No Impact Man

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Nibbida
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No Impact Man

Post by Nibbida »

I just saw a film last weekend called No Impact Man. It's about a journalist from New York and his family who decide to live for a year trying to have no net environmental impact. He goes to some extremes which seem ascetic from a modern Western point of view, but it's an interesting experiment nonetheless.

What struck me is how much Buddhist themes keep popping up. Admittedly, I see the Dhamma everywhere I look now, since it's about fundamentally human issues and not "Buddhist" ones. But this movie, more than others, seemed to pique my notice.

For example, reducing environmental impact inevitably involves abandoning the obsessive consumerist pursuits, which they do. Initially, it's like going through detox. The wife, self-admittedly, is struggling especially, and at one point says "It's like the wanting part of me is dying" (a.k.a. craving, clinging, nidanas) At a later point in the film when she has more perspective on the project, she mentions how "consumption for the sake of consumption" leads to a kind of "coma" (i.e. ignorance).

What's also interesting is that after the detox, they actually find life to be much more satisfying. They get out of their home (since there's no television, internet, etc.) and the days "feel like they last forever." Even the name "No Impact Man" is a restatement of ahimsa.

If you're at all interested, check it out:

movie: http://tiny.cc/NIM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
blog: http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
book: http://us.macmillan.com/noimpactman" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

:anjali:

P.S. I'm not "No Impact Man" in disguise. I just liked the movie.
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jcsuperstar
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Re: No Impact Man

Post by jcsuperstar »

my wife is into this, i however cant get interested enough to watch
สัพเพ สัตตา สุขีตา โหนตุ

the mountain may be heavy in and of itself, but if you're not trying to carry it it's not heavy to you- Ajaan Suwat
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Ben
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Re: No Impact Man

Post by Ben »

Thanks Nibbida for the links.
I'll check them out.
metta

Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

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Kim OHara
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Re: No Impact Man

Post by Kim OHara »

Hi, Ben,
I just saw a very short review of the book, in The Weekend Australian. The author was described as smugly holier-than-thou, and the book as fairly ordinary.
It might still be OK, though - the reviewer is right-wing even by the Australian's standards, as I know from his other writing.

:juggling:
Kim
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Ben
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Re: No Impact Man

Post by Ben »

Thanks Kim
Unfortunately due to our easter revelry, we missed the weekend Australian. I'll have a look at the Australian website and see if the review is posted there.
Thanks for the heads up!
kind regards

Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

e: [email protected]..
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Nibbida
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Re: No Impact Man

Post by Nibbida »

Kim O'Hara wrote:Hi, Ben,
I just saw a very short review of the book, in The Weekend Australian. The author was described as smugly holier-than-thou, and the book as fairly ordinary.
It might still be OK, though - the reviewer is right-wing even by the Australian's standards, as I know from his other writing.

:juggling:
Kim
Hi Kim,

I'd give the movie a look. I can only speak for myself, but I didn't detect holier-than-thou-ness (if that's a word). I woulnd't enjoy it much if it did. To the contrary, he seemed rather humble in what he was doing, recognizing that he was going to impractical extremes temporarily for the purpose of the experiment rather than acting as if he could live indefinitely in a state of environmental perfection.

Incidentally, the film is available for instant view online with Netflix, if you have that.

Marcello
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Dhammakid
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Re: No Impact Man

Post by Dhammakid »

Hello everyone,
I've seen the film and I thought it was very good. A timely and relevant film for current times. I'd recommend it to anyone. I also heard them speak at a film festival and found them very nice and humble. Just my thoughts though.

:anjali:
Dhammakid
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