The widely respected American Buddhist teacher, author, eco-philosopher, and environmental activist Joanna Macy., PhD, has died peacefully at her home in Berkeley, California, after a period of ill health. She was 96 years old.
Joanna, a renowned scholar of Buddhism, ecological interdependence, and systems thinking, was a deeply respected voice as an advocate for peace, justice, and ecology for more than half a century. She originated a ground-breaking framework for personal and social change, and a powerful methodology for its application as the root teacher of The Work That Reconnects—a form of group work and a community aimed at cultivating the mindset and ability to participate in the healing of our world.
At the heart of Joanna’s work lies the belief that our pain for the world, often manifested as anger, fear, or grief, is not a sign of weakness but a testament to our interconnectedness with all life.
In a public statement posted to social media, the Work That Reconnects Network shared:
Dear friends,
With full hearts, we share that Joanna Macy, our beloved root teacher, mentor, and friend, passed away peacefully at home on July 19th, at 3:56PM Pacific Time.
Over these past weeks, Joanna continued to inspire us through her presence, clarity, and deep love for life. She chose to remain at home, where she was held in love, as she gently let go.
Joanna gave us a profound understanding of the gifts of grief and a vision for resilience. She offered the Spiral and the larger body of the Work That Reconnects not just as a framework, but as a way to move through the world with courage and tenderness. She reminded us, again and again, that the world is alive and we belong to it.
Though her body has left us, her work pulses in every one of us. In every moment of truth-speaking, in every gathering that dares to feel, in every act of sacred activism – we will keep her message alive.
May we carry forward her love of life. May we grieve with open eyes. May we continue the Great Turning she so faithfully named.
The Network is organizing an online gathering to celebrate her life, with the date to be announced soon.
With reverence,
The Work That Reconnects Network Weavers
Countless tributes to Joanna and her work have been shared widely online in recent days as her passing drew closer.
“Beloved Joanna Macy, now gone beyond,” said the American Zen Buddhist teacher and civil rights activist Roshi Joan Halifax. “We are the beneficiaries of her vision, courage, and wisdom. Your powerful offerings at Upaya, our long friendship, your integrity and rising spirit, your great kindness. Now an ancestor. Thousands have been touched by your life, how you lived it, without self and always for others. Thank you, my old friend, for all I learned from you over the many years.” (Facebook)
Born in Los Angeles in 1929, Joanna’s relationship with Buddhism took root in 1965, while working with Tibetan refugees in northern India, she subsequently deepened this spiritual connection through study and practice in the Theravada tradition.
Joanna’s focus on developing and disseminating what would become known as the Work That Reconnects began in the late 1970s, supported by a network that spanned the globe. She was equally devoted to a host of other vocations and aspirational callings, including the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement for peace and self-governance in Sri Lanka; the cultivation and spiritual connection with her teachers in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition; and her work with nuclear guardianship.
Joanna received her Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Syracuse University in 1978, her work focused on convergences between causation in systems thinking and the Buddhist understanding of interdependent origination.
Joanna’s work addressed a broad range of issues facing communities and societies in the contemporary world, centered on the cultivation of ecological awareness and the confluence of Buddhist thought and scientific perspectives. She was the author of 13 books, and an international spokesperson and thought-leader for anti-nuclear causes, peace, social justice, and environmentalism.
She was married to Francis Underhill Macy (1927–2009), environmental activist and Russian scholar, and founder of the non-profit environmental group Center for Safe Energy.
A memorial essay on the Work That Reconnects Network website observed: “Joanna Rogers Macy leaves a legacy that will long continue to inform and energize both the work of healing the world from the frenzy of industrialized capitalism, and the complementary movements to come home to the true nature of our being. For, as she would say, we are embedded in the web of life. . . .
“For the many thousands of us who carry on and continue to develop the Work That Reconnects—this gift of the shared journey from despair to connection, empowerment, and action—Joanna Macy leaves us her particular inspiration of a robust fearlessness, and perseverance fueled by love.” (Work That Reconnects Network)
If the world is to be healed through human efforts, I am convinced it will be by ordinary people, people whose love for this life is even greater than their fear. — Joanna Macy
See more
Joanna Macy: And Her Work
Work That Reconnects Network
Work That Reconnects Network (Facebook)
Joanna Macy – In Memoriam (Work That Reconnects Network)
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