The planet Earth has become increasingly susceptible to human-induced (anthropogenic) ecological disasters. The currently raging COVID-19 pandemic adds to the vast scale of destruction and suffering that humanity and the planet are experiencing. In this paper we explicate the meaning of ‘human-induced’ destruction in the terms of the damaging and hurting metaphysics (beyond the physical or material) that modern humanity has been entertaining in their conceptual and emotional minds and materially projecting onto the world. In turn, the damaging and hurting metaphysics is explicated in the terms of atomism that conceives all existents as self-existing and independent, necessarily engaged in competition against each other for survival. We propose to replace such metaphysics with one of the processual ontologies, such as that of Alfred North Whitehead, in which humans see themselves and each other as continuously interfusing and co-creatively re/e/merging relata of complete interdependence. This way, all of us, all the time, become “one with The Ten Thousand Things.”—an expression in Chinese for the phenomenal world of thriving diversity and conviviality. We further explore self-cultivation of inner work that aids the shift from ego self to eco self , such as meditative and arts-based practices.

The teachings of Eihei Dōgen Zenji (1200–1253) emphasize a non-instrumental orientation to zazen as “practice-realization”, which might be described as a single movement of purposeful action and actualization of aims. Yet the question remains, if zazen is not in some sense a set of clearly defined steps toward specific ends, exactly how are its benefits manifested, and why would Dōgen place such an elusive approach at the centre of practice? In the following, I will discuss how Dōgen’s conception of practice does not necessarily function as a prescriptive methodology leading to specified results, but might better be described as an orientation to everyday experience that facilitates a comprehensive integration of physical and perceptual interactions withing shared environments. Any sense of the utility or benefit of zazen is inseparable from reference to these relations within specific contexts of practice. Exploring close parallels between Dōgen’s conception of universal self (jiko) and gestalt theory, particularly as it is referenced in ecophilosophy and sociomaterial practices literature, suggests ontological and ethical implications of “practice-realization” from contemporary secular perspectives.