Category: Commentary
Posts discussing social and political issues of interest
Faith, Ceremony and Fearlessness
Today I attended my monthly gathering of dharma friends for a Riwo Sangchö practice. This is a smoke offering ceremony that acts as a physical metaphor for transforming all the negativities in the world, freeing them into the indivisible unity of space and wisdom. I am a Western woman, brought up culturally as an Anglican [...]
Beyond the Zero Sum Game
TRAFFIC JAM ON EVEREST This photo is likely to become one of the most famous images of 2019. It perfectly encapsulates the zero-sum game of modern society. Known to the Tibetan People as Chomolungma, Goddess Mother of the Universe, one of the Mountain Gods of ancient Tibet, for the modern cashed-up consumer it has become [...]
Love Among the Ruins with Ian Milliss
Barbara Lepani: I recently met Ian Milliss who is one of the founders of the Kandos School of Cultural Adaptation (www.ksca.land). I was struck by a piece of writing Ian had on his wall, titled ‘Love among the Ruins’. For me this was the perfect response to the revisioning of our relationship to the natural [...]
Resilience: Relinquishment: Restoration
Professor Jem Bendell of Cumbria University in the UK has been exploring how human society will adapt to the existential crisis that climate change is posing to our world as we fail to keep global warming below 2%. Positive feedback loops will act to accelerate the impact of climate change on weather systems, the environment, [...]
The Order of Interbeing—Thich Nhat Hanh
Be open to receive others’ viewpoints, to learn throughout your entire life. Live simply and share time, energy and material resources with those in need. Find whatever means possible to protect life and prevent war. The concept of ‘interbeing’ comes from the Vietnamese Tiep Hien: Tiep means ‘being in touch with’ and ‘continuing’. Hien means [...]
The Philosophical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis—Lynn White
Michael Paul Nelson of Oregon State University, together with Thomas J. Sauer of the US Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, reminds us of the prescient words of Lynn White, a historian of medieval science and technology, when he delivered a lecture on the 'Historic Roots of Our Ecological Crisis' in March 1966 at the [...]
Why can’t you take the gift we offer?
Yesterday, quite by chance, I happened on Ellen Fanning interviewing Wesley Enoch, Director of the Sydney Festival. She began by questioning him about the ALWAYS vigil installation at Barangaroo for the Sydney Festival, and whether it was making people uncomfortable in relation to the 'Change the Date' campaign about Australia Day on 26 January, the [...]
Listen to New Zealand’s Whale Whisperers
Hori Parata, New Zealand’s Maori Whale Whisperer: “As more whales beach and die – from exhaustion, heat stroke or seagulls feasting on their flesh – an acute sense of grief is growing among New Zealand’s indigenous people, who regard whales as their ancestors and taonga (treasures). These days it is like a zoo. People just […]