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

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 Dōgen, Jason M. Wirth draws out insights for understanding our relation to the planet’s ongoing ecological crisis. He discusses what Dōgen 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 Dōgen. 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 Bashō’s Journey: The Literary Prose of Matsuo Bashō “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 FINALIST for the 2017 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award in the Philosophy categoryMeditating on the work of American poet and environmental activist Gary Snyder and thirteenth-century Japanese Zen Master Eihei Dōgen, Jason M. Wirth draws out insights for understanding our relation to the planet's ongoing ecological crisis. He discusses what Dōgen 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. Meditating on the work of American poet and environmental activist Gary Snyder and thirteenth-century Japanese Zen Master Eihei D?gen, 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 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Abbreviations 12 Preface (Milarepa’s Stone Tower) 14 I 14 II 15 III 18 IV 23 Part I: The Great Earth 28 1 Mountains, Rivers, and the Great Earth 30 I 30 II 33 III 37 IV 48 2 Geology (Poetic Word) 52 I 52 II 56 III 61 IV 64 V 66 VI 77 Part II: Turtle Island 82 3 Place (Land and Sea, Earth and Sky) 84 I 84 II 85 III 89 IV 91 4 Bears (The Many Palaces of the Earth) 98 I 98 II 99 III 107 Part III: Earth Democracy 112 5 The Great Potlatch 114 I 114 II 116 III 118 IV 120 V 126 6 Seeds of Earth Democracy 130 I 130 II 131 III 136 IV 139 Notes 144 Bibliography 160 Index 170