Paper Short Abstract:

This paper explores the process of writing an autoethnography of 'eating sufficiency' as a form of existential transformation, intertwined with the concept of 'knowing sufficiency' (zhizu in Chinese)—a term that encompasses both individual self-cultivation and a transformative approach to envisioning climate futures.

Paper Abstract:

‘Eating Sufficiency’ is an autoethnographic exploration spanning a year, designed to illuminate the intricate and evolving terrain of my inner world as it responds to my bodily engagement with the concept of 'sufficiency' in everyday food practices. This experimental endeavour begins as a critique of what Michael D. Jackson (2013) terms the “hegemony of the macrocosm”—the dominance of technological, economic, and political solutions to climate change. 'Eating Sufficiency' is not ecological innovation in the form of gleaming solar panels or humming electric cars, but rather an invitation to turn inward and reflect on how we nourish ourselves in harmony with nature in everyday food practice. This paper partially unfolds the process of writing the autoethnography as a form of existential transformation, intertwined with the notion of ‘knowing sufficiency’ (zhizu in Chinese)—a term that embraces both individual self-cultivation and a transformative way of envisioning climate futures. Specifically, in my practice of ‘eating sufficiency,’ I draw on the method of the koan (or gong-an in Chinese)—a form of puzzling inquiry that mystifies and compels us to move beyond rational or habitual responses to doubt (Jackson 2019). This practice fosters new modes of understanding, encouraging epistemological fluidity and an openness to ambiguity that can enrich and deepen (self)inquiry. By highlighting somatic and sensory experiences, the practice of koan challenges conventional modes of knowledge production (Chang 2021), subtly yet profoundly transforming my understanding of the self, others, and the environment throughout a year of autoethnographic self-exploration.