Book review
“Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet” by Thich Nhat Hanh is a book that speaks to the issues we are facing in the world right now, particularly surrounding the environment. In the book, we read about how everything is interconnected, and how “There is a profound connection between how we treat one another and how we treat the Earth.” This is a book that explores how we we can understand the issues we are facing as intersectional. He writes that “Racial justice and environmental justice inter-are.”
Thich Nhat Hanh talks about how we are “interbeings,” not isolated and alone, but connected to every human, animals, plant, and the Earth. He writes; “With the insight of interbeing, we realize that we’re never alone, we’re never powerless, and everything we will ever do counts.” Having this understanding helps with seeing the world as not separate from ourselves, but that we are part of the planet. One of my favourite quotes was; “You have to be responsible both for your own body and mind and for your environment. Your environment is you. When you look at the tree, don’t think that the tree is something other than you.” This idea of our own body and mind being our environment as well as the Earth being our environment, and these not being separate is central to this book.
There are many videos online of Thich Nhat Hanh. He has done interviews with people like Oprah, and he has also shared many videos of meditations. When “Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet” was published, Harper One released a video with Thich Nhat Hanh on YouTube. In the video we see footage of nature, and hear Thich Nhat Hanh speaking about how “we need a collective awakening for our planet to be saved.”
How does this book change, disrupt or enhance the definition of "celebrityhood".
Celebrityhood is often centred around a hierarchy, where some people are put on a pedestal. In general it is about individuals and not about the collective. Thich Nhat Hanh writes about how through having an understanding of interbeing, we can “touch a sense of identity that is far vaster than we usually allow. We get to break free not only from a feeling of separateness “in real life,” but also from the pressures of our virtual online “self” or persona, allowing us to experience, in this very moment, “our true person,” across space and time.” The virtual world is a place where we share a version of ourselves, or our online persona. The internet has in some ways affected how we see our own identities. We are connected through social media around the world in ways that were never possible before. However, even with this network we often feel a sense of disconnection and separateness. This books changes how we think about celebrityhood, through exploring the idea of interbeing.
Thich Nhat Hanh writes about how “The buddha of our time knows how to use a cell phone but he is a free person when he uses the cell phone. The buddha of our time knows how to help address the challenges of our times so we won’t destroy the beauty of our planet or waste time competing with each other.” The competitive nature of celebrityhood and social media doesn’t help us to save the planet. We have resources that connect us, and we can use our phones and social media to address issues. When we focus on collaboration and connection we have more opportunity to save the planet.
What contributions does this book make to social change and activism?
There are many contributions to social change and activism within this book. Thich Nhat Hanh explores how we can actually work together for environmental justice. “The fact is, we already have enough technological solutions. But we’re so possessed by fear, anger, division, and violence that we are unable to make good use of them. We’re not making the challenges a priority; we’re not investing our time and resources; we’re not collaborating.” We have so much knowledge, and many innovations and resources to help us find ways to change what is happening in our world. Thich Nhat Hanh discusses how mindfulness and our own inner world also impacts the environment and has the power to change the world.
Part of creating this change in our environment is through changing our mental awareness. “We need a real awakening, a real enlightenment. New laws and policies are not enough. We need to change our way of thinking and seeing things. This is possible; the truth is that we have not really tried to do it yet. Each one of us has to do it for ourselves. No one else can do it for you. If you are an activist and you’re eager to do something, you should begin with yourself and your own mind.” There were many powerful moments in this book, including this quote which shows us how like the ocean has many drops of water that all make up the sea, we are all one part of the environment. Therefore, we each have the power to make change. As Thich Nhat Hanh wrote; “Humanity can change. First of all, we have to change ourselves. And, if we ourselves can do our best, that gives us a lot of peace already. The future of the planet doesn’t depend solely on one person, but you have done your part. And that is why you can have peace.”
What new concept did this book introduce to the world? What are some of the ripple effects?
Thich Nhat Hanh’s exploration of how our minds and our environment are connected was very thought-provoking. He wrote; “To meditate is crucial, to get out of despair, to get the insight of non-fear, to keep your compassion alive so you can be a real instrument of the Earth helping all beings. To meditate doesn’t mean to escape life, but to take time to look deeply. You allow yourself time to sit, to walk—not doing anything, just looking deeply into the situation and into your own mind.” The despair of climate disasters can be so overwhelming, we can sometimes feel helpless and like we don’t know how to create change. This book reminds me how through changing your inner world and mental environment, we can have the ability to create change in the world too. I feel more hopeful after reading the book, and I now see how in every moment, we can be doing something to create change in ourselves and the environment, and that these are connected.
Thich Nhat Hanh describes an image that stays in my mind. “That is the miracle of mindfulness. It’s like morning sunlight shining on a lotus flower. The bud has not opened yet, but as the sunlight pours down, the photons penetrate into the bud, and after one or two hours of being penetrated by the light, the flower opens itself.” This image is very memorable and vivid, and shows how “Our peace, strength, and awakening will bring us together, and each of us can do our part to avoid catastrophe and contribute to saving the planet.” This is a wonderful and insightful book that encourages us to think on another level about ourselves and our world and our connection to each other.