Mountains, Rivers, and the Great Earth: Reading Gary Snyder and Dōgen in an Age of Ecological Crisis (SUNY series in Environmental Philosophy and Ethics)

Description

Engages the global ecological crisis through a radical rethinking of what it means to inhabit the earth. Meditating on the work of American poet and environmental activist Gary Snyder and thirteenth-century Japanese Zen Master Eihei Dogen, Jason M. Wirth draws out insights for understanding our relation to the planet’s ongoing ecological crisis. He discusses what Dogen calls “the Great Earth” and what Snyder calls “the Wild” as being comprised of the play of waters and mountains, emptiness and form, and then considers how these ideas can illuminate the spiritual and ethical dimensions of place. The book culminates in a discussion of earth democracy, a place-based sense of communion where all beings are interconnected and all beings matter. This radical rethinking of what it means to inhabit the earth will inspire lovers of Snyder’s poetry, Zen practitioners, environmental philosophers, and anyone concerned about the global ecological crisis. “There are numerous books that discuss Snyder’s ecological view and, to a lesser extent, his relation to Dogen. There are also many books on Buddhism and ecology. But this book is unique in its focus and format and its authorial voice. It’s a distinctive, ambitious, and timely work.” — David Landis Barnhill, translator of Basho’s Journey: The Literary Prose of Matsuo Basho “This is a very interesting book on, arguably, the most crucial topic that we are facing today. It makes us realize how deep we are in the ecological crisis, and that this crisis is not merely a crisis outside of us, but lies first and foremost deeply in ourselves. An incredibly timely and important book—I could not stop reading it and thinking about it.” — Gerard Kuperus, author of Ecopolitical Homelessness: Defining Place in an Unsettled World