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One Earth Wisdom:

The Present Moment as Ground

An Interview with Sister True Dedication

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Estimated reading time: 1 minute
Editor's Introduction

As the impacts of environmental disruption grow more frequent and severe, collective distress is on the rise. In this Climate One interview recorded shortly before COP26, Sister True Dedication of Plum Village speaks on the power of mindfulness practice to strengthen our awareness, root us in the present, and lead us to action grounded in compassion. Greg Dalton also talks with Leslie Davenport about how we can support young people in understanding our ecological crises and working with associated difficult emotions.

© Plum Village, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Picture of Greg Dalton  and  Sister True Dedication
Greg Dalton  and  Sister True Dedication
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Highlights

If compassion doesn’t lead to action how can you call it compassion … compassion has to be expressed.

Lean into the feelings of fear and despair …we need a practice to not be afraid of our fear and our despair.

When we can really embrace the truth of impermanence we become free to explore radical solutions.

Get out of the silos of nations and countries and industries. Just meet each other as human beings to really understand what our ancestors and descendants are calling us to do in this difficult moment.

This recording is from a talk hosted by Climate One.
Greg Dalton

Greg Dalton founded Climate One at The Commonwealth Club in 2007 after traveling to the Russian Arctic on a global warming symposium with climate scientists and journalists. Today Climate One produces a weekly radio show broadcast on public stations in California and across the country in addition to a podcast that is heard around the world.

Climate One is the only regular talk show that engages high-level leaders from business, policy, advocacy and academic circles in a conversation about building sustainable economies, resilient communities and a healthier future. Past guests include science icon Jane Goodall, music legend Graham Nash, former Vice President Al Gore, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, Tea Party co-founder Debbie Dooley, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, Chevron CEO Dave O’Reilly, GM Chairman Dan Akerson, Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune, and many other leaders.

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Sister True Dedication

Sister True Dedication is a former journalist and monastic Dharma Teacher ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh. The editor and author of the commentary in Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet, Sister True Dedication has been a Zen Buddhist nun since 2008. Before entering the monastery, Sister True Dedication studied History and Political Thought at Cambridge University and worked as a journalist for BBC News in London. In the early years of her monastic training, she assisted Thich Nhat Hanh and Sister Chan Khong in their engaged Buddhist actions for human rights, religious freedom, applied ethics, and ecology. She is co-founder of the international Wake Up Movement, a community of young meditators who are finding new ways to combine mindfulness and engaged Buddhism. Today, she contributes her time and energy to guiding a new generation of young monastics and to editing Thich Nhat Hanh’s writings, in particular his recent books on Buddhism and ecology, including Love Letter to the Earth (2013), The Art of Living (2017), and Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet (2021).

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