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ERIC Number: EJ1388006
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1350-4622
EISSN: EISSN-1469-5871
Available Date: N/A
Coming to Our Senses: Zen and the Art of Ecoactivism
Bai, Heesoon
Environmental Education Research, v29 n6 p863-874 2023
The inclusion of 'consciousness' in Michael Bonnett's paper signals to me that the "right place" for examination of the ongoing and deepening environmental disasters that humans face is human consciousness itself: the way we think, perceive, and feel, which flows into the way we relate to and act towards nature. Against the still prevailing way of thinking about environmental disaster and crisis, namely locating these problems "out there" in the environment, I, like Bonnett, and a growing number of others, point to the problematic 'metaphysics' of how we humans conceive and perceive nature. Our current 'environmental problems' are metaphysical. In support of Bonnett's paper, I examine the problematic metaphysics (namely, The Mechanical Universe), trace its psycho-neurobiological origin to the authoritarian structure that disempowers human beings to play out domination-submission programming, and suggest learning the way of mutual participation and collaboration characteristic of our immersive experience in nature. In further support of Bonnett's characterization of nature as 'self-arising,' which incidentally is the literal meaning of nature in Chinese ([Chinese characters omitted]), I introduce the Way of Zen as practice of 'interbeing.' Interbeing, when practiced, would lead us to experiencing awe and wonder, as in our encounter with nature, restoring a sense of immediacy, presence, and non-discursivity: all central to Zen experience.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A