1 Interbeing: Precepts and Practices of an Applied Ecology by Joan

Interbeing: Precepts and Practices of an Applied Ecology by Joan Halifax and Marty Peale Thich Nhat Hanh and the Order of Interbeing 2 This Human Form of Being 7 The Language of Duality Frameworks of Segregation Behaviors of Alienation Environmental Activism and the Precepts: An Applied Ecology 11 The Laying Down of Arms Reacquaintance 16 Contemplative Environmental Inquiry and the Precepts: An Applied Ecology 20 Truth is Found in Life Impermanence and the Present Moment Voluntary Simplicity Communion Interbeing 23 1 1 Interbeing: Precepts and Practices of an Applied Ecology by Joan Halifax and Marty Peale In 1966, in the wake of a violent war that had raged for a quarter century, a war that left 1,500,000 countrymen dead and forests defoliated across his tropical homeland, Vietnamese Buddhist monk and renowned peace activist, Thich Nhat Hanh, founded a new Order. He called it the Tiep Hien Order, the Order of Interbeing. Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings reveal the depth of the suffering he had witnessed and felt throughout his adult life—and the depth of his compassion. The Order of Interbeing is dedicated to alleviating suffering, fostering peace, raising awareness of non-duality, and raising awareness of the interpenetration of all beings. These are exemplified in the Order’s emphasis on engagement in the world and social transformation. When we, as Americans, practice with Thich Nhat Hanh (Thây), we cannot help but remember the war in Vietnam and our contribution to the suffering of that nation. And yet, Thây’s teachings have been well received here, because they indicate what we can do in response to suffering, for ourselves and others. In the Spring of 1991, after Thich Nhat Hanh had dedicated another quarter of a century of his life to teaching and engaged Buddhism on behalf of peace and compassion throughout the world, the United States bombed Iran in yet another attempt to halt injustice with violence. Thich Nhat Hanh struggled then with a decision to follow through on a scheduled teaching tour in the United States. He saw us, the people of the United States, as directly responsible for the actions of our political leaders, our oil industries, our military strategists, our pilots and servicemen. The will to help us see, even as we aggravated strife in yet another foreign country, did not come easily. On that difficult tour, Thich Nhat Hanh conducted a retreat for 250 environmentalists. In doing so, he reached out into a community of activists like himself, many of whom perceived themselves to be engaged in a war in their own homelands, a war against those who exploit the Earth’s resources. We would like to take this time with you to consider how Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings, developed in the context of a socially and environmentally devastating war, can guide those who wish to live and work with compassion for the Earth. We would like to begin by tracing the Vietnamese Buddhist roots of engagement-in-the-world, as the practice of engaged Buddhism has been fundamental to Thich Nhat Hanh’s development and the practices of the Order of Interbeing. We will consider how the Fourteen Precepts, which Thich Nhat Hanh drafted as guidelines for members of the Order, can cultivate understanding and compassion both in our advocacy on behalf of the Earth and in our intimate interrelationships with Her other forms of Being. 2 2 ∞ 3 3 Thich Nhat Hanh and the Order of Interbeing Thich Nhat Hanh is one of many practitioners and teachers of engaged Buddhism throughout the world1. He is the founder of the Tiep Hien Order, the Order of Interbeing. He is in the 42nd generation of the Lam Te (Lin Chi) School of Zen and the eighth generation of the Lieu Quan School of Zen. Let us trace the roots of these schools. Missionaries traveling from India to China during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE2) brought Buddhism to Vietnam. In 580 CE, Bodhidharma’s companion, Vinitaruci, founded his Zen School. Nineteen generations later, in the 11th Century, the national teacher in the Vinitaruci School, Van Hanh (Ten Thousand Actions), practiced and taught non-violence. Van Hanh is an important spiritual forebear of Thich Nhat Hanh’s, as we shall see. A second Zen school was founded by the Master Vo Ngon Thong in the 9th Century. Like the Vinitaruci School, this school was actively engaged in the political and social life of the nation. For many generations, monks in this lineage became great national teachers, poets and historians. In the 13th Century, the Yen Tu School was founded by the monk Hien Quang of the Vo Ngon Thong School. This school combined the teachings of the two Zen schools mentioned above and a third (the short-lived Thao Duong School). In the third generation, the Yen Tu school received input from the teachings of Lin Chi. Not long after this, King Tran Nhan Tong abdicated the throne and became a monk in the school. He later established the powerful Bamboo Forest (Truc Lam) School, which was responsible for ordaining over 15,000 monks and nuns between 1300- 1329 and for advancing a form of Buddhism that was socially and politically engaged. According to Thich Nhat Hanh, the Tran Dynasty is one of the important inspirations for engaged Buddhism in Vietnam. Thich Nhat Hanh is also in the lineage of the Lieu Quan School. Master Lieu Quan emphasized the inseparability of dharma and everyday life, the inseparability of wisdom and action. When Master Lieu Quan died in 1742, he had approximately 4,000 disciples. The Lieu Quan School became the most important school of Buddhism in southern Vietnam and flourished until 1975. In 1802, King Gia Long united Vietnam. After 100 years of independence, the country fell to the French army. In 1940, communists from the North mounted an armed resistance against the French. It was at this time that Vietnamese Buddhists found themselves caught in the conflict between communism and capitalism. This continued throughout the war in Vietnam, where 1,500,000 Vietnamese were killed, and 500,000 tons of napalm and great quantities of agent orange and other herbicides were dropped on the forests and villages of the small country. In the midst of Buddhist peace work during the 1960s stood Thich Nhat Hanh. Born in 1926 in South Vietnam, Thây was 17, he entered the Tu Hieu Monastery in Hue. In 1949, he was fully ordained. Early in his monastic studies, Thây showed himself to have a liberal and experimental approach to Buddhist learning and practice. During his early years of monastic practice, he participated in founding temples, schools, publishing endeavors, and service groups, as well as working as a high-school teacher and the editor of the magazine, Vietnamese Buddhism. It was in this publication that he began to express his ideas about engaged Buddhism. 4 4 In the early 1960s, Thich Nhat Hanh traveled to the United States, where he studied religion at Princeton and lectured at Columbia University. In 1963, he presented documents to the United Nations about human rights violations in South Vietnam. In the midst of this, a Vietnamese monk immolated himself. Shortly thereafter, a coup resulted in the downfall of the Diem regime (the “puppet” government of the French). The Diem regime had supported Catholicism and discouraged Buddhism during the seven years it was in control. After its fall, Buddhist organizations came together under the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. In 1964, the Saigon Institute of Higher Buddhist Studies was founded. At the same time, Thich Nhat Hanh returned to Vietnam at the request of Tri Quang, one of the leaders of the radical wing of the Buddhist Church in Vietnam. There he worked with other monks to establish, in 1966, Van Hanh University for higher Buddhist education. Van Hanh, we noted earlier, was known not only for his wisdom but also for his practice of nonviolence. The curriculum of Van Hanh Buddhist University reflected a broad and inclusive view both within and outside of Buddhism. Like the older Buddhist schools, both the Saigon Institute of Higher Buddhist Studies and Van Hanh Buddhist University were socially and politically engaged. During these years, Thich Nhat Hanh wrote prolifically about peace and reconciliation. In 1965, his commitment to peace and the practice of reconciliation led him to found the School of Youth for Social Service (SYSS) as a program of the Van Hanh Buddhist University. SYSS provided a context for lay Buddhists, monks and nuns to engage in social service, particularly in relation to the suffering engendered by the war. On February 5, 1966, Thich Nhat Hanh established the Tiep Hien Order and ordained its first six members. These three men and three women were board members of the SYSS, committed to peace and reconciliation. Poets, anti-war writers, composers and artists created works to inspire others in the direction of peace. There were protests against the government. Family altars were placed in the streets in front of approaching tanks. Draft resisters and deserters were helped. The Order and members of the SYSS helped to establish schools, care for orphans, aid victims of floods and victims of war. Thirty years later, Joan visited members of the SYSS and the Tiep Hien Order in Hue. She wrote, their hair is now flecked with grey; their faces are older; they still work for human rights, the environment and the well being of others with a commitment that is fresh and visible. The Tiep Hien Order stayed small for many years, until 1981 when the microbiologist Nguyen Anh Huong became the seventh member.

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