Buddhism on deep ecology

Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks to impermanence, everything is possible.

The Earth is not just our environment. The Earth is our mother

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Earth is not just our environment. The Earth is our mother.

We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness.

We inter-are with the rain forests, the water table, and the atmosphere

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We inter-are with the rain forests, the water table, and the atmosphere.

When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over.

Please Call Me by My True Names

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“Please call me by my true names, \ so I can hear all my cries and my laughter at once, \ so I can see that my joy and pain are one.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

Profile: Thich Nhat Hanh

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-2022) was a Vietnamese Zen master, poet, and peace activist whose teachings on “Interbeing” examined the interconnectedness of all phenomena. His development of “Engaged Buddhism” integrated contemplative practice with social and environmental action.

During the Vietnam War, Thich Nhat Hanh worked with war refugees and advocated for peace, leading to decades of exile. He established Plum Village in France, which became one of the most visited monasteries in the West. His “School for Youth and Social Services” helped rebuild villages bombed during the war and later became the Order of Interbeing, a worldwide lay practice community.

Quote: Pema Chödron; "The earth seems to be beseeching us..."

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“The earth seems to be beseeching us to connect with joy and discover our innermost essence. This is the best way that we can benefit others.” – Pema Chodron

Event: MenAware nature retreat with Yatra.org.au – May 31st-June 4th 2023

Fri, 05 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

MenAware

New England National Park, NSW

Wednesday 31 May – Sunday 4 June 2023

“I recall times in this life when I’ve quietly grieved an absence of deep connectedness with men. At MenAware gatherings I’ve glimpsed that a relationship of trust, emotional honesty and deep listening with men is still a possibility.” (A MenAware participant)

A MenAware Nature Retreat provides an experiential container where we explore our relationship with self, other men and nature in a safe and caring environment. During our time together we will investigate the possibility to live a fulfilled, authentic and sustainable life and how we can extend this into the relationships and the communities we live in. Our retreat program will draw upon a flexible combination of yoga, meditation, mindful walking, discussions around the campfire, shared meals and our unique, creative celebration of mankind.

Book: “Zen and The Art of Saving The Planet” – Thich Nhat Hanh

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A recent posthumous release from the not-for profit publisher Parralax Press: “Zen and The Art of Saving The Planet“. This book is a gem, filled with Thich Nhat Hanh’s beautiful meditations, inspiring stories and experiences from his own life of activism and engagement. It is compiled from talks and teachings given by Thich Nhat Hanh during his life, framed around a reimagining of the “five mindfulness training” of the Plum Village tradition. It includes commentary from Sister True Dedication, one of his senior western students. “Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet” guides us to a new way of seeing the world, illuminating a path and way of being healing and harmony with ourselves, other beings, and to the Earth.

Event: 5-9th Feb 2023: Heartwood Nature Retreat 2023 – Mount Field

Sat, 03 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Government Huts, Mount Field National Park, Tasmania

Sunday 5 – Thursday 9 February 2023

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_With Ronny Hickel _

On this nature retreat we will be accommodated in the historic Government Huts, situated high in the alpine regions of Mt Field National Park, one of the Tasmania’s oldest and most diverse parks. At approximately 1000m elevation, nestled among snow gums and overlooking a beautiful alpine moorland, these basic huts will provide an excellent base for our retreat.

Event: 6th-9th Oct 2022 – MenAware Nature Retreat – Lake Arragan

Sat, 03 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

**Yuraygir National Park, Northern NSW

Thursday 6 – Sunday 9 October** 2022

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_With Ken Golding & Brother Tenzin _(Alex Anderson)

This MenAware Nature Retreat with www.yatra.org.au will take us to a beautiful camp at the edge of Lake Arragan in the Yuraygir National Park. This coastal lagoon system surrounded by paperbarks is a wonderful renowned environment for canoeing, swimming and birdwatching.

For details and registration information visit:

A MenAware Nature Retreat provides an experiential container where our relationship with self, other men and nature can be explored in a safe and caring environment. During our time together we will investigate the possibility to live a fulfilled, authentic and sustainable life and how we can take this into the relationships and the communities we live in. Our retreat program will draw upon a flexible combination of yoga, meditation, mindful walking, discussions around the campfire, shared meals and our unique, creative celebration of mankind.

Embodied practice: Basic Breath Awareness

Sun, 12 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The following recording follows on from a previous offering which introduced basic postural awareness, helpful in sitting meditation. This practice expands on the base of embodied practice introduced there, bringing in mindfulness of breathing. We draw on the [Sutra on Full Awareness of Breathing,][1] or [Anapanasati Sutta][2] (Mn118). As the name implies these instructions take the breath as the main object of awareness, and constitute a core practice of Buddhist Yoga. They are beneficial in the cultivation of a body and mind which is calm, placing the practitioner in touch with the parasympathetic nervous system, fundamentally down-regulating, and a helpful antidote to experiences of strong flooding emotions. The practice shared here are very general and introductory, suitable for any level of practitioner. They can be practiced sitting on a cushion on the floor, on a chair, or even lying down. The emphasis here is again one of cultivation of relaxation, ease and continuity of awareness.

We may feel like we have lost the ground under our feet

Sun, 12 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

“We may feel like we have lost the ground under our feet. It takes our breath away. The first thing to do is to regain our footing. The practice of conscious breathing can help us come back to the present moment and come back into the body.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

Bio: Br. Tenzin (Dr. Alex Anderson)

Sun, 22 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Tenzin Alex Anderson began his path toward Deep Ecology with a doctorate researching the impacts of Climate Change on rainforest biodiversity. Inspired by teachers such as the late Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh, and seeking a more fundamental basis for understanding and connecting to both the human and the natural world, in 2017 he ordained as a monk in the Buddhist tradition. He has since studied and practiced In the Tibetan Sakya tradition, Vietnamese Zen tradition of Plum Village, the Burmese Forest tradition, and holds a Hatha Yoga teaching qualification.

Event: MenAware Nature Retreat 2022

Sun, 22 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

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**Bald Rock National Park, Northern NSW

Wednesday 11 – Sunday 15 May**

with Ken Golding & Ronny Hickel

The annual MenAware Nature Retreat will take us to the awesome boulders of Bald Rock National Park. Set in the rugged granite country north of Tenterfield, it exhibits an extraordinary display of wildflowers and birdlife.

Our apologies, but this event is BOOKED OUT

Heartwood Nature Retreat 2022 – Trephina Gorge

Sun, 22 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

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Trephina Gorge – East MacDonnell Ranges NP, Northern Territory

Saturday 23 – Thursday 28 July

with Ronny Hickel

This nature retreat will take us to the East MacDonnell Ranges of Central Australia, where we will base ourselves in a simple bush-camp amongst the spectacular red cliffs of Trephina Gorge, with steep rocky slopes rising dramatically from the red desert, presenting a breathtaking impression of Australian wilderness.

Practice: Breathing Through

Mon, 02 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Joanna Macy offers the following practice as part of the preparatory work for the “Honouring our Pain for the world” component of The Work That Reconnects. See also her own 2005 training video of this practice, and our guided audio recording of the same.

Basic to most spiritual traditions is the recognition that we are not separate, isolated entities, but integral and organic parts of the vast web of life. We can open to the pain of the world in confidence that it can neither shatter nor isolate us, for we are not objects that can break. We are resilient patterns within a vaster web of knowing.

Breathing Through (training video)

Mon, 07 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This is Joanna Macy’s own version of tonglen, the Tibetan Buddhist practice of breathing in suffering and breathing out ease. In her written instructions for it, she describes the exercise as “adapted from an ancient Buddhist meditation for developing compassion.” Here she teaches it directly, in a training recorded in 2005.

See also Macy’s written instructions for this practice, and our own guided recording of it.

Video: Save The Cardamom Rainforest

Wed, 02 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

https://youtu.be/i_uJFzXlyNQ

In May 2014, blockades by monks and indigenous farmers in Cambodia prevented Sinohydro from commencing work to dam the Areng River and flood the Cardamom rainforest.

Essay: Buddha touched the Earth – By John Seed

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

An Exploration of Engaged BuddhismBy John Seed

(See below for an embedded pdf version with illustrations)

Buddha Touched the Earth is the title of a new workshop facilitated by William James, Lisa Siegel and I that was first held at North Farm near Bellingen in northern New South Wales, Australia Feb 7-10 2012.

The workshop brought together Buddhist meditation with experiential deep ecology processes. Mornings were spent in silence, yoga, sitting and walking meditation. Afternoons and evenings consisted of experiential deep ecology processes as devised by Joanna Macy, myself and others.