From Landmines to Zen: Bart Weetjens

! Podcast-Begleitprogramm: Jetzt kostenlos anmelden: https://www.tobiasmaerz.de/podcast-begleitprogramm-2025/ !

This conversation was fascinating. I always ask myself “what is the right balance between inner and outer work? And how do I reconcile my own needs with all the suffering in the world?” –Here, I found the perfect human being to discuss this question.

Bart is both: A changemaker who has, through his social enterprise APOPO, possibly saved millions of lives. AND he is now a Zen master, now focussing full time on inner development and supporting others in the same.

We talked about:

- Bart’s path from a drug accident trough therapy to Zen practice
- His social enterprise APOPO, where they trained rats to detect landmines
- Bart’s decision to leave the company and be a full-time Zen master
- What “awakening” might mean
- …and how it can be of help in today’s crises
- The difference between mindfulness and the path of meditative practice
- The right balance between “inner” and “outer” work
- And Bart performs a live guided meditation for us.

A fascinating and insightful conversation about how we can change the world by changing ourselves!

It’s these kinds of conversations that keep me going and keep up my faith that our everyday actions do matter. – I hope you get the same from this conversation.

## About Bart:

**Bart Weetjens** is a Zen Buddhist monk and social entrepreneur. Graduated in Product Design from Antwerp University, and with a vision to empower the most vulnerable communities of subsistence farmers in sub-Sahara Africa, he took the initiative to train giant African rats (AKA HeroRATs) as sustainable detectors in response to the global landmine problem.

What started in 1995 as a modest research initiative in detection rats technology, gradually grew into a global humanitarian operation thanks to the hard work and generous support of many enthusiastic folks in the South, the North, the East and the West. Twenty years later his organisation [www.apopo.org](http://www.apopo.org/) had become one of the leading social enterprises in the world, recognised and awarded by networks like Ashoka, the Skoll Awards and the World Economic Forum.

When Mozambique officially announced itself free from landmines in 2015, Bart transitioned from his executive role to focus on the practice of Zen. In the same year he got involved in The Wellbeing Project which aims to catalyze a culture of inner wellbeing for all changemakers. While exploring the relationship between personal growth and social innovation, he recently co-founded a new initiative [www.innerpreneurs.org](http://www.innerpreneurs.org/) which is a brave space for entrepreneurial leaders to  fulfill their noble life purpose.

## Get in touch with Bart:

- **Bart’s website**, including his TED talks and: http://www.bartweetjens.be/
- Join Bart on **Insight Timer** for weekly Zen sessions and to access his earlier recordings: https://insighttimer.com/bartweetj00001

## Chapters
(00:00) Introduction Bart Weetjens
(02:44) From LSD to Zen: Bart's Journey
(13:14) The Birth of a Social Entrepreneur
(19:37) Rats and landmines: The Apopo Mission
(24:09) The Role of Luck: Napoleon and a hamster
(27:54) What happens to the rats?!
(29:14) Rats for humanitarian purposes and others
(32:45) Transitioning to Zen Monastic Life
(36:59) The Path beneath our Feet
(40:41) Changing the world or sitting on the cushion? The essence of Zen
(48:26) The difference between Mindfulness and a Path of Practice
(52:35) Zen in a nutshell
(55:10) "It's right here" - about emptiness
(58:45) The Path as the Goal
(01:01:30) Understanding the Eightfold Path
(01:03:04) Inner Freedom and Global Crises
(01:10:45) Will inner freedom help in times of collapse?
(01:15:41) The Role of Community in Transformation
(01:18:34) Bart's advice for times of overwhelm as a changemaker
(01:23:57) The Great Koan of our Times
(01:27:24) Inner and Outer Paths to Change

 

-----
Über Tobias: 
Tobias März ist Speaker, Seminarleiter und internationaler Berater für Solarenergie. 
Seit über 20 Jahren setzt er sich ein für Lösungen für Klimawandel und  weltweite Armut und reist dafür beruflich in Länder wie Bangladesch und  Pakistan. Nach 10 Jahren als Consultant gab er sein entspanntes Angestellten-Dasein auf, um noch direkter die Welt zu gestalten. Als Klimaaktivist, Gemeinschaftsgründer,  Speaker und Seminarleiter unterstützt er Menschen beim Umgang mit der Klimakrise und den anderen großen Krisen. Tobias ist Gründer von Wir und die Welt e.V. (Hilfsprojekte in Bangladesch) und Mitgründer des Wohnprojekts Bergfritzenhof bei Freiburg. 

- Tobias' Vortrag buchen: https://www.tobiasmaerz.de/
- Hol dir den Gratis-Kurs "Angekommen in der Krise" ebenfalls unter: https://www.tobiasmaerz.de/
- Abonniere meinen Youtube Kanal hier: http://bit.ly/30I4sXN
- Hör rein in meinen Podcast unter: http://bit.ly/2JJrVBe oder mit itunes : https://apple.co/2xQH9Pr