Metta to all the other living beings
https://www.theguardian.com/environm...lisation-video
Metta to all the other living beings
https://www.theguardian.com/environm...lisation-video
Last edited by Jundo; 05-30-2023 at 10:33 PM.
I just posted this comment to Brad Warner's latest talk saying that Buddhists had best not be concerned about such issues as Buddhists ...
Gassho, JJust so folks know, not all Buddhists need agree with Brad. Our concern for this planet, for society and our fellow human beings can be informed by the Precepts, Zazen and all our Buddhist Practice, and it is fine for Buddhist folks to approach such issues as part of our Practice. Brad expresses but one view. It does not have to be so for everyone even if he may prefer to use bandwidth to express his personal opinion that Buddhists should not be involved in social issues as Buddhists (itself a political statement by Brad as a Buddhist no matter how one disguises it, because most people don't come here because of his views on bass guitars). So, to each their own. Some are free to choose to talk about monster movies instead. To pick weeds in the garden or clean our bowls can be Zen Practice when known as such, as can picking the weeds of problems in this world and cleaning the environment. Not all Buddhists need agree on what is the right course or whom to vote for, but do not forget that choosing not to act is also an act with effects. By the way, one vote cannot change anything ... except if you are from Florida, when I am from, when a couple of hundred votes can sometimes change everything. No less, it is also a basic Buddhist teaching that a mountain can be moved one grain at a time. Gassho, Jundo
A video for good Buddhist folks and everyone to watch. If we take care of the temples made of wood, we can take care of the temple which is our world.
The 2018 Living Planet report from the WWF has found that a shocking 60% of the earth's mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have been lost since 1970. The findings have led the world’s foremost experts to warn that the annihilation of wildlife is now an emergency that threatens civilisation.
https://www.theguardian.com/environm...lisation-video
We have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe, warns UN
Urgent changes needed to cut risk of extreme heat, drought, floods and poverty, says IPCC
https://www.theguardian.com/environm...mark-un-report
STLah
ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE
Metta for our planet and for all that live on it. The crisis feels overwhelming but we can all do our part and it will take sacrifice on all our part.
Tairin
Sat today and lah and hugged a tree.
泰林 - Tai Rin - Peaceful Woods
Thank you Jundo for raising your voice on these issues. I posted on Face Book recently my sesnse of being out of sync with the world around me since the issues I believe critical to us all and the sustainability of life are seldom talked about on the news or by the politiicans whose role it is to help lead us. Nowhere during our election in the US did this arise that I saw.
Another thread on our forum discusses Face Book and how it relates to the Precepts That gave me pause last night. My posts are almost all about wildlife and conservation. I can post a picture of a beautiful lizard and been inundated with likes but when I post something about the topic I mentioned above the lack of comments or likes is deafening. The lack of response is the most troublesome to me. In fact it makes me consider deactivating FB so not be so affecteted. In my youth I would just speak louder but now I think silence is preferable.
Gassho
Doshin
St
合掌,生開
gassho, Shokai
仁道 生開 / Jindo Shokai
"Open to life in a benevolent way"
https://sarushinzendo.wordpress.com/
Thank you Doshin ... much metta and peace to this beautiful planet and all who share it.
Gassho
Shingen
Sat/LAH
A timely post, Doshin.
The environmental issues of our time seem so vast it is hard to know where to start but becoming informed is an important start. Humans have had a huge impact on the lives of other sentient beings and we really need to address the fact we are not the only organisms to inhabit this small blue planet but we are the ones who have the ability to slow or halt many impending extinctions.
Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-
Thanks Doshin for this info. I read this same thing on a news site a few days ago and immediately there were comments at the bottom saying it was all not true. There are always going to be a large segment of society that is going to shoot down something like this for business, political, etc. reasons. If you are let's say a plastics manufacturer, you better come up with something saying the plastic found in the stomachs of wildlife is not really true because blah, blah, blah. If you are an elected politician who gets votes promising less regulation on businesses responsible for this, you're going to downplay it. Some will say; it does not matter because God will take care of everything. It gets kind of discouraging.
Gassho/LAH
Sat Today
James
Thank you for sharing Doshin. And thank you Jundo for your reply to Brad. It is such a weird time in the world today. Much Strum and Drang about things of minor importance and total silence about critical issues.
Gassho, Shinshi
SaT-LaH
空道 心志 Kudo Shinshi
I am just a priest-in-training, any resemblance between what I post and actual teachings is purely coincidental.
E84I - JAJ
Doshin,
Thank you for the post.
I find that often when people don't feel there is anything they can saw to help, or positive to do that they don't want to interact. Which is why pretty photos of things get more likes and comments, than a thoughful post (without a picture) which might take time and thought to reply to.
But I believe there is a need to presist. If we say, "well no one replied, so I'm not going to post anymore." Then the topic doesn't get shared anymore. Often I hope that at least if I share something it might make someone think about it for a few minutes and maybe affect them somehow. I don't stand and yell on a soapbox anymore; just put it out there and hope that it makes a difference.
Gassho,
Shoka
sattoday
Gassho,
Washin
ST
Kaidō (皆道) Every Way
Washin (和信) Harmony Trust
----
I am a novice priest-in-training. Anything that I say must not be considered as teaching
and should be taken with a 'grain of salt'.
As you said Jundo, we need this perspective from all
As Gus Speth has said, and resonates with my career...
“I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don’t know how to do that.”
And this is where we can start, by addressing our own selfishness, greed and apathy and start making changes, a step at a time. I think we need to have faith that even the smallest things can add up and make a difference. From an interest in the Japanese tradition of boro - patchwork mending of clothes - I've suddenly become aware of so many good people on Instagram who are dedicating themselves not only to upcycling and repurposing, but are also inspiring and encouraging others to do the same, not in huge projects but in simple everyday things like visibly mending clothes instead of throwing them away, and in doing so highlighting the terrible damage and waste that goes on in the fashion industry, something I was unaware of. At the same time they sing out what they do as a joyful creative activity available to everyone.
I'm not using FB at the moment because of Ango, but I've decided that when I start again, I'm going to photograph my attempts at living a more sustainable less consumer driven life. As you say, people do respond to pretty pictures, so maybe they can be used to subtly inform as well as entertain. It's a small step, but as we know, small steps can take us a long way.
Don't give up!
Gassho
Meitou
Satwithyoualltoday
命 Mei - life
島 Tou - island
Thank you for your comment Meitou. I agree that we can all start by looking at ourselves and reducing greed and selfishness. It can be hard to see our own greed at times because society usually teaches us it's ok to waste, it's ok consume a lot in many, many ways. The truth is we don't need much to live happily.
I like the idea of using Facebook or other platforms to beautify sustainable living. I might start posting on Facebook for that reason. I don't really have much to say about myself to the public so I only post a few times a year. Usually my pictures are shared with individual friends and family members I talk to. Perhaps it's time to change that to help influence others.
Gassho,
Maitri
St
南 - Southern
林 - Forest
Yes Meitou, as you say we can make a difference if each of us takes steps in the right direction. As several Sangha members who follow me on FB know, I mainly post conservation stories and pictures of wildlife (all with the intent to inform and inspire appreciation for the natural world). The big steps need to be taken by governments, which some are doing, others not so much. That is where my interest in Engaged Buddhism comes in as Jundo addressed above.
I have not given up even after 50 plus years of effort in both my career and personal life (some would say I have no life outside of conservation/environment, I am okay with that). Let me paraprhase (even if I get the facts wrong with my foggy memory) a Buddhist monk who made the trek out of Tibet after the Chinese invaded the land. He was asked how he made such a long journey over the mountains..his response, "one step at a time". However, some of my friends and colleagues did loose hope along the way. My philosophy is you got to try even if the challenges seem insurmountable, the alternative has never been acceptable to me.
Gassho
Doshin
stlah
Last edited by Doshin; 11-29-2018 at 11:31 PM.
A few months ago my wife and I traveled to see a premier of a documentary “Living in the Futures Past”. The movie is now avaialable via Itunes and probably other venues. I do not know if it can be viewed for free yet...I assume they are still working on recovering production cost. It takes a look at the challenges discussed here from a different perspective. A perspective my Sangha sisters and brothers can relate to. A trailer;
For those who have seen it or do I would appreciate your thoughts.
Gassho
Doshin
Stlah
Thank you Doshin I will watch it when I can, it looks really interesting.
Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This is a great quote.I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don’t know how to do that.
My wife and I were talking about the environment etc a few weeks ago. We were talking about Trump and Premier Ford here in Ontario and their recent moves to undermine many of the protections previously put into place. That led to a discussion about what we as individuals can do. Frankly we (my wife and I) have done a lot to reduce our environmental footprint but it isn’t zero, there is likely a lot more we can do but that gets into a tricky place. How much does an individual give up? Yes every drop in the bucket helps but if you are the only one putting in drops then that bucket is going to take a long time to fill.
The fact is that the earth needs people to make radical changes to their lifestyles and although I like to think that most of my family and friends are sympathetic to the concerns of our environment I don’t believe many of them are willing to make sacrifices to their lifestyles and will find excuses as to why they can’t make changes.
As much as I hate to say it, I think it is going to need the situation to be far more critical before people start making real change.
Tairin
Sat today and lah
泰林 - Tai Rin - Peaceful Woods
Further to the discussion on reducing our impacts on the earth, this article appeared on CBC news site. While the target audience is Canadians I think the applicability is world wide.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/f...rint-1.4930062
Tairin
Sat today and lah
I stareted this thread with “bad” news about the state of biodiversity. As the year comes to an end I share something hopeful
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/swis...of-the-planet/
My New Years resolution...I vow to continue my efforts to save all sentient beings and encourage others. To ensure that I do include humans in this vow I also agreed to be a member of our very rural Volunteer Fire Department
Doshin
Stlah
I am not sure if many visit this thread but I am persistent. It is my nature when it comes to biodiversity. Those Face Book and Instagram Friends know I seldom venture far from biodiversity. With that said I have ordered two new books that I want to share. First one that came out in January 2019 is by a teacher who sat with us a while back.
Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis by David Loy (January 2019) and Green Buddhism: Practices and Compassionate Activism in Uncertain Times by Stephanie Kaza (March 2019)
This is a major part of my path. So if anyone reads either of these books and would like to leave comments in this thread I would be delighted to learn your perspectives.
Doshin
st
Last edited by Doshin; 03-05-2019 at 06:18 PM.
Kaidō (皆道) Every Way
Washin (和信) Harmony Trust
----
I am a novice priest-in-training. Anything that I say must not be considered as teaching
and should be taken with a 'grain of salt'.
Thank you for sharing Doshin. I put both books on my wish list because I'm a big fan of Engaged Buddhism.
Gassho,
Jack
SatToday
I am writing a new book called "Zen of the Future" ... about Zen in the future! Zen in a world of robots and AI, DNA splicing and virtual reality, nano tech and 3D printing, etc.
A chapter will be on Buddhist and Zen inspired economics, and part of that will be on ecology. I will be in touch to consult with you, Doshin, when I get to that part.
Gassho, J
STLah
ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE
I'm very glad to find this thread. As I get increasingly more concerned about the environment it's easy to become overwhelmed so thank you for starting this.
Gassho,
Neil
ST
599B7ADC-97DE-49A8-BFB8-793AA63C819A.jpeg
If the image is too small to read...
"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise."
Aldo Leopold
My first teacher of Interdependence. His teachings began my path and continue to center me. He died 3 years before I was born and I became his student at the age of 19
Today is Earth Day. A time not only to reflect but for me to renew “my” engagement. “I” vow to save all sentient beings
Last edited by Doshin; 04-23-2019 at 08:12 PM. Reason: To be gramatically correct as to what I mean
命 Mei - life
島 Tou - island
I had the opportunity to spend some time in the Extinction Rebellion camp in London today and hope to do so a few more times this week. It seemed a good opportunity to spend some time with people trying to make positive change happen.
I'm not sure how widely know the movement is outside of the UK: https://www.theguardian.com/environm...liament-square
Gassho,
Neil
Meitou
Sand County Almanac was given to me by a friend who had to read it for a class. That began my relationship with Aldo. I read him, met two of his children, quote him often, have visited “The Shack” several times (you will read of the shack) and was asked to read one of his books for advancement to candidacy in graduate school when I returned mid career.
Gassho
Doshin
Stlah
https://theunfoldingearth.com/10-thi...-biodiversity/
Conserving, protecting and restoring biodiversity requires a global and landscape approach. However there are things that can and should be done locally. I came across this and wanted to share.
080CD4A2-CFC7-422B-A307-821ADCC0EBA2.jpeg
Gassho
Doshin
St
An article from our friend David Loy. https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/grow...ogical-crisis/. Hopefully this link works. It is a paid site but you should get a few free reads.
This quote struck me as particularly key.We don’t need to “return to nature” but to realize that we’ve always been a part of it,
Tairin
Sat today and lah
泰林 - Tai Rin - Peaceful Woods
That was a great article Tairin, thanks for posting, you beat me to it!
Gassho
Meitou
sattodaylah
命 Mei - life
島 Tou - island
As I have mentioned elsewhere...reversing the decline in biodiversity (considering we have lost half of the world’s wildlife..see an earlier post above) can seem daunting at the local level. Indeed it must take governments and international approaches. However we can do something. In the companion thread EcoLiving , those actions also have positive impacts on biodiversity. Pollinators, which are critical to our survival and many other species are also in decline in both species and numbers. Those of us with yards can create landscapes that provide habitat for pollinators (and many other species!). As I compose this I am listening to the hum of hundreds, if not thousands, of bees and wasps of many species visiting the plants which are now blooming. Of course the plants I chose are only suited for my ecoregion in the Southwest United States (and even more specific for a specific region at a certain elevation). Plant choices will depend on where you live.
Attached are some guidelines provided by the US Forest Service that may provide ideas to ignite your creative imagination for landscaping.
https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/po...ardening.shtml
Gassho
Doshin
St
Thank you, Doshin for this suggestion.
I’m willing to create a garden here but then it and dry weather makes it almost impossible for traditional garden plants without an irrigation system or available time to water the plants. Perhaps native plants can be a better alternative for my garden and a good help for native pollinators.
Gassho,
Mateus
Sat today/LAH
Mateus,
Yes, natives are best choice! They are adapted to the area and local hydrology. And native pollinators evolved with them . Some water is necessary to get started. As you know I live in the desert. I used a rock mulch to help retain moisture but organic mulches do the job.
Doshin
St
Have you looked at drip feed irrigation systems on a timer or is that not an option? There are also cunning ways to slow release water with clay pots, although I've not tried it yet: https://www.permaculture.co.uk/reade...ient-technique.
We're lucky in that we can plant lots of pollinators. My favourite being Comfrey which not only attracts every bee in town but can then be used to make a great liquid fertiliser and it's often considered a weed! Being in the UK a lack of water isn't really an issue though so we don't have to get that creative!
Gassho,
Neil
StLaH