[EcoDharma] The Dharma

[Doshin]

We have taken a break from reading another book about EcoDharma with this being the time for Ango and Jukai.

Some of us will begin our Ecosattva training after the first of the year. Please see Kukuu’s post about signing up.

We have read two books on EcoDharma the past two years and have had much discussion. We have also shared information about the environmental challenges that are present. I hope this has provided information to expand our knowledge about the role of the Dharma.

Perhaps some of you might want to reflect on how you see the Dharma playing in our lives as we confront grave challenges. If so, please share.

“When you wake up and you see that the Earth is not just the environment, the Earth is us, you touch the nature of interbeing. And at that moment you can have real communication with the Earth.... We have to wake up together. And if we wake up together, then we have a chance. Our way of living our life and planning our future has led us into this situation. And now we need to look deeply to find a way out, not only as individuals, but as a collective, a species.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

Doshin
St

[Kokuu]

That's a good question, Doshin.

The biggest connection I find between my (former) professional life and dharma practice is one of interconnection. Ecology is the study of the interaction between biological organisms and between biological organisms and their environment. Changing one thing can alter the whole structure of a foodweb or flow of energy through the system. Similarly, Buddhism speaks of dependent-arising (pratitya-samudpada) and how things arise based on causes and conditions.

We see this dependent-arising and interconnection in all matters pertaining to the environment and also how human beings react to ideas about it. Positive steps can quickly take hold but also, as we read in Active Hope, Business as Usual has a huge influence through the power of economic and political orthodoxy which often cause people to believe that change is impossible.

Another aspect of Buddhism comes in here - challenging delusion and knowing that everything is impermanent and things that appear fixed will not be that way forever. We can see over the course of the 20th century how ideas that seemed set in stone eventually crumbled, as we saw with the Civil Rights movement in the US, the Berlin Wall, increasing acceptance of LGBTQI+ people and more.

Thinking about the path of the bodhisattva in relation to environmental issues brings to mind a further element of the dharma. We act because it is important to act, and with the intention to save all beings, but realise that we cannot depend on the outcome of our actions being the one we want. Nevertheless, we should still act, even if our minds fill with hope and fear. Zazen gives us a place to recharge, regenerate, and put down all of the thinking for a while. Change will almost certainly happen, but it may not be on the same kind of timescale as we would like.

I would be interested to hear how other people see the dharma playing out in their thoughts and actions with respect to the environmental issues which confront us.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday-

[Doshin]

Kokuu thank you for your thoughts. I share your views. As I began to dance with the Dharma long ago it was the concept of interconnection/interdependence of all things that began to pull me in. Like you my education was in the ecological sciences and it had parallels with what I was reading about Buddhism.

The three poisons we are taught in the Dharma (greed, delusion and anger) also helped me to understand the genesis of the environmental challenges we face. I once thought it was just a technological fix (science) needed but it is much more than that. It is our inner Spiritual selves that are the path to solve our problems. There must be a felt need that hopefully comes from a better understanding. A recognition of interdependence. At least these are my hopes.

One of our vows is to save all sentient beings. My interpretation is that includes all life and the elements that comprise our Mother Earth which can not be separated. To achieve that goal requires an understanding of the teachings of interdependence. We are not separate from each other or the whale, the tree or the clouds. I think it was Thich Nhat Hanh who said when he looks at a piece of paper he sees clouds. The clouds that provided the rains that the trees need to grow. Those trees become paper which is now used to share the Dharma.

For me the Dharma asks us to become aware of this and walk a path that respects and protects those interconnections. Connections necessary to sustain us. To provide the oxygen we breathe, the food we eat and the beauty that is all around us when we look.

These are the thoughts of an aging biologist who is but a beginner in understanding the Dharma and understands more each day how little I know about the Universe or the web that connects everything. As I worked on environmental issues I remembered that our teachings also encourage us to not become attached to desired outcomes. That is not easy for me after spending a life working on environmental issues and seeing the biological world decline during my extremely short time here. It has not been a subtle change, but drastic if you know where to look.

As we continue our journey together I hope to increase my understanding and better apply the Dharma to my life to save all sentient beings.

Doshin
St

[WorkerB]

I am so looking forward to studying with you. Reading your discussions has been enlightening. While you both have education and experience in ecological sciences, i am but a rank amateur lifelong gardener, hiker (before MS crimped that style), and cleaner-upper of roadways and vacant lots who wants to care for our environment in intentional, effective, sustainable ways. Our interconnectedness and interdependence with our environment is intrinsic to me, and is one of the factors that make Dharma teachings feel like Home.

Gassho,
b.

st

[Tairin]

Thank you for the question Doshin. I’ve had this post bookmarked for a while because it is a great question that I wanted to consider and not just provide a Zennie response.

For me I think it is really just a reflection of the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance.
We can’t seem to work past those ills, collectively or individually. I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on my own actions or inactions ….. tracing them back to one of those three. When I make a purchase I am trying to consider whether the item is a need or a want. That’s not to say that I am denying myself all of my wants but at least I pause to consider….. why do I want that thing. Will I actually use it or is this more of a causal purchase.

I’ve been on a path of reading more ecologically centered books and articles but I am not so interested in the science. I am much more fascinated about the web of life. This is helping me really see the interconnectedness of all things around me.

As I’ve said elsewhere, I’ve picked up a habit of reciting Metta for the Earth. That was actually quite profound to me because just the wording of the Metta Verse alone forces on to view the Earth as a living entity and not just a thing.

Hopefully I’ve addressed the question.


Tairin
Sat today and lah

[Kokuu]

Tairin and Doshin, I think you are both right to bring up the three poisons as they explain human behaviour and why we can often act against our own best interests. When they are attached to big companies, they seem to become even worse.

Reciting metta for the Earth is a lovely idea, Tairin. That is similar to the Ecotonglen we have just started doing.

B, you don't need to have a background in science to care about the Earth. It is home to all of us, and hikers and gardeners are especially tapped into the soil and environment.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattodaylah-

[Doshin]

I would ask that those who are not active in the EcoDharma forum but followers (and there are many) please consider the original question and add your thoughts over time. I also hope those who have already commented on the Dharma’s role on this area of existential concern to please add to this discussion as your own perspective grows.

Thank you

Doshin
Stlah

[Doshin]

Recently I began to ponder the Buddhist concept of Emptiness. That word is misleading to many and a challenge for some of us to wrap our mind around (eg me).

I discussed this with Jundo in Dokusan where I attempted to define it with more words such as interdependent, interconnections and Impermanence. I think I am in the ball park of understanding when I put those ideas into my definition of Emptiness (Please feel free to expand on my understanding).

I then began to think of my training and work in Ecology. I even taught a course in Ecology so it is a familiar place for me. The simple definition of Ecology is the study of organisms in relationship to each other and the physical environment. Words like interconnections, interdependence and Impermanence are key concepts in ecology. My world paradigm for the past half century has been guided by an ecological perspective which helps me understand and also know that everything can not be explained because it is often more complicated than what we realize or ever will.

When I draw from my Ecology background and view Emptiness it resonates for me. My making an attempt to pull two worlds of mine together.

When I look at a Bison I see a magnificent animal that once covered vast landscapes in North America before the poisons of greed and ignorance almost led to their extinction. I also see an animal that prepares the landscape for prairie dogs who depend on the bison to keep the vegetation down so the prairie dogs see predators coming. And the prairie dog towns provide homes for snakes, lizards, insects and others. The Bison also provide food for grizzly bears, humans and wolves. After the Bison is killed by a predator other animals like Black Billed Magpies, coyotes and others come to the carcass for scrapes and the interconnections don’t stop there. Theses species are interdependent and some can not exist without the other. Times change and nothing stays the same. The landscape evolves dependent upon the climate. Impermanence

It would be interesting to travel back to when I taught Ecology and tell the students on their first day of class that Ecology was the study of emptiness and left it there for them to ponder.


Doshin
Stlah