The Whole Earth is Medicine

Steve Kanji Ruhl was ordained a Zen Buddhist minister through the Zen Peacemaker Order. He is the author of Appalachian Zen, winner of the 2023 Gold Prize for Memoir in the Nautilus Book Awards; Enlightened Contemporaries; and two volumes of poems. He received his MDiv degree at Harvard Divinity School and has been a speaker at Harvard’s Center for World Religions, Yale Divinity School, the Omega Institute, and elsewhere. A Buddhist adviser at Yale University and faculty member of the Shogaku Zen Institute, Ruhl also teaches independently through his Touch the Earth cyber-sangha. He lives in western Massachusetts. His website is www.stevekanjiruhl.com.

“This is exactly what is needed: a close examination of the healing capacities available to all of us when we learn to heal from within. In a day when we badly need to move beyond just medications and symptom management into a new era where we actually study how people heal, The Whole Earth is Medicine appears to be a solid, grounded and firm step – again, exactly what is needed.” —Dr. Jeffrey Rediger, MD, MDiv, faculty member at Harvard Medical School and author of the bestselling book Cured: The Life-Changing Science of Spontaneous Healing

“With eloquent prose weaving his own personal faith and cancer journey as a ribbon of continuity throughout, Steve Kanji Ruhl shares his radical remission story for those who feel called to pursue the oncological road less traveled. While every path of healing requires a different prescription – and not all result in health outcomes as optimal as his – Ruhl followed his intuition towards a rigorous self-healing journey that also deepened his spirituality, and he shares the nitty gritty of what he actually did to wind up cured. This book invites others interested in what else might heal disease beyond only conventional medicine to learn from his example and be inspired to take a more proactive approach to supporting the body's innate capacity to heal.” —Dr. Lissa Rankin, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Mind Over Medicine and Sacred Medicine

“In page-turning intimate honesty, Kanji’s 'Way of Cancer' in The Whole Earth is Medicine is a balanced, informed, and inspired healing journey. Through palpably relatable prose, he moves us along with sobering hope.” —Paula Arai, PhD, author of Bringing Zen Home and A Little Book of Zen Healing

“Steve Kanji Ruhl brings his astounding Zen perspicacity to a burning topic of our time: alternative medicine. His raw authenticity as a cancer patient evolving and growing into a scientist healing his own cancer, working with doctors but without using conventional medicine, is breathtaking. It’s such a clear glimpse into the future of medicine: spiritual wholeness combined with rigorous science.” —Mary Ryan, PhD, adjunct professor of medical anthropology, University of Massachusetts; Tibetan Buddhist medical practitioner

“Steve Kanji Ruhl’s healing journey and this innovative book that has emerged from it are vitally important to share. The predominant approach to ‘healthcare’ in this country treats the body as a mechanism disconnected from emotions and spirit. These aspects of being human need to be understood as inseparable and included in any genuine approach to healing, and people need to be encouraged and empowered to take active roles in their health. The Whole Earth is Medicine does this, and shows us how to meet illness with fearlessness and faith.” —Wendy Keiyaku Leffel, MD, physician and Zen Buddhist practitioner