Navigating Extinction: Zen Buddhism and Eco-Anarchism

Kevin J Holohan

doi:10.3390/rel13010060

Abstract

What can esoteric knowledge and spiritual practices from the East teach us about the deep psychological roots of domination and hierarchy? In what ways have ancient Buddhist sages acted as anarchist exemplars and deep ecologists long before these traditions began in the West? How might these anarchistic spiritual traditions inform our approaches to work in education, expand our notions of community, help us navigate ecological collapse, and contribute to our efforts to sustain living systems and rekindle our connection to the myriad sentient inhabitants of the places we live beyond the reaches of capital and the State? This paper will examine the anti-doctrine doctrine of Zen Buddhism as a concrete and embodied system of thought and practice for seeing through the delusions of the ego and the psychological and cultural conditioning these delusions engender. What will also be acknowledged is the general lack of attention this spiritual tradition has given to the capitalistic, authoritarian, and anti-ecological systems that tap into and flow from these delusions. It will be argued that these experiential approaches to overcoming the tyranny of the ego have significant implications for loosening the grip of hierarchical thinking, capitalist hyper-consumption, centralized systems of obedience and command, and human destruction of the biosphere.

Highlights

What can esoteric knowledge and spiritual practices from the East teach us about the deep psychological roots of domination and hierarchy? In what ways have ancient Buddhist sages acted as anarchist exemplars and deep ecologists long before these traditions began in the West? How might these anarchistic spiritual traditions inform our approaches to work in education, expand our notions of community, help us navigate ecological collapse, and contribute to our efforts to sustain living systems and rekindle our connection to the myriad sentient inhabitants of the places we live beyond the reaches of capital and the State? This paper will examine the anti-doctrine doctrine of
Articulate a conception of humanity as deeply embedded in and interdependent with a living, natural world. While this sensibility does not apply to all forms of social anarchism, it has certainly been central in the development and articulation of green or eco-anarchism (Curran 2007; Hall 2011)
The Buddha’s teachings around questioning authority, the centrality of direct personal experience of truth, overcoming of deeply conditioned habit and desire, and thoroughgoing psychological and ideological freedom/liberation have found their clearest expression in the school that has come to be known as Zen

Summary

Introduction

“The mercy of the West has been social revolution; the mercy of the East has been individual insight into the basic self/void. Other possibilities exist and have been operating alongside the techno-industrial social order since its inception One of these possibilities, an alternative that has been well-traveled by our paleolithic ancestors, past and present land-based cultures and communities, contemporary indigenous peoples, and eco-centric conscientious objectors who refuse to participate in the systems and institutions responsible for murdering the planet, points in the direction of scaling down and dismantling industrial civilization and creating communities the every action and decision of which is rooted in the recognition of interdependence, compassionate concern for all sentient beings, and a desire to end suffering. Buddhism provides a map and compass for this path but leaves the walking to each of us

The Anarchistic Nature of Buddhism

Socio-Cultural Critique Emerging from Zen and Anarchism

Discussion

Conclusions