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Thich Nhat Hanh's Philosophy of Personal Change

October 17, 2008

Thich Nhat Hanh eloquently conveys the teaching of the Buddhist faith as they relate to the natural world. Rather than recommending ad hoc initiatives or political action, the Nobel nominated monk urges humanity to recognize the intrinsic link between all beings and objects stating that “we have to discard all distinctions between self and non-self” (256). The earth possesses a finite number of particles that organize themselves in infinite combinations to form structures and species, and humans are but one of these amalgamations.

“We humans are a young species. We were plants, we were trees, and now we have become humans. We have to remember our past existence and become humble” (256)

Hanh implores us to look beyond our own wants and needs, and realize the inescapable bonds that tie our actions to the health of mother earth. He asserts that “we are imprisoned in our small selves, thinking only of some comfortable conditions for this small self,  while we destroy our large self” (255). This dichotomy is at the heart of the human condition. The ability to look beyond a single desire, a single juncture, or a single lifetime is essential for our species’ survival, but is often inexplicably absent from the evolutionary hardwiring that ensures our survival in the present.

Thich Nhat Hanh teaches us to appreciate the gifts that the natural world has bestowed upon us while it asks nothing in return. He encourages us to “learn to practice unconditional love for all beings so that the animals, the air, the trees, and the minerals can continue to be themselves” (256). This point of view reiterates the belief that all beings and objects are linked and “by destroying the animals, the air, and the trees, we are destroying ourselves” (256). In this light; pollution, resource depletion, and global warming are mere reflections of a self hatred that we manifest in our treatment of the environment. To change these destructive actions would not only be an expression of our love for the earth, but of our love for ourselves.

Few people will accept bowing “deeply before the orchid and the snail and join our palms reverently before the monarch butterfly and the magnolia tree” (256). These ideals of Buddhism, however, need not be practiced in the literal sense. This respect for the earth and its vitality simply represents the natural evolution of our species. As humans seek equilibrium with the natural world we mutually become stronger, and as individuals we begin to embody “our true selves” (255).

Filed under: Perspectives on the Environment