The Karmapa on the Environment September 1, 2010
Posted by Monty McKeever in : Buddhism, Environment, Mindfulness, Tibetan Buddhism , 1 comment so farI recently came across this interview in the Asia Sentinel with Ogyen Trinley Dorje, one of the two young lamas recognized as the 17th Karmapa. It is a great interview and I recommend reading the whole thing, but this passage in particular jumped out at me.
The distance between humans and the environment is becoming wider and wider and likewise, we are bringing more and more harm to the environment by using it indiscriminately. Actually, before using the environment, we should think; it is very important to think of the consequences of indiscriminate destruction of the environment. Lack of mindfulness is creating a lot of problems.
Therefore, it is very important to be mindful of what we are using now and from where those resources come from. For example, sweet cheeps of birds and lush green forests are beauties; they are not something that we have created; rather those are naturally created beauties. However, if we cut down forests and harm animals, we are depriving ourselves of the natural beauties we enjoy; it is as if we are destroying the very sounds, smells and good tastes that we enjoy. Therefore, it is very important to be mindful.
Read the complete interview here.
Image courtesy of the Asia Sentinel
5 recent quotes from Thich Nhat Hanh in today’s Guardian August 26, 2010
Posted by James Shaheen in : Buddhism, Buddhist Teachings, Environment, Meditation, Mindfulness, Tricycle, Zen , 2 comments
In the current issue of Tricycle, contributing editor Andrew Cooper recounts his travels with Thich Nhat Hanh, the much beloved Vietnamese teacher, poet, peace advocate and environmentalist. Cooper’s view is unique; charged with attending Thay, as he is called, on an early visit to the United States, Cooper offers an up-close-and-personal view of a man who changed—in fact, helped to shape—Buddhism in the West. Today’s Guardian features a nice piece on Thay on the occasion of his visit to Nottingham, where he led nearly 1,000 people in walking meditation (above). Here are five outtakes:
1.
“The situation the Earth is in today has been created by unmindful production and unmindful consumption. We consume to forget our worries and our anxieties. Tranquilizing ourselves with over-consumption is not the way.”
2.
“We should speak more of spiritual pollution. When we sit together and listen to the sound of the [meditation] bell at this retreat, we calm our body and mind. We produce a very powerful and peaceful energy that can penetrate in every one of us. So, conversely, the same thing is true with the collective energy of fear, anger and despair. We create an atmosphere and environment that is destructive to all of us. We don’t think enough about that, we only think about the physical environment.”
3.
Thay talks about capitalism as a disease that has now spread throughout the world, carried on the winds of globalisation: “We have constructed a system we cannot control. It imposes itself on us, and we become its slaves and victims.”
4.
“Without collective awakening the catastrophe will come,” he warns. “Civilizations have been destroyed many times and this civilization is no different. It can be destroyed. We can think of time in terms of millions of years and life will resume little by little. The cosmos operates for us very urgently, but geological time is different.
5.
“One Buddha is not enough, we need to have many Buddhas.”
You can read the full article here.
For more on Cooper’s article—and to get a better idea of his rare perspective—click here.
Photograph © Frank Schweitzer
The Power of an Open Question—How beautiful
Posted by Philip Ryan in : Buddhism, Environment, Tibetan Buddhism , 1 comment so far
Many years ago, when we first moved to Colorado, Dzigar Kongrul Rinpoche and I were driving on a winding mountain pass in the Rockies. It was September, and the aspens were turning. You don’t see a lot of yellow, orange, and red in the arid climate of the Rockies—except in autumn. In the autumn, the sunlight hits the leaves and they shimmer. I felt so overwhelmed by this beauty, I was almost agitated by it. I kept saying, “How beautiful it is, how beautiful, how beautiful…” Rinpoche turned to me and asked: “Is it too beautiful for you?” This got me thinking … even beauty can cause us pain when we objectify it.
- Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel, The Power of an Open Question
Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel’s Tricycle Retreat starts in 11 days on Tricycle.com! Join the Tricycle Community to enjoy the retreat and get her book at 30% off.
[Image: fwissue]
Wendy Johnson reads “The Call of the Abyss” August 24, 2010
Posted by Sam Mowe in : Environment , 1 comment so far
Listen to Wendy Johnson, Tricycle’s longest-running columnist, read her piece about the BP oil spill, “The Call of the Abyss,” from the Fall 2010 issue.
From the article:
The undersea realm of impenetrable darkness, icy temperatures, and the crushing pressure of dense saltwater is called the abyss, from the Greek abussos, “without bottom.” The site of the Deepwater Horizon rupture is almost a mile down in this oceanic abyss, where the weight of the seawater exerts pressure of more than one ton per square inch. Here, at the exploded wellhead, BP drill lines bore another three-and-a-half miles into the core of the earth. At this depth unfathomable questions of cause and effect rise unanswered to the surface of the sea.
In the piece Wendy describes her despair over the BP disaster and explores the impossible question of how to respond to such crippling feelings. While we were recording her reading this piece over the phone, Wendy tripped over her words towards the end. When I asked her if she wanted to do it over again to make it smoother she responded, “No I think it makes me sound human, and I like that. If it was perfect people might mistake me for a machine.”
Listen to Wendy Johnson’s heartfelt, human response to the Deepwater Horizon explosion here.
The Edge of the Wild August 23, 2010
Posted by Philip Ryan in : Buddhism, Environment , 1 comment so farToday’s Daily Dharma:
Buddhist practice is not about forcing ourselves to be natural. It is about being ourselves. When we take the vows of refuge, we are also pledging to find the refuge that exists within our own lives. This taking of refuge is not some kind of evasion or escape, but is the planting of our “selves” deeply in the nature of what surrounds us. We lodge ourselves in the deep waves and in the shallow pools, in the crests and depressions of our lives. Sometimes, even wreckage can make a temporary resting place. A person whose life is in tatters might have nothing much else left to do but relax and look at the pieces of what’s left. Maybe this is the reason that so many of us are drawn to the sea and to the wildness of its coasts. The beaches display a confused but somehow soothing amalgam of particles: bits and pieces of once-living organisms, cracked plastic remnants of human creation, tubber wheels, oilcloth, mesh, fishing line. The sands are a haven for the dense and the reflective, the many failed items that were meant to last forever. This evidence of the transitory is really what Buddhism is all about: the daily give-and-take of living, the constant awareness of time, the fleeting opportunities for new discovery.
- Gary Thorp, “Shelter from the Storm“
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Clark Strand’s “Green” Spirituality August 19, 2010
Posted by Sam Mowe in : Buddhism, Environment, Meditation , 3 comments
If you haven’t been following Clark Strand’s columns about Green Bodhisattvas on tricycle.com, you should be. It is fascinating and inspiring to watch Strand flesh out this idea that all ancient wisdom traditions share some type of eco-spiritual roots. His belief is that humanity has fallen out of touch with its intimate connections to Nature, and that we need to reestablish that connection urgently. Ever since his feature piece “Turn Out the Lights” appeared in the Spring 2010 issue of the magazine, Tricycle has been helping provide a forum for Strand to articulate this worldview. Through his online retreat on Green Meditation, this series of Green Koans, his upcoming “Green Bodhissatva” column in the magazine, and his teachings at the Green Meditation Society, Strand is building a framework around his idea that we need to become reacquainted with the “green” teachings of our ancestors.
Initially, I had my reservations about endorsing Green Meditation (and to be honest, I still haven’t tried it), because it didn’t seem to be rooted in anything that I was familiar with. Great, I thought, a spiritual teacher cashing in on a modern buzzword by claiming it has ancient roots. But then I had a couple of realizations: 1) “green” is a modern buzzword because we didn’t have environmental problems like this in ancient times and 2) we can learn things about how to handle modern environmental problems from ancient spiritual teachings—because they didn’t have these problems for a reason. What Strand’s “green” spirituality idea lacks in historical precedent, it makes up for with its intuitive draw. The world is facing some mind-numbingly serious environmental problems. Perhaps Strand’s collection of and teachings on the “green” wisdom from ancient traditions can help alleviate some of those problems—or at least help to rejuvenate polluted spirits.
Green Koan #8: Basho’s Last Words
Is there hope for Hope Cottage? August 15, 2010
Posted by Philip Ryan in : Buddhism, Environment, Travel, Zen , 1 comment so far
Buddhism in the West is often derided as a hobby for rich people, just another self-indulgent thing to do, like therapy, yoga, shopping organic, and wine-tasting. For example, did you know that it costs $250 to rent San Francisco Zen Center’s remote Hope Cottage for just one weekend?
For that price, the cottage operates at a loss.
For the past 15 years, the center has rented Hope Cottage to anyone hale enough to haul his gear up and down the mountain. With its walls of windows overlooking the sea, stone hearth, thick Oriental carpets and tiny kitchen stocked with provisions, Hope Cottage is a unique, idyllic place to stay in the Bay Area.
But maintaining it is proving to be a headache that is perhaps too much for even Zen Buddhists to bear. It needs a new roof. And new windows. And new plumbing. Hours of labor are required to prepare it for each new guest, as freshly chopped firewood, water, propane and other supplies must be hauled up the mountain.
Then, in perhaps the last straw this June, the local Roto-Rooter truck driver refused to make his annual trip up the deteriorating fire road to pump out Hope Cottage’s septic tank. He eventually relented, but faced with all these demands to maintain a property that operates at a loss, the center has stopped accepting reservations for Hope Cottage past the end of this year.
“We wanted to create a pause to make us think about it,” said the center’s executive director, Jeremy Levie, as he hiked up to Hope Cottage on a rare sunny afternoon.
The options are to close it or to renovate it and greatly increase the price, which is currently $250 on weekends. But Zen Buddhists charging Ritz Carlton rates becomes a cultural issue. “The basic ethos here is inclusiveness,” Mr. Levie said. The center also maintains a 15-room guesthouse on the valley floor.
Read about the many difficulties and high cost of maintaining this retreat house. (And the next time you see a retreat price that makes your jaw drop, stop and reflect on the many hidden costs associated with housing humans in relative comfort. Of course, it may still be overpriced!)
Part of the difficulty with Hope Cottage is the “simple” cleaning of it. Read “The Dust Behind the Cushion,” Gary Thorp’s Tricycle article about cleaning as practice.
[Image: Adithya Sambamurthy/The Bay Citizen]
Bill McKibben on “The Moral Math of Climate Change” August 10, 2010
Posted by Sam Mowe in : Environment, Interview, Politics , 1 comment so far
Last week, Bill McKibben lit a fire up underneath us all by writing in no uncertain terms about climate change. If you didn’t catch it, read it now. If that leaves you wanting more Bill McKibben you can listen to him in “The Moral Math of Climate Change” on Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippett (which is, in an effort to have a “more spacious container” for the show to grow into, changing its name to Krista Tippett on Being).
The interview begins with a brief sketch of McKibben’s life. He’s an interesting guy: he went from Harvard to The New Yorker, to the Adirondack mountains in upstate New York where he fell deeply in love with the land. He reflects on writing a piece for The New Yorker about describing where all of his possessions came from, and that leading to him to think seriously about the physicality of the world. From there he goes over a history of the knowledge of climate change, before moving into the heart of his message—the why we should care about this issue. He talks about cities, neighborliness, and the inspiration to be found in the 350.org movement. He points out that what we have to now do is not complicated (we have to stop using fossil fuels), but that it’s hard.
The interview well worth a listen. And though McKibben describes himself as a “reasonably orthodox, practicing Methodist,” if you listen closely you’ll hear him mention the Buddha at least once or twice.
Image: Buddhist monks in Leh, Ladakh form 350, in one of the first big 350.org actions. © Conor Ashleigh 2008.
The Indian-Chinese Rivalry August 6, 2010
Posted by Philip Ryan in : Buddhism, Environment, History, News, Politics, Science , 1 comment so far
China’s “assertiveness” in regional disputes, particularly Tibet, is causing disquiet among the member nations of ASEAN (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations). ASEAN is now looking into territorial disputes in the South China Sea:
Although Tibet was never mentioned as part of the dispute in the South China Sea, and the Chinese position over its sovereignty is both very clear and undisputed by all attending ASEAN nations and observers, it is obvious that China’s 60 year old assertiveness towards regional disputes has reached a plateau. Buddhism is still a strong influence in many ASEAN member countries and the plight of the Dalai Lama, while not officially recognized or discussed, still causes regional discomfort. Add to that skirmishes with Vietnam in 1979, and still ongoing border disputes over Tibetan territorial claims with India, and China’s position as asserting more regional sovereignty is now starting to be questioned.
Neither India nor China is a member of ASEAN, but the two countries are wrestling for influence in southeast and central Asia and are the elephants in the room at ASEAN discussions. (more…)
Celebration, tragedy, ecology, and meditation; Quite the year for Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche August 2, 2010
Posted by Monty McKeever in : Buddhism, Buddhist Teachings, Environment, Events, History, Meditation, News, Tibetan Buddhism, Tricycle , 2 commentsAround the turn of the fifteenth century, the 7th Karmapa, Chodrak Gyatso, recognized the first Thrangu Rinpoche as a reincarnation of Shuwu Palgyi Senge, a principal student of Padmasambhava (pictured at right).
Five hundred years later, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, the ninth Thrangu tulku, is one of the most highly regarded lamas in the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. A man of almost unfathomable accomplishments, Thrangu Rinpoche is an extensively educated scholar and an advanced Vajrayana master who has founded and presided over a vast number of monasteries, schools, and dharma centers throughout the world, published several books, and has done extensive work to save and preserve Tibetan texts. As a teacher he is known for his uncanny ability to make complex teachings accessible and also for his warm sense of humor, and he has taught thousands upon thousands of students in over twenty-five countries, from beginners to some of the highest lamas. Among those he has instructed are Shamar Rinpoche, Situ Rinpoche, Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, and Gyaltsab Rinpoche, the four principal disciples, or “The Four Heart-Sons,” of the 16th Karmapa, and in later years, lamas such as Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche and Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the 17th Karmapa.
For anyone who would like to learn more, I strongly recommend visiting his website, which contains a great deal of information, including bios, links to sites for his many monasteries, centers, and projects, teaching schedules and publication links, and gives a glimpse into the life of a kind and brilliant man who has been working tirelessly for the dharma for over seven decades.
Just over a week ago, Thrangu Rinpoche and his community opened Thranghu Monastery in Richmond, British Colombia, Canada’s first traditional Tibetan Buddhist monastery. In his upcoming teachings in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada he will be addressing the ever-important issue of the environment and “Eco-Buddhism.”
As reported by the Edmonton Journal,
As part of his visit to Edmonton, the eminent Buddhist scholar and teacher Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche will discuss ecological Buddhism at a public talk on Friday. Entitled When Snow Mountains Wear Black Hats, the presentation is organized by his students at Karma Tashi Ling Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Society.
“As Buddhists, we have a responsibility for where we live and for all sentient beings,” says Charles Schweger, one of the organizers of the retreat.
“Eco-Buddhism takes traditional Buddhist teachings of mindfulness, non-harm and interdependence and applies them to environmental issues.”
Read the complete article here.
Sadly, many followers of Thrangu Rinpoche, including those at Thrangu Tashi Choling Monastery were among the worst hit in the devastating Qinghai Earthquake that took place on April 14th. Many lives were lost and efforts to recover, rebuild, and to assist the victims are stil ongoing. To learn about different ways in which you can help with these efforts, please click here.
What’s recommended is that if you have a good experience, don’t get too excited. And if you have a bad experience, don’t mistake it for a serious deviation or a sidetrack that you have to find your way back from. If you have a bad experience, just continue practicing as you were. In other words, whatever happens, just keep looking at your mind.
-Thrangu Rinpoche, Pointing Out the Dharmakaya, pg. 73
Image 1 courtesy of Himalayan Art Resources, Padmasambhava (HAR 188)
Image 2 courtesy of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche’s website, www.rinpoche.com