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FACE TO FACE | EASTERN HORIZON 19
Happiness for Oneself,
Happiness for the World
By Dr. Colin Beavan
Benny: You are a well-known author, speaker, and
advisor with a strong focus on sustainable living and
personal transformation. How have Zen Buddhist
values influenced your work in these areas?
Colin: My work is about aligning how we live with
our true human values. But those values depend on
understanding what we really are. Zen means asking
and investigating the question: What am I? If we truly
understand ourselves, then we see that we’re not
Dr. Colin Beavan, Ph.D., is an authorized Zen separate from anything—not from the sun, the moon,
teacher, executive coach, author, and activist the stars, or the sky. Everything is one. If we and all
known for integrating spiritual practice with things are one, then we already have everything. And if
environmental and social consciousness. A senior we already have everything, we don’t need anything. If
student in the Zen tradition, he has trained we don’t need anything, we can be generous. So, at the
extensively in the Kwan Um Zen lineage and both core of understanding our true nature is this uncovering
of pure generosity. MAs I said, my work is about helping
Soto and Rinzai schools and teaches meditation people align their lives with the truth of their being and
and ethical living grounded in Buddhist principles. their deepest values. And when we understand what
Beavan gained international recognition as the we truly are, we naturally live in a way that’s beneficial
“No Impact Man” for his experiment in sustainable not only for ourselves but also for others—and for the
living, which he chronicled in his bestselling book planet. This isn’t just a Zen Buddhist value—it’s the
and documentary. His approach to Zen emphasizes natural result of clearly seeing our human nature. So we
mindfulness in action, compassionate service, and keep asking: What am I?
living in alignment with one’s values. As a Dharma
teacher, he guides students in cultivating inner You are now an authorized Zen teacher in the Kwan
stillness while engaging meaningfully with the Um School of Zen. What inspired you not only
to study and practice Zen, but also to teach it—
world’s challenges. Dr. Beavan teaches workshops especially within the Korean Zen tradition?
and retreats that combine meditation, ethical
reflection, and socially engaged practice. He brings
In my mid-20s, I became very depressed. Outwardly, I
a unique voice to contemporary Zen—rooted in was successful—I had earned both a bachelor’s degree
tradition yet deeply responsive to the pressing and a PhD, and I had even started and run a successful
issues of modern life, including climate change, business. But then it all seemed pointless. I was left with
consumerism, and justice. Colin received inka on big questions: Why am I alive? What should I do with my
April 9, 2022 at Providence Zen Center, USA. Benny life? What is the point of it all?
contacted Colin and interviewed him on various
aspects of practice of Korean Zen, especially the So I began a spiritual search. I read the Christian
topic of “don’t know mind”. mystics, the Kabbalah, the Sufis—many different
