Gary Snyder; Poet and Buddhist Thinker

(note: I came across this conversation this morning and was touched by the clarity of his position regarding the environment and current ecological and political situation and the individual's role in responding to the present needs of the planet and society. I was especially moved by the idea that we do not work to change or fix broken systems. We do so because it is the right (ethical) thing to do and, in affect, to change ourselves and save our "souls". I believe it is true that in the larger scheme of things there is very little we can do that will not be undone at some time by some negative or positive force. This does not absolve us of our own personal responsibility to do the right (ethical) thing. Buddhism can inform that action but so could any other "ism". A radical pro-life activist could see killing an abortion provider as "doing the right thing". Humans follow the path they are called to follow. May that inner voice arise from compassion and love and not from limited (small mind) view!)

You made a comment in Turtle Island [1974] that has stuck with me as a puzzle: “Knowing that nothing need be done, is where we begin to move from.” What did you mean, exactly? 

 Yes, that’s a Buddhist point. Lots of people have asked me about that. In the larger scale, things will take care of themselves. It’s obviously human hubris to think we can destroy the planet, can destroy life. It’s just another exaggeration of ourselves. Actually we can’t. We’re far too small. The time scale is far too large, and the resistance of cellular life is far too great. [James] Lovelock [the British environmentalist] is very interesting on this, on the extraordinary resilience of cells. But that’s no excuse. That would be no excuse for doing things poorly. A kind of bottom line is that all human activity is as trivial as anything else. We can humbly acknowledge that and excuse ourselves from exaggerating our importance, even as a threat, and also recognize the scale and the beauty of things. And then go to work. Don’t imagine that we’re doing ecological politics to save the world. We’re doing ecological politics to save ourselves, to save our souls. It’s a personal exercise in character and in manners. It’s a matter of etiquette. It’s a matter of living right. It’s not that the planet requires us to be good to it. It’s that we must do it because it’s an aesthetic and ethical choice.

Would you say, then, that there’s a lot of hysteria out there? What about the ozone hole? 

Those issues are all real. Those issues are all real, but they’re not total. And the power of the universe far surpasses any damage we can do to it.

Adapted from Nobody Home: Writing, Buddhism, and Living in Places, by Julia Martin and Gary Snyder, published by Trinity University Press, 2014. Reprinted courtesy of the publisher.