5 Apr 2006
Inquiring Mind
A copy of the latest edition of “Inquiring Mind” somehow arrived in my hands the other day, and a fine publication it is too. The subject of the Fall 2005 edition, Volume 22 No. 1, is Earth Dharma, and it pulls together many of the leading writers and thinkers exploring the interface between environmental thinking and Buddhism. Contributors include Joanna Macy, Gary Snyder, Paul Hawken and Helena Norberg-Hodge.
I was particularly touched by a piece called The Bhikku and the Butterfly: A Conversation between Ajahn Pasanno and Julia Butterfly Hill. Julia is the woman who lived in the tree she came to call ‘Luna’ as part of a protest trying to prevent the deforestation of an area of ancient forest. Her experiences were recorded in her book, Legacy of Luna. She spent two years hundreds of feet up in her redwood home, while, eventually, the rest of the forest was cleared around her. The tree survived, and then, a couple of years later, even survived an attack from some nutcase with a chainsaw.
As well as Julia’s article, there is also Joanna Macy’s piece, ‘The End of oil, Climate Change and the Great Turning”. Well worth getting your hands on a copy if you can. Inquiring Mind is free to anyone who writes and asks to be put on their mailing list, although any donations are of course very welcome. You’ll find more information here.