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One Earth Wisdom:

EcoDharma Exploration

Only For Your Benefit, Honored One

The Dharma as Antidote to Climate Grief and Activist Burnout

This EcoDharma Exploration featuring Earth activist and Soto Zen practitioner Tim Ream took place on Sunday, August 21, 2022.
Find the recording below. We welcome your support for this program.

© Ray Hennessy on Unsplash

Our hearts, opened by practice, feel unprecedented suffering from the impacts of climate change on the wholeness of life. What is already lost, what is still being lost, lead to profound grief. The enormity of the global condition can make our attempts to respond feel meaningless. Staying engaged in a movement for change seems to become more difficult by the day.

Yet the practices and teachings of the ancients still offer helpful ways to respond. In this gathering, we will explore some of these teachings and practices, including a koan attributed to the great Chinese teacher Dongshan Lianjie.

Support this Offering

One Earth Sangha and our featured speakers offer these explorations on a donation basis, with no required registration fee. We invite you to participate in the tradition of offering dana, or generosity. Your support makes these gatherings possible, and any amount offered is greatly appreciated.

You can support Tim Ream via PayPal by taking the following steps:

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  3. Enter and follow the instructions
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Another way to support us is to share what this exploration has meant to you in a way that we can use in our materials. We invite you to share a “testimonial” here! (select “EcoDharma Exploration Participant” from the dropdown menu.)
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Recording

Additional Resources

Koan

Dongshan and a monk were washing their bowls after breakfast
and saw two cranes fighting over a frog.

The monk turned to his teacher and asked,
‘Why does it always come to that?’

Dongshan answered, ‘It is only for your benefit, Honored One.’

Journaling Prompts

  1. Describe an aspect of climate change or its impacts that you find most triggering, hardest to stay settled in the face of.
  2. Thinking about the last 24 hours, describe at least three things you are grateful for. These can be something as simple as a breath or a meal or as profound as an interaction with someone you deeply love.
  3. Now return to thinking about your triggering experience. Honor the pain it brings you by describing how it feels in your body.
  4. Describe one of your most profound nature experiences. You could recall an encounter with a plant or animal, a landscape, or a moment where you felt a deep connection with Earth.
  5. What is your expression of being truly hopeless without acting helpless, that is, while staying engaged?

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No Mud, No Lotus

— Thích Nhất Hạnh

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