In helping transfer Buddhist values to the West by linking Buddhism to what he calls “the most archaic values on earth,” Gary Snyder has explored variations on Buddhist practice through what he calls “the real work,” a system of actions and attitudes that accords with natural occurrences and their spiritual significance. This paper analyzes the ideas that underlie this concept by exploring its connection to practice (both as meditation and as physical and other forms of labor), resistance to the forces that work against preservation of the environment, and resignation or acceptance, which involves recognition of impermanence and the potentiality of non-accomplishment in the goals one wishes to achieve. The Real Work is thus directly linked to the concept of Dharma advanced in Buddhism and other Eastern spiritual disciplines. The pedagogical significance of the values explored in the Real Work is considered in light of their importance to an educational system that would be oriented toward engendering ecological holism.
Allan Johnston (Wed,) studied this question.