Thoreau's Ecological Pilgrimage In Walden

As a great nature writer, Thoreau has attracted many 1 scholars'attention, and his masterpiece Walden has been the center of ecological study for many years. However, many scholars only emphasize the natural ecology in the book, and few mention the spiritual ecology, and even fewer talk about the relationship between them. In fact, spiritual ecology is as important as natural ecology and they are two important parts of Thoreau's ecological wisdom. Thoreau is called the ecologist before ecology, and his rich ecological ideas mainly come from the following aspects:his living environment, American Transcendentalism, American Indian culture and the Oriental culture. All the above elements influence his outlook on spiritual ecology and natural ecology deeply. Concerning spiritual ecology, Thoreau advocates that people should get rid of their endless material desires and devote more time and energy to the pursuit of their spiritual aspiration. People should pay attention to the balance between their physical life and spiritual life, which is the key to solving spiritual crisis. After solving the spiritual crisis, natural ecology can be achieved, that is the harmony between man and nature. In Thoreau's eyes, nature is mother of human beings, and man is a part of nature. So he advocates the virtuous interaction between nature and man. Man cannot exploit nature randomly just to satisfy their endless material desires, because nature has its own inherent value, so it has its own right of existence and should get ethical care. At the same time, if man wants to live a truly spiritual life, they must have a sound natural environment. That is a life free from material avarice, based on higher principles, full of simple pleasure. Thoreau's ecological wisdom enlightens a lot of people, especially many scholars, such as Naess and Leopold. Facing the severe ecological crisis, Naess thinks that people's spiritual problem is the root, and Leopold advocates that everything is equal and people should expand their ethical care to nonhuman beings. Thoreau's ecological ideas have become the real promoting power of development of eco-criticism. His works, especially his Walden, are great treasures in the era of ecological civilization and have great ecological significance.