My Legacy

 Recently, an internet acquaintance sent out a very gloomy and depressing YouTube presentation he had compiled, which features the eminent climate journalist Robert Hunziker giving us a tour of places all over the planet that are in various states of ecological collapse due to the climate crisis. The general theme of this presentation, as with many other recent articles I have read, is that it is too late--that we have already passed the tipping point, beyond which the excess atmospheric CO2, compounded by methane from melting permafrost and by the loss of albedo due to melting ice caps, is causing a runaway feedback loop that will accelerate global heating to the point that living systems throughout the world will collapse before too much longer, dooming all of humanity and most other vertebrates to a ghastly fate of mass starvation and extinction. His message was essentially that of Dante's Inferno:  "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here..."

He may well be right, of course. The vast amount of data from all over the planet pointing toward imminent global ecological collapse is hard to refute.  That may be that. And in theory, I shouldn't worry since, at 71, I'll most likely be dead and gone (or not...), before everyone else shares my fate. 

But I refuse, categorically, to give up hope. Instead, I have vowed, till my very last breath, to propagate Gaian consciousness, in theory and practice alike, in whatever ways I can, in the hope that, against all odds, we may arrest this catastrophic juggernaut before it is far too late, and thereby catalyze the spontaneous remission of the cancer of the Earth.

We cannot do this from the top down. The current systems that organize our global civilization--governments and corporations alike--all have an enormous vested interest in Glomart--the (entirely artificial and maximizing) order of money.  But Glomart, as I have often said, is fundamentally incompatible with Gaia. A maximizing economic system that depends on endless growth of population, production, and consumption cannot long endure on a finite, optimizing biosphere that is not getting any bigger.

But we can--in principle--transform our global civilization from the ground up--that is, from our personal lives to our families, communities, farms, and forests, to our city, county, and state governments, thence to the federal government and the international community. We can all transform our parasitic relationship with Gaia into a symbiotic one.   But how?

"Cultivate Virtue in yourself, and Virtue will be real."  So says Lao Tzu in his own prescription for social regeneration (verse 54). But how?  There are, of course, an infinite number of recommendations for how to do this, so our best bet is to find one that works for us. But the point is, personal regeneration is the indispensable first step to social and ecological regeneration, or--failing that--to acceptance of mortality, whether our own or that of our entire civilization and biosphere.

Hence my legacy. This is what I hope--and intend--to instill within all those whom I am able to reach, of whatever age but especially the youth, before I die.   It is my own interpretation of the universal Dharma, which the Dalai Lama aptly characterized as simultaneously a principle, a precept, and a practice. Here is my formulation of these: 

Principle: "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."  --Martin Luther King, Jr.

Precept: Therefore, let us strive to "take care of everyone and abandon no one; to take care of everything and abandon nothing." (Lao Tzu).

Practice: Breathe, Observe, Let Go;  Be Well, Do Good Work, Keep in Touch; Learn Gaia, Teach Gaia, Heal Gaia, Create Gaia."

How might this work?  Imagine...

--a Dharma Gaia circle, an ecumenical meditation group that meets bimonthly on lunar holidays and for outings (Gaia Walks) on solar holidays, beginning each meditation by reciting the Principle and the Precept, and then "launching" their sitting meditation by using the Practice as a guided meditation on the breath. This could grow into other community-building activities, such as potlucks, book club, etc. Once established with a standard protocol (based on the Principle, Precept, and Practice), one such group could "bud off" into others, propagating itself through the Web...leading to

--Dharma Gaia Practice Centers established in various localities, both urban and rural, to model Permaculture design and to practice and promulgate self- and community-regeneration through the three basic disciplines of meditation, satyagraha, and permaculture, leading to...

--incorporation of Permaculture, regenerative design, ecological awareness, and other Gaian principles and practices into educational systems, K-12, and into public policy as well...

--creating, in turn, irresistible political pressure and economic incentives on policymakers and businesses to abandon fossil fuels and to build a renewable energy infrastructure, as well as taking care of everyone and abandoning no one (Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share)...

--massively cutting CO2 emissions worldwide, while investing in large-scale landscape regeneration (incorporating permaculture principles) to rebuild topsoil and sequester as much carbon as possible, while simultaneously diversifying and relocalizing food and other economies everywhere...

It may, of course, be too late for any of this to make a difference in the fate of our planet. But these values and goals are still worth pursuing, no matter what happens. As Gandhi often taught, the essential lesson from his own core spiritual tradition, the Baghavad Gita, is to "renounce the fruits of action"--that is, to let go of attachment to outcomes. Viewed from this perspective, it really does not matter whether or not we succeed in saving our planet or our future in the long run. All that matters, right now, is that we do what we know is right--for ourselves, our  loved ones, our communities, and our magnificent living planet. So let us all vow to Learn Gaia, Teach Gaia, Heal Gaia, and Create Gaia--right up to our last breath.