Although our modern world is very different in many ways to the Buddha\u2019s world, I think the basic ethical principles apply just as much.
\nOne big difference is that we have all these different pressure groups and isms, that is fuelled by books, the internet, social media, TV etc
\nFor example we see how these media channels are used to spread radical violent beliefs about jihad. They also spread fantasies that make us aspire to some fictitious Hollywood ideal based on massive consumption.
\nSimilarly such channels spread ideas and emotions promoting left wing and green political activism.
\nJust as jihad ideas try and justify themselves using ideas from the Koran. So do so many rent a mob leftie groups try and justify themselves through using Buddhist ideas.
\nOf course big business and other organisations also use Buddhist concepts to promote themselves. I saw an advert on the tube the other day saying \u201cachieve peace of mind, submit your tax return on time\u201d, and it had pictures of people meditating. Also many spas have Buddha images. There is also a coffeeshop in Amsterdam called the \u201cBuddha\u2019s joint paradise\u201d. I cannot confirm or deny whether I have visited it, although it does contain some beautiful rupas.
\nMy point is that it is easy to be seduced from the true Buddhist vision by these modern ideologies, as they often have a lot of emotion and group pressure backing them up.
\nFor me, these ideologies miss the point, as they turn the world into a black and white \u201cus against them\u201d game:<\/p>\n
\u2022\tLabour versus Conservatives
\n\u2022\tThe man in the street versus Big Business
\n\u2022\tGood guys versus Bad guys
\n\u2022\tUs against them
\n\u2022\tBuddhists versus non Buddhists<\/p>\n
This contrasts with the true Buddhist approach which starts from a vision of universal metta.
\nI think this danger is recognised by the author of the study material as the first paragraph states that \u201cWe will look at the challenges in studying material of this kind and suggest how to work with these challenges particularly in relation to our tendency to over identify with views and polarise around opinion\u201d.
\nUnfortunately I do think too much air time was given in the study material to polarised opinion which I shall refer to as pseudo Buddhism.
\nThis true Buddhist view is evoked well by a beautiful poem by Thich Nhat Hahn which I shall now read in full:
\nCall Me by My True Names
\nDo not say that I’ll depart tomorrow
\nbecause even today I still arrive.
\nLook deeply: I arrive in every second
\nto be a bud on a spring branch,
\nto be a tiny bird, with wings still fragile,
\nlearning to sing in my new nest,
\nto be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
\nto be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.
\nI still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
\nin order to fear and to hope.
\nThe rhythm of my heart is the birth and
\ndeath of all that are alive.
\nI am the mayfly metamorphosing on the surface of the river,
\nand I am the bird which, when spring comes, arrives in time
\nto eat the mayfly.
\nI am the frog swimming happily in the clear pond,
\nand I am also the grass-snake who, approaching in silence,
\nfeeds itself on the frog.
\nI am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
\nmy legs as thin as bamboo sticks,
\nand I am the arms merchant, selling deadly weapons to
\nUganda.
\nI am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat,
\nwho throws herself into the ocean after being raped by a sea
\npirate,
\nand I am the pirate, my heart not yet capable of seeing and
\nloving.
\nI am a member of the politburo, with plenty of power in my
\nhands,
\nand I am the man who has to pay his “debt of blood” to, my
\npeople,
\ndying slowly in a forced labor camp.
\nMy joy is like spring, so warm it makes flowers bloom in all
\nwalks of life.
\nMy pain is like a river of tears, so full it fills the four oceans.
\nPlease call me by my true names,
\nso I can hear all my cries and laughs at once,
\nso I can see that my joy and pain are one.
\nPlease call me by my true names,
\nso I can wake up,
\nand so the door of my heart can be left open,
\nthe door of compassion.
\nI will now talk about environmentalism and compare and contrast what I see as the true Buddhist view, and a pseudo Buddhist view.
\nOf course, environmentalism is a real issue. We are facing climate change caused by a massive increase in the use of fossil fuels, destruction of the rain forest, and increasing consumption in consumer goods by an increasing and more affluent population of the planet.
\nThat is undeniable.
\nThe issues are:
\na)\tWhat is the optimal way to respond to this issue?
\nb)\tIs this response particularly Buddhist?
\nc)\tIs it even appropriate to bring up Buddhist versus non Buddhist labels in this case?
\nI do think the inevitability of climate change is clear.
\nIn 1960 there were 3 billion people on the planet. Now there are 7 billion.
\nAnd the forecast is for there to be 10 billion by 2083
\nNot only that, the third world is becoming industrialised, and pretty much everyone is consuming more.
\nThis consumption is being fuelled by greed, desire, and the keeping up with the Joneses, that drives almost all of us.
\nAssuming North Korea does not manage to take over the rest of the planet, or most of humanity gets wiped out by bird flu, there is actually not much we can do, but watch the scenario unfold.
\nRaw materials and energy prices will continue to get more expensive, and people in the UK will be poorer.
\nThe world order will change. China will sell its investments in the US and Europe, and our currencies will collapse, meaning everything will get more expensive here and there will be social unrest.
\nIn many ways it is analogous to my aging body and organs. Every year or two I get an eye test, and I usually find that my prescription has changed and my eyesight has deteriorated a bit more. Of course, the same applies to all my other organs. At the same time, my physical appearance is aging, and it memory of youth becomes more and more distant. The best I can pass for these days is middle aged as opposed to old.
\nIt is like being the captain of a sinking ship, or on a one way train to death and decay.
\nSo my optimal response is to just do what I can to delay this without being an extremist about it. I try to go for regular cycle rides to exercise my heart. I find this actually has an amazing positive effect on my energy levels. I also try to keep an eye on my diet from time to time.
\nBut I do not make slowing down of aging the centre of my life. I still enjoy myself, and indulge in unhealthy practices, like eating magnums.
\nAll things in moderation.
\nSo I keep a calm equanimous awareness in my consciousness of my inevitable decay, and do moderate things to delay it, without panic, grasping or polarisation.
\nI do think this could be labelled a Buddhist response. And I do think the same applies to our response to changes on our planet.
\nI would say appropriate responses which achieve solid positive resuts would leverage other many other people and would include things like:
\n\u2022\tAl Gore making that film \u201cThe Inconvenient Truth\u201d,
\n\u2022\tBill Gates setting up his foundation, and spending $38b dollars on worthwhile causes
\n\u2022\tThe Koyoto agreement and similar treaties
\n\u2022\tHigh taxes on consumption of fossil fuels
\nAll the above are highly recommended
\nOn the other hand, it is also possible for activists to get excited about gestures which give them a feeling of moral superiority and allow them to vent their anger, and would include things like treehugging, eco warriors, going on demos, going on about how much morally superior they are to people who have a larger carbon footprint. This behaviour fuels their egos, and makes them feel good, but also creates division and polarity, whereas the goal should be the universality of metta, just like Thich Nhat Hanh expresses it in his poem.
\nI think this is a particularly emotional issue for me, because when I was a student, I used to identify strongly with this rentamob mentality.
\nIt was before anyone mentioned environmentalism and ecology. We spoke out against fascism, capitalism, conservatism etc. It was a lot of fun, and a great way to vent our anger and hatred, and to impress our peer group about how hard line and extreme we were.
\nOver the years, I grew out of this immature state, and gained a more expansive and inclusive perspective.
\nWhat I find particularly offensive is when people start off with this partisan position, and then try and clothe it in the language and concepts of Buddhism. This is just spin. Or dressing a wolf in sheep\u2019s clothing.
\nOne example of this that springs to mind is the use of the term \u201cgreat turning\u201d by Joanna Macy and others to a diverse network of hippy communities. And I quote from the study material.<\/p>\n
Yes it could bring about an epochal shift. But there again it may not.
\nAnd I don\u2019t think it will matter more than anything else we do.
\nAs I explained above our planet is on a sinking ship. There is not going to be any epochal shift.
\nThe sorts of things that will have some effect are the leveraged types of action like I highlighted above \u2013 international treaties, films, incredibly rich and powerful people giving to charity.
\nThe sorts of things that will have no effect except to annoy others and create a backlash are things like \u201cforest activists sitting in trees\u201d.
\nThis type of social action normally brings with it a lot of anger and polarisation. I should know. I used to do it.
\nThe Cambridge Buddhist Centre is next to the Grafton Shopping Centre. Before the Grafton Centre was built, there were some Victorian houses on the site, in an area known locally as \u201cThe Kite\u201d including a lovely pancake and waffles restaurant called \u201cWaffles\u201d. In my rent a mob student days, I joined an occupation to try and prevent the bulldozing of Waffles.
\nI stood in the restaurant with a load of other hippies and students. My mother actually joined in as well, as she hates to see things being pulled down.
\nThe bulldozer was smashing against the building and tiles and bricks were flying everywhere.
\nThe bulldozer stopped that day. But what is the end result? The demo did not work and the council got its way. No more Waffles, and we now have the Grafton Centre.
\nI remember the hatred of the other protestors towards the conservative leader of the council who approved the development.
\nLooking back, I sometimes ask myself, what is the better use of the land? Houses or shops? As a society we need both. Ultimately that is why we have a council, and the ballot box to decide such issues. And we also have market forces which is another name for free agreements between autonomous individuals.
\nI just joined in the occupation because I wanted to prove to my peer group that I was one of them. I wanted to get their approval, and I enjoyed the adrenalin rush of being a freedom fighter.
\nSo my point is that a lot of these activities that Joanna Macy refers to are not coming from a higher consciousness.
\nAnd to call it the \u201cgreat turning\u201d is just as much a misappropriation of sacred Buddhist concepts as the Buddha\u2019s Joint Paradise in Amsterdam.
\nThe three great turnings of the wheel of the dharma are the hinayana, Mahayana and the vajrayana. These have nothing to do with a load of angry self righteous hippies sitting in trees.
\nMs Macy says it involves three related areas of activity:<\/p>\n
Those three areas sound like worthy things to do, but like everything there are pros and cons
\nYes we can prevent pollution. But if we do that completely we would have to outlaw cars, and shut down all the power stations. Every breath we take reduces oxygen in the atmosphere and increases CO2.
\nSo rather than prevent pollution we can try and mitigate its effects. This is exactly what the government is doing.
\nWe now have emissions testing on our cars, and variable rates of car taxation depending on the engine size.
\nIn other words, the sorts of things she talks about are mostly good things, and our government is trying to implement them.
\nBut there is also a whole load of forces going the other way. The forces of an increasing population to consume more and more.
\nThe battle cannot be won, but it can be delayed a bit, and it can be played out a bit more consciously. Just like my own personal battle against aging, decay and eventual death.
\nAnother example of this going for political correctness and sanctimoniousness is the construction of the new buildings at Vajrasana.
\nIt is going to be built on extreme ecological principles. Despite the fact that this costs more, and it throws the LBC into more debt, and earns the consultants more money.
\nFor example. Someone decided that there should be no refrigerant gases in the shrine room. Instead they are going to build a big trench and lay a long pipe outside. This has the effect of cooling the outside air a few degrees before it enters the shrine room.
\nThis means that on a really hot day, it will still be unpleasantly hot in the shrine room.
\nOne has to ask whether this is really necessary. Just about every house or flat in the UK has a fridge with refrigerant gases. We even have one in our mitra study room. If they are really that evil, let us do away with them completely.
\nIt is true that many refrigerants are ozone depleting, but surely the whole point of a retreat centre is to create good conditions for meditation, and that includes temperature regulation. So, I would say the upside of refrigerants outweighs the downside, in this case. <\/p>\n
I know this project has become a bit of a rant, but I am just trying to separate out what the pure Buddhist approach should be, compared with polarised political correctness, that has a tendency of creeping in, and disguises itself as Buddhism, and which people tend to go along with because it is easier to say nothing and not to knock the boat.
\nI would say the study material does occasionally lapse into this kind of polarisation, but to be fair it does warn against it. And I quote:<\/p>\n
That does make the Buddhist response seem a bit more attractive. Certainly if we are connecting more deeply and richly with others, then that does imply we are on the right track. Unlike my occupation of the Waffles caf\u00e9 34 years ago.
\nAnother paragraph from the study material is of interest:<\/p>\n
I thinks this backs up what I am saying. It is not all about what material conditions we leave behind. Because material conditions are just material conditions, and humans have the capacity to thrive in just about any situation.
\nAnd I am assuming the connectedness with life is just another way of expressing metta.
\nSo to conclude, I am not saying that there are not real issues concerning our environment. Of course there are. I am just saying that the way to tackle it is with constructive leveraged action such global treaties, taxation policies, laws against pollution, viral social media etc. The way not to tackle it is by empty gestures like sitting in a tree or forgoing AC units.
\nWe do what we can, and what is appropriate, and we do it from a place, not of panic, reactivity, hatred, blame and helplessness, but from a place of universal metta and connectedness.<\/p>\n
The end<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Although our modern world is very different in many ways to the Buddha\u2019s world, I think the basic ethical principles apply just as much. One big difference is that we have all these different pressure groups and isms, that is fuelled by books, the internet, social media, TV etc For example we see how these … <\/p>\n