Falling Back in Love with Mother Earth: In Conversation with Thich Nhat Hahn (Episode #32)

Welcome to episode 32 of The Way Out Is In: The Zen Art of Living, a podcast series mirroring Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s deep teachings of Buddhist philosophy: a simple yet profound methodology for dealing with our suffering, and for creating more happiness and joy in our lives. 

This bonus episode showcases an interview between Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and journalist Jo Confino from before Christmas 2011, during the winter retreat in Plum Village. It begins with a short introduction by Jo and Zen Buddhist monk Brother Phap Huu. 

This is a conversation about our relationship with Mother Earth, the need to move beyond the idea of ‘environment’, and falling back in love with our life-giving planet. 

Thich Nhat Hanh talks about the ‘Buddha nature’; the Earth as a Bodhisattva; meditation as active awakening, and practical ways to bring about a collective awakening; the need for a cosmic religion not based on Dharma or belief; producing our own right view; dogmatism as a cause for separation and war; the most necessary teachings for our times; mindful and compassionate business; transforming suffering; collective awakening; and connecting to the Earth through mindfulness. Thay also further develops on his interest in science, and the benefits of a retreat for mindfulness practitioners and scientists. 

The interview also includes important advice to help activists maintain their motivation and peace amid chaos, and how to suffer less in order to help more.

Co-produced by the Plum Village App:https://plumvillage.app/

And Global Optimism:https://globaloptimism.com/ 

With support from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation:https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/

List of resourcesLove Letter to the Earthhttps://www.parallax.org/product/love-letter-to-the-earth/ 

Antoine Lavoisierhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Lavoisier 

Paul Tillichhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Tillich

Bodhisattvahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhisattva  

Shakyamuni Buddhahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha 

Journalist Jo Confino Interviews Thich Nhat Hanh: Falling Back in Love with Mother Earthhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-TZlJW2FEs 

‘Beyond Environment: Falling Back in Love with Mother Earth’https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/zen-thich-naht-hanh-buddhidm-business-values 

Dharma Talks: ‘The Ground of Right View’https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/the-ground-of-right-view-2/ 

Quotes

“If you look into the Milky Way, we see that there are millions of stars and each star can be a Buddha, like the sun above us is the real Buddha, a Buddha that can provide light and warmth, a Buddha that can offer life. So it is possible for us to conceive Buddha [as] not [being] in the form of a person.”

“If you look around deeply, you realize that there isn’t anything as beautiful as our planet Earth. And that is why we should not try to abandon this beautiful planet, searching for something far away – whether that is called Pure Land, the Kingdom of God, or anything. And if we gain that insight, we see that the Earth is not only the environment; everything is us, and by taking care of the Earth we take care of ourselves.”

“In Buddhism, we speak of meditation as an active awakening. To awake is to be awake to something. To be awake to the fact that the Earth is in danger and living species on Earth are also in danger. And that should be a collective awakening, in order to have enough strength for a change.” 

“Scientists are motivated by a desire to understand better, and Buddhist practitioners are also motivated by that kind of desire. But, in Buddhism, we keep in mind that understanding could help us suffer less. Any kind of understanding, true understanding, will help us suffer less. And the Buddhist tradition has elaborated ways of practicing in order to help people to suffer less. And in the proc