Collectively, life on earth is entering a new epoch that is bringing profound disruption to global ecologies that have remained relatively stable for a millennia. As these earth systems are becoming destabilized, so too are our social systems, economies, geo-politics, and more.
In the face of disruption and uncertainty, fear and anger often arise as habitual and instinctive reactions. These energies can easily become overwhelming and consuming if we get lost in them. Reacting with aversion or grasping, we lose touch with the naturally fluid and spacious of all phenomena, including anger and fear, As experiences of fear and anger become solid and concretized, the experience of suffering and confusion naturally follow. Our ability to respond from a place of compassion and wisdom diminishes.
In this EcoDharma Exploration, we explored teachings and practices that allow us to experience the energies of anger and fear in a radically different way. Through the wisdom of the Dharma, these powerful emotions can be honored, allowed, and even harnessed as a natural resource to power our practice of awakening so that we can show up in the world as empowered agents of liberation and compassion.
Zac Ispa-Landa is a Dharma teacher and a Senior Lecturer in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont. At the University, he teaches courses on ecology, environmental justice, mindfulness in the Anthropocene, natural history, critical reflection and dialogue, honey bee biology and beekeeping, and sustainability. He teaches mindfulness at Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, Inward Bound Mindfulness, MIT Sloan School, the Burlington Dharma Collective, and Bhumisparsha. He began meditating and studying Dharma twenty years ago, inspired by a vision of personal and collective liberation, and has spent thousands of hours in meditation and hundreds of days on retreat since. He began mindfulness practice with vipassana (Insight) meditation and, in recent years, has been practicing Vajrayana (tantric) Buddhism with Lama Rod Owens, who he’s worked and taught with since 2017. Zac lives Winooski, Vermont with his partner, son, and tens of thousands of honeybees.
You can support Zac via the button below:
We welcome your contributions to support this donation-based program offered by One Earth Sangha. We can’t do this without you!
