Mi Lai: The Call of the Wild

At 10 a.m. on a late summer day， strong sunlight begins dispelling the early morning coolness， as green trees thrive in tranquil Purun Garden on Phoenix Mountain in suburban Beijing.

Purun Garden covers nearly two hectares. Founded with support from the China Social Entrepreneur Foundation， it is actually an educational organization advocating organic farming and traditional Chinese culture. Its leader， Mi Lai， was formerly a pop music producer. He gave up his convenient city life to settle deep in the mountains and experience rural life. “I’m a Buddhist， and I hope to discover the secrets of life，” Mi declares with a smile and a reverent hand gesture.

In 2000， he relocated from Hunan to Beijing to continue working in music. Due to long hours at a computer， he began suffering from severe cervical spondylosis and insomnia. Moreover， the pressure of urban life exhausted him. In 2006， Mi sold his company and house and went backpacking alone in southern China.

In 2008， after two years of traveling， Mi returned to Beijing. However， he found urban life no longer satisfying. So， he joined the Beijing Global Village Environmental Education Center， a Chinese commonwealth organization， and left for one of the center’s educational bases hidden in mountains of Beijing’s suburban Yanqing County.

Mi Lai lived there for three years. During the period， he read many Chinese classics， which inspired him to rethink the meaning of life. He ultimately decided that all of the suffering he had endured previously was due to his pursuit of material wealth and recognition from others. His emotions were influenced by the outside environment， so he couldn’t attain inner peace. But deep in the tranquil， secluded mountains， he farmed， read， took pictures， and cooked alone， which enabled him to see the true needs of his heart.

Gradually， Mi found that the maladies which had previously plagued him had disappeared.

Mi Lai isn’t alone in preferring secluded life， so does his niece Mi Duo. After three years of painstaking study at high school， she found her eyesight severely weakened by the time she received her college admission letter. Western medicine could not help her deteriorating vision. Upon an invitation from Mi Lai， Mi Duo moved into mountains， where she learned about farming and nature from her uncle. Amazingly， her vision gradually improved.

“Today， people usually neglect the simplest truths，” declares Mi Lai. “When they get further and further removed from nature， they find their souls more and more empty and even forget the basic things that support our existence.”

He thinks that such lessons are valuable today， and started teaching with food education.

Food education （or Shokuiku） was founded by Sagen Ishizuka， a famous Japanese health scientist， in 1896. Mi Lai considers Shokuiku life education with food as the focus. Food education is not only about a healthy diet， but also about the ability to find connections between food and the world， so as to realize harmony between body and mind， individual and community， and mankind and nature.

From music producer to pioneer of food education， Mi Lai has converted himself from “light green” （ordinary environmentalist） to “dark green” （practitioner of mental ecology）.

Mi has dedicated himself to environmental protection since he joined Beijing Global Village Environmental Education Center. In his opinion， “light greens” see environmental protection as personal responsibility， while “dark greens” believe the ultimate solution to environmental problems lies in radically changing mankind’s current lifestyles. To a large extent， ecological issues are matters of the mind. After all， relying on the efforts of environmentalists is not enough. Humans will eventually find no escape if our mainstream philosophies and lifestyles do not change.

To promote his idea of mental ecology， Mi Lai settled in the countryside and tried to seek the meaning of life from Buddhism and traditional culture. He says that during the process， environmental ideology， Buddhist doctrine， and traditional culture merged in his mind， which helped him escape harsh realities and feel happiness from the bottom of his heart.

According to Mi Lai， transforming contemporary lifestyles and values is the ultimate solution to environmental protection. Purun Garden， with focus on food education， has become a base for Mi Lai to promote his philosophy of mental ecology. Here， children not only attend food education classes， but also learn Chinese classics， art， handicrafts， math， English， and morality， as well as techniques for hiking and wilderness survival. In addition to regular classes， Purun Garden also organizes weekend farming classes and summer camps. Students are required to study ancient Chinese enlightenment books such as Disciple Rules and work in the fields.

Currently， Purun Garden has five shareholders. All of them agree to allocate one third of its revenues back into the organization’s development， one third to employees’ salaries and benefits， and the rest to charity. In the future， Purun Garden will continue operating as a social enterprise， and its shareholders will never receive dividends.

Although Purun Garden was recently established， Mi Lai is already confident about its future. He believes that his ideals are“easier to be fulfilled” than “countryside construction” experiments carried out by Chinese scholars including Yan Yangchu in the 1920s and 30s. Today， more and more are promoting traditional culture and rural life. “The education mode advocated by Purun Garden will witness rapid development and become an important supplement to mainstream education within five years，” he predicts confidently. “Moreover， the development of China’s rural areas will also see substantial benefits when the education mode gains popularity.”

“Fame， fortune， and status are all indicators of a person’s social value，” remarks Mi Lai. “Although one cannot totally rid their minds of social value， he or she should explore the value of life.” Through promoting food education in rural areas， Mi Lai has achieved an integration of social and life values.