Sunday, January 5, 2025

Wisdom to Guide Us Toward Hope and Action

 



01.03.2025


Wisdom to Guide Us Toward
Hope and Action

 
In the January 2025 issue of Lion’s Roar, three teachers from the Plum Village tradition offer much needed wisdom on the climate crisis. The environmental issues facing our planet today can feel overwhelming, touching every corner of the globe and every part of our lives. It’s easy to feel small in the face of something so vast and complex, but it’s in the face of these very challenges that we can find strength by turning to wisdom that guides us toward hope and action.

The three teachings from the issue below remind us that the earth is not something outside of us, but an inseparable part of who we are. They show us how mindfulness can nurture a deep connection to the planet and inspire compassionate, collective action, allowing hope to grow in dark places.

These teachings are not just about addressing the climate crisis — they’re about transforming how we live and relate to one another and to the earth itself. I hope they’ll inspire you to cultivate a deeper connection to both yourself and the Earth, nurturing each with wisdom, courage, and care.

—Lilly Greenblatt, digital editor, Lion’s Roar

No Mud, No Lotus


To truly take care of the planet, we need to take care of our own suffering, says Brother Phap Huu.


We’re here to grow and transform continually. And in transformation, we sometimes need mud. It’s a good ingredient to help nurture the lotus flower within us. Our practice involves taking care of the “mud,” learning to accept, see, feel, and even smell it. Then we nurture it into flowers of wisdom. The teaching of “no mud, no lotus” reminds us that suffering and happiness are intertwined, supporting one another.

The lotus may symbolize the beauty and happiness in life, but once you cut it and place it in a vase with clean water, it’ll only last for a few hours before wilting. However, the lotus thrives in the mud, knowing how to regenerate itself; it possesses the wisdom to be present and let go. Thanks to the mud, it can grow, bloom again, and offer itself to the world. Likewise, by understanding and accepting our suffering, we cultivate compassion and happiness. Tending to our suffering allows us to heal past wounds and transform our pain.


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Hope Grows


Every single one of us is capable of doing something to reverse climate change. Sister Tue Ngiem on the power of small actions.


One autumn, the sangha of all three Plum Village hamlets spent two days planting two hundred potted baby trees that came from the sapling nursery. It brought enormous joy to everyone that we were doing something to support Mother Earth — without spending money. This loving activity nourished siblinghood and inspired many people to find ways of their own to make a difference for the planet.

Today, the first generation of saplings have already grown into big trees, several stories high. And, after several generations of potted baby trees, New Hamlet is full of trees that came from the sapling nursery. These trees have become a refuge for many people during the hot summer days. People swing from their branches in hammocks, and they sit in their shade to meditate, read, relax, and be in touch with nature.

Little actions can bring love, joy, and nourishment. Little actions can help us do our part in caring for Mother Earth and giving back what Mother Earth has offered us.


We Are Not Separate from the Earth

 

Brother Phap Linh on the two truths we need to understand to solve the climate crisis.


Looking into our own body, we find our ancestors—both genetic and spiritual. It’s our genetic and cultural inheritance that has to a very large extent determined how we speak, think, and act today. Our body contains all our human ancestors, but also all our more-than-human ancestors. Our body is an expression of the whole history of life on planet Earth. In fact, the entire history of the cosmos has given rise to this moment that we’re now living. And this very moment is the ground of the whole future unfolding of the cosmos. Looking deeply into the present, we discover the interconnection of past, present, and future — the interbeing of the three times. This is the view from the ultimate in the dimension of time.

We could look at a tree and ask: Is it part of the historical or ultimate dimension? Science describes trees as efficient carbon-capture machines. They remove carbon dioxide from the air, cause no pollution, and also happen to be nice to look at. They’re efficient — offering shade, oxygen, fruits, and aesthetic satisfaction — but is that view complete? Could we be missing something by seeing trees only in terms of human utility?

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