Joanna Macy has previously spoken about “four R’s” of the Deep Adaptation movement: the four core values of resilience, relinquishment, restoration, and reconciliation that can help us find the seeds of new beginnings in the breakdown of industrial growth society. In this article, she continues to document the Great Unraveling, likening it to entering the bardo—the frightening transitional state of consciousness between death and re-birth so vividly portrayed in Tibetan Buddhism. The worsening wildfires, hurricanes, COVID outbreaks, and police violence certainly evoke the intensity and uncertainty of the bardo. But as always, she faces, and encourages us to face, our “cruel social and ecological realities” with courage and an unflinching gaze, while continuing to work towards the Great Turning to a life-sustaining civilization.
Joanna further explored these themes in a talk during Upaya Zen Center’s daylong program in June. Thanks to Upaya’s generosity, we share a video of this talk at the end of this article.
We are in a space without a map. With the likelihood of economic collapse and climate catastrophe looming, it feels like we are on shifting ground, where old habits and old scenarios no longer apply. In Tibetan Buddhism, such a space or gap between known worlds is called a bardo. It is frightening. It is also a place of potential transformation.
As you enter the bardo, there facing you is the Buddha Akshobhya. His element is Water. He is holding a mirror, for his gift is Mirror Wisdom, reflecting everything just as it is. And the teaching of Akshobhya’s mirror is this: Do not look away. Do not avert your gaze. Do not turn aside. This teaching clearly calls for radical attention and total acceptance.
This article was originally published by Emergence Magazine and is republished here with permission.
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