Compassion for minerals

Thich Nhat Hahn

Thay encourages children to develop compassion not only for themselves and for other people but also for animals, plants and minerals.

The inclusion of minerals is radical, progressive, holistic and modern. It suggests (a) linkage with the controversial deep ecology movement and (b) a balancing of valuations when considering the future of planet earth (less anthropocentric).

It also resonates with the notion of our being stardust whose beginnings are in the Big Bang and whose ending will be when the sun goes out – if we make it that far. There is always the possibility of a meteor strike!

A beguiling feature of this worldview is the observation that minerals became conscious and, with the evolution of humanity, became conscious of being conscious. There is also an appreciation of the major roles played by (a) unconscious, mind/brain factors in controlling both body and mind and by (b) the very recent evolution of language in affording an information and communication technology