Journal Article — Asia’s Thich Nhat Hanh — by Winston Langley
$15.00
This opening keynote argues that we cannot possibly hope to reform or transform the conditions which threaten and degrade all humans and the environments in which they live, without re-forming the self, the we-self, the inter-being.
Description
Abstract
This opening keynote argues that we cannot possibly hope to reform or transform the conditions which threaten and degrade all humans and the environments in which they live, without re-forming the self, the we-self, the inter-being. It also argues, implicitly, that Asia does not any longer have to be pre-occupied with defending itself against imputed identities, such as those linked to the old “Asiatic” label, and can now proudly, through the fruits of its own productivity, use the same term to counter-penetrate, culturally, the terrains where the formerly constructed deformations of its identities had taken place. As well, it says, that victims do not have to be controlled by bitterness–something the historical presence of Mahatma Gandhi unmistakably demonstrated, but can be leaders in the process of collective healing; and that, as Thich Nhat Hanh has taught us, in the pursuit of “deep ecology,” neither victim nor wrong-doer can ever have the chance for self-realization by excluding the other.
Recommended Citation
Langley, Winston. 2008. “Asia’s Thich Nhat Hanh.” Pp. 1-2 in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Sociological Imagination: Essays and Commentaries on Engaged Buddhism (Human Architecture: Journal of the Sociology of Self-Knowledge: Volume VI, Issue 3, 2008.) Belmont, MA: Okcir Press (an imprint of Ahead Publishing House).
The various editions of this issue of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Sociological Imagination: Essays and Commentaries on Engaged Buddhism can be ordered from the Okcir Store and are also available for ordering from all major online bookstores worldwide (such as Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and others).
Read the Above Publication Online
To read the above publication online, you need to be logged in as an OKCIR Library member with a valid access. In that case just click on the large PDF icon below to access the publication. Make sure you refresh your browser page after logging in.