that mindfulness and a spiritual revolution are needed to protect nature and limit climate change.

There is such an emotional quality to this statement, that I felt compelled to share it with you within hours after receiving it.

We can no longer consider ourselves separate from the environment and the Earth. We must recognize the nature of interbeing (interconnectedness) between us and our planet and everyone and everything on it.

And, the nature of interbeing extends out to the sun, planets, solar system, and the entire cosmos.

We interare with Earth and are totally interdependent with the sun, moon, sky, and many, many other entities, none of which have a separate existence.

We need to practice the insight of interbeing in our daily lives and live  up to our desire to be free from ill-being.

It is very important to me that you share this article with everyone you know. Thanks in advance.