Dear Friends,
Greetings of love and peace from Kuala Lumpur.
One of the new friends/colleagues I have made here is Dr. Krisadawan Hongladarom of the Thousand Stars Foundation in Thailand. Kris, as she asks to be called, is luminous, graceful and gracious. She is a passionately committed Buddhist who has given her life to improve the world. She looks to Sulak Sivaraksa, a globally renowned pioneer of engaged Buddhism and a member of URI’s founding generation, as her mentor. She was the ninth speaker of this consultation, and the first, and a near as I can tell, only woman to give a plenary talk. The title of her talk was Touching Earth Humbly and Gratefully: A Buddhist Perspective towards Nature and the Environment.
Here’s how her talk began:
I live in two worlds: the world in Bangkok, which is full of people, high rising buildings, temples, bars, Seven-Elevens, congested traffic and cyberspace. This is where I keep in touch with modernity, experience the contest between tradition and modern world, and witness how nature is treated and gives way to consumerism. Another part of my life is spend at Khadiravana, a Buddhist retreat center in a forested and mountainous area of Hua-Hin, 250 kilometers south of Bangkok. This is where I learn to live in harmony with nature, make peace with myself and be grateful to all living beings, plants, mountains, the moon, and stars.
One morning I took a walk towards the mountains, a young man carrying a rifle showed up on the land. He is simply a village man who uses the trails in the retreat center to go up the mountains to hunt for some animals like wild boars. I asked myself why people still need to hunt. Is it because they do not have enough to eat, or because it shows their bravery as a man who can control other living beings? Does it matter at all for them to enter the center that sets up a rule not to kill animals? Does it matter at all for them to be born in a Buddhist land that is supposed to love and care for all animals?...
To share with you another episode, one day several university students who were hired to do a survey came to the center to ask about my opinions on a mining concession on one of the mountains 5 kilometers away from where I live. It was a shock to hear about such a project. Although we need rocks for cement production, we also need to preserve the mountains. Once they are gone, they are gone forever. A broken mountain indicates human weakness that creates an unhealed wound to nature. It is a reflection of the selfishness that exists right in our time.
My Tibetan spiritual master once told me about a similar project in Tibet. A private company wanted to do a mining concession on a holy mountain where a great yogini discovered a hidden dharma treasure. This is like stabbing a knife at the heart of the people who have devotion in the mountains, as they are abodes of gods, and not simply natural artifacts that can be abused for the sake of someone’s wealth or business gain.
Kris went on to talk about threats to the environment and then offer traditional Buddhist wisdom about the importance of cherishing all life and the interdependence of life to frame a response. Then she spoke about Bodhisattva in Action: A Call for Change, closing with these words:
What I want to emphasize here is that one can become an advocate for the environment. The environment needs us to represent it, acting on its behalf, representing its interest. After all, the interest of the environment is the interest of us all. Everybody needs to understand that they themselves are but small parts of the whole world and the very fact that he or she exists right now at this moment is because he or she is totally dependent on other beings and the environment. That is the essence of the Buddhist message.
Before Kris spoke, we heard again from the Grand Mufti of Syria, who spoke forcefully about how inappropriate it is to have a state religion because it inappropriately elevates one faith and excludes all others. Judge Abdul B. Koroma of Sierre Leone spoke of the importance of respect for nature and sustainable development; and stressed that the cost of dealing with global crises must be shared equitably. After lunch, we heard from His Excellency General Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria. He spoke at some depth about the Muslim – Christian divide that has plunged Nigeria into violence again and again, and of the hope brought by the creation of a national Muslim - Christian council that reaches down to the village level.
The rest of the day was given over to working groups. I continued with the Environment group as we worked to develop a set of principles and proposed actions to share with the whole consultation tomorrow. The sub-group I was part of came up with this:
An appreciation of the interconnectedness and interdependence of all forms of life and all elements of nature should inform humanity’s spiritual, ethical, social, economic and political development.
Proposed Actions:
1) Develop curricula for culturally appropriate environmental education, formal and informal, at all levels.
2) Promote activities such as nature walks, reflection practices, planting and tending gardens, pilgrimages to natural sites, in homes, schools and work places to create experiences of harmony with the natural world.
3) Explore our religious, spiritual, indigenous and ethical traditions for teachings, rituals and celebrations that promote the interconnection and interdependence of life.
4) Observe environment-related events, such as Earth Day and World Environment Day.
5) Urge governments and corporations to consider how their decisions and actions will affect the seventh generation.
There was much more to the day, and much more work to do, but I hope this gives you a flavor of what is happening here; and I pray this finds all of you well.
Love,
Charles
