David Loy (Part 2) – Growing from Bodhisattva to Ecosattva: Integrating Personal Practice and Global Activism

By Heidi Mitchell | June 2, 2022
David Loy Ecodharma

David Loy, Zen teacher, scholar, and prolific author, reveals his acute understanding of the crises we face today, the psychology at the root of the problems, and how we can make our way forward in this in-depth discussion. He has adopted the term ecodharma to focus attention on the challenge Buddhism faces now: integrating personal transformation with global activism and social transformation. As David points out, the focus needs to be on this world, with transcendence being a metaphorical understanding but not an excuse to abandon the problems we and our planet face today. 

Besides gaining great depth of knowledge from being a scholar and student of koans, David’s insights come from a plethora of nondual experiences, which led David on a path of eco-action. Ecodharma asks: How does Buddhism need to change? How much is dwelling in emptiness becoming problematical in these challenging times? What’s best for the Earth? Everyone says practice, practice, practice…when is the performance? Is evolutionary pressure going to create a new way of living sustainably? Recorded February 22, 2020. 

“When your sense of separation dissipates, it becomes not what’s in it for me, but what can I do to help make this a better world for everybody?”

Note: Regrettably 4 minutes of the recording were irretrievably lost at minute 21:26, but thankfully, the recording resumes just as Roger succinctly sums up the previous minutes of conversation. Also, this podcast was recorded live and includes, at times, some extraneous noises in the background. Please excuse them — we felt the conversation was very valuable and well worth sharing with our audience. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Enjoyed this episode?

Buy Roger and John A Coffee

Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2

  • The role of technology, moving into an age of virtual reality, and the creation of supernormal stimuli (01:41)
  • Ecodharma: addressing the need for a new understanding of practice and walking the bodhisattva/ecosattva path (04:37) 
  • Keeping “don’t know” mind in the face of the eco-crisis (09:57)
  • How can Buddhism contribute to facing the critical issues of our time? (10:54)
  • The Extinction Rebellion, a grassroots direct action movement (11:49)
  • The election of Trump has highlighted our problems in making them worse (15:16)
  • The problem of complacency (17:24)
  • What signifies that one has started to walk the bodhisattva path? (19:42)
  • Desire versus craving (21:26)
  • Karma yoga and not being attached to the outcome (22:14)
  • The cycle of withdrawal and return common to those people who have contributed the most to humankind (23:45)
  • The deepest challenge of our practice is integrating the knowledge that everything is perfect, but also knowing action is needed to improve things (26:36)
  • Evolutionary psychology, the evolution of religion, and what we need to do today (28:18)
  • What socially engaged Buddhism has to contribute (34:02)
  • The challenge of the gnostic intermediary to transmit a wisdom tradition across cultures and across time (34:59)

Resources & References – Part 2

* As an Amazon Associate, Deep Transformation earns from qualifying purchases.

Listen to Part 1

Early on, David Loy studied koans under Yamada KĹŤun Roshi while teaching Eastern and Western philosophy in Japan. He began to have direct experiences of nonduality, and the recognition of unity, or connection with others, led to his activism in the spheres of social justice and the eco-crisis. A scholar, professor, and Zen teacher in the Sanbo Zen tradition, David brings a Buddhist perspective to the ecological crisis we face today. He points out there is an important parallel between what Buddhism says about our personal predicament and about our collective predicament in relation to the rest of the biosphere. David is also a prolific author; his latest book is Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis; and he is co-editor of A Buddhist Response to the Climate Emergency.

Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell

Presented by iAwake Technologies’ innovative, sound tech infused, brain wave entraining audio track

Solar Infusion

“It’s a very relaxing track. Feels spacious and has a dream-like quality. I am entrained to the alpha, and do feel the peaceful components!”

~ Scott Marshall
Cover Art of Solar Infusion from iAwake Technologies
Listen to a sample of Solar Infusion

“Solar Infusion is really different from the other iAwake tracks I’ve used. I find I am drawn into it and tend to be sort of captivated just listening to it (instead of doing my usual meditation routine with the track playing in the background). I don’t know when I’ve heard a track that silences my monkey mind so successfully. When it’s done, I am in such a wonderful deep state, I often play one of the iAwake Mini Meditations afterwards, just to relish staying in the zone it puts me in and prolong the state.”

~ Heidi Mitchell

iAwake Technologies was founded in 2010 with the mission of helping the world to heal, wake up, and evolve, through creating and offering cutting-edge, transformational technologies and promoting and inspiring their skillful use in our daily lives.

iAwake’s unique approach to session design entrains both our nervous and our subtle energy systems by combining traditional entrainment methods with newer applications based on the power of resonance. In addition to increasing intelligence, creativity, flow, and skillfulness in practically any activity that requires the human body-mind, with iAwake Technologies, we enter into deep healing brainwave states almost immediately while listening to these audio tracks.

To see what we are talking about, download a free sample of Stealing Flow’s Warm-up track here for a 25-minute, full-spectrum, whole-brain workout.

“I have enjoyed many [meditation technologies] but my VERY favorite meditations come from a company called iAwake Technologies. The science behind their technology is impeccably researched and I don’t think I have ever gone so deep into my practice as when I use their meditation tracks. Actually I bought so many and sent so many people to their website, they wrote to find out who the heck I was!”

~ Colette Baron-Reid, world-renowned intuitive counselor, psychic medium, author, TV personality, and radio host. They call her the Oracle.
Posted in Global Activism, Nonduality, Social Change, Spiritual Development, Transformative Practice and tagged , , ,