Reflections on Green Buddhism Talk by Bill Sharp

I had the pleasure of attending a presentation by Steve Kanji Ruhl on Green Buddhism at Ahimsa on December 12, 2009.

For those who may not know Kanji, allow me to draw briefly on his biography. Kanji, born and raised in Central Pennsylvania, has roots in this soil. His academic prowess was evident: He has a MA in Divinity from Harvard. He is a writer and poet. He is a lifelong Zen practioner who has trained in Japan, studied with John Daido Loori Roshi at Zen Mountain Monastery in New York, is a graduate of the Maezumi Institute's Zen House Seminary for Socially Engaged Buddhism and currently a novice minister training with Roshi Bernie Glassman of the Zen Peacemakers. He and Rosalind Jiko Kisan McIntosh opened the first Appalachian Zen House, based at Ahimsa Village last year.

It is impossible to give more than a glancing impression of the experience of his talk and I can do so only from the perspective of how it filtered through my own nervous system. Kanji gave a brief but concise history of Buddhism as it evolved across India, China and to Japan. He related the history of that tradition with that of the West and with our collective ancestor’s reverence for the Earth, trees and animals. I found this intriguing because, although I was brought up in a Christian faith, which is perhaps more focused on life after death than the experience of the real miracle of life between birth and death, I have always had a deep reverence for the Earth; perhaps as a result of growing up in a rural environment and due to my Celtic and Native American blood. But he also brought home the lessons I learned from the Japanese while once stationed in a remote area of Kyushu where I had my first direct encounter with both Buddhism and Shinto and my first real spiritual awakening.

Over my lifetime there has been a gradual, albeit limited, return to a more earthy religion. As Kanji pointed out, in the dim history of all our faiths, at the root of all of our civilizations, there were religious and spiritual traditions that reverences earth, air, fire and water and the flora and fauna that gave life to the world of matter and energy. As a longtime resident of the Southwest, and familiar with its Native cultures, I am reminded that the food we grow has been reverenced by our forbearers. Such traditions live, if barely, in forms such as Holy Communion where bread and wine are used as symbols of our deepest reverence. More and more people are returning to a sense of the sacred in growing, sharing and eating good foods.

Kanji talked about the spiritual people who retreated to the countryside in China and Japan, and also St. Francis. I’ve toured both Zen and Christian monasteries and marveled at the beauty and simplicity of life withdrawn from the bustle of city life. I find the best of the monastic traditions, both East and West in the times they were self-sufficient. Such highly disciplined and focused lives give the residents of these places an opportunity to sharpen their spiritual perceptions and may, I would hope, allow them to more completely focus on the here and now such as celebrated by the Buddhist.

Kanji talked about the Bodhisattva path, the deep compassion felt by great souls for all living things and the commitment by them to foregoing final enlightenment until all have been brought to fulfillment. He brought the spiritual dimensions of the environment movement up to date with examples of Green Buddhist leadership such as that of the Dali Lama and Thich Nhat Hahn but he also gave due credit to Pope Benedict, who just a couple of weeks ago denounced the world leader’s failure at the Copenhagen Climate Conference, and mainstream Protestantism and Christian evangelicals such as Rick Warren and Jim Wallis. I have worked with faith-based groups for a number of years and I am delighted to see a resurgence of interest in spiritual stewardship which needs to be encouraged.

There are important lessons for us in Kanji’s talk and his mission. I believe we are experiencing one of those times in human history like those that gave rise to its great spiritual traditions. We need, I am convinced, to more deeply reflect on our reality and flame that spark of compassion that assures us not only of personal salvation but the well-being of all that lives on this Earth.

Bill Sharp lives in State College. He is retired from a career in education, public service and business. He is active in developing more sustainable communities, is affiliated with the Transition Towns movement and chairs the Garden Starters group that meets twice monthly at ClearWater Conservancy. Bill can be reached at bsharple@comcast.net

It's Time to Step Up & Defend Animals in PA

There are two important bills being considered by our State Legislature in Harrisburg. Let's let our elected officials (and candidates) know where we stand.

House Bill 1411 and Senate Bill 843 would ban live pigeon shoots and the use of launched or tethered live animals as shooting targets.

Senate Bill 50 would amend and strengthen the Dog Purchaser Protection Act, which holds sellers accountable for the health of the dogs they sell.

Please let your State Representative and State Senator know that you support these Bills and expect them to do the same. And anyone new running for the Legislature in 2010 also needs to be asked where they stand on these issues.

We need to be united in favor of protecting innocent birds and animals in Pennsylvania.
(information from Bob and Lynn Millar)

Vegetarianism: The most important solution to Global Warming

A friend sent this to me. Thought it might be of interest to some of you.

Dear Friend,

In the run up to the Copenhagen climate change conference, it is vital the following information be disseminated to the public as well as to our political leaders.

A widely cited 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Livestock's Long Shadow, estimates that 18 percent of annual worldwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are attributable to livestock….however recent analysis by Goodland and Anhang co-authors of "Livestock and Climate Change" in the latest issue of World Watch magazine found that livestock and their byproducts actually account for at least 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, or 51 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions!

http://51percent.org/

The main sources of GHGs from animal agriculture are: (1) Deforestation of the rainforests to grow feed for livestock. (2) Methane from manure waste. – Methane is 72 times more potent as a global warming gas than CO2 (3) Refrigeration and transport of meat around the world. (4) Raising, processing and slaughtering of the animal.

Meat production also uses a massive amount of water and other resources which would be better used to feed the world’s hungry and provide water to those in need.

Based on their research, Goodland and Anhang conclude that replacing livestock products with soy-based and other alternatives would be the best strategy for reversing climate change. They say "This approach would have far more rapid effects on GHG emissions and their atmospheric concentrations-and thus on the rate the climate is warming-than actions to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy."

The fact is that we are being informed of the dangerous path we are on by depending greatly on animal flesh for human consumption. We still have the opportunity to make the most effective steps in saving ourselves and this planet. By simply choosing a plant based diet we can reduce our carbon foot print by a huge amount.

We are gambling with our lives and with those of our future generations to come. It's madness to know we are fully aware of the possible consequences but yet are failing to act.

Please make a truly environmental, healthy and compassionate choice, choose to drastically reduce your meat intake or simply go vegetarian or vegan. This is the single most powerful action for preventing climate change as it is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Thank you for your consideration.

Yours Sincerely

Amber Sykes

Top Ten Green Buddhists by Steve Kanji Ruhl

Among the many activities of the worldwide movement in Socially Engaged Buddhism today, perhaps the most significant are those related to Buddhist environmentalism, or Green Buddhism. Ranging from efforts of the Dalai Lama to have the entire Tibetan plateau declared a "natural park" and wildlife refuge called the Zone of Ahimsa, to strategies by monks in Thailand to prevent over-logging, to Thich Nhat Hanh's ecological awareness campaigns within his Order of Interbeing, to the decades-long commitment of American Buddhists such as Gary Snyder and John Daido Loori and Joanna Macy to honor and protect wilderness and sustainable human cultures and all living beings, the Green Buddhist movement is dynamic, vitally important, and inspiring to Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. (And it also includes the activities of the "Green Appalachia" program sponsored by the Zen Peacemakers Order in partnership with Ahimsa Village in central Pennsylvania.) Unlike the Christian environmental movement, Green Buddhism does not espouse the ideal of responsible human stewardship of God's Creation, a view that affords humans a priveleged position within nature. Rather, Green Buddhism invokes the fundamental Buddhist principle of interconnectedness, in order to express the truth of the profound interdependence of everything within the cosmos, humans linked to animals and plants and oceans and mountains and stars in a harmonious network of interbeing.

Here's my top 10 list of Green Buddhists, in alphabetical order:

1. The Dalai Lama

2. Wendy Johnson

3. Stephanie Kaza

4. John Daido Loori

5. Joanna Macy

6. Peter Muryo Matthiessen

7. Thich Nhat Hanh

8. Prayudh Payutto

9. Sulak Sivaraksa

10. Gary Snyder

Honorable Mentions:

Robert Aitken, Rita Gross, the Karmapa (Ogyen Trinley Dorje)

Film Recommendation - The Shift by Wayne Dyer

I just finished watching a great new film titled The Shift (2009) by Wayne Dyer. This is Dyer's first film. He is best known for his many bestselling books on self-help and the spiritual life. The film follows the lives of a group of people who are on vacation at a beautiful California oceanside retreat center. One group is a film crew who has come to interview Dyer about his latest book on the spiritual life. The segments of this interview are masterfully interwoven with the lives of the people at the retreat center illustrating in dramatic fashion what Dyer is talking about. Its a very powerful and effective method. I really learned a lot from this film - its all about making the shift from an ego-centered life to a service-centered life, letting go of our personal agendas and allowing our true self or as Dyer calls it our Authentic Self to manifest. Its there all the time, we just have to let go of our ego so it can shine forth. A truly remarkable and inspiring film. Highly recommended. To learn more about the film, visit the film's web site at http://www.dyermovie.com/. We plan to have a showing and discussion of the film at Ahimsa Village this year. -- Bob Flatley

January Program - Building Strong Local Economies and Community with Bill Sharp

Please consider attending our January Sustainabilty Talk on Friday, January 8, 2010 at 7:30PM at Ahimsa Village farmhouse, Julian, PA 16844. Details below:

This workshop focuses on the inevitability of local communities turning towards increasingly self-sufficient economies as a response to changes in the global climate, economy and steady rise in the cost of energy. The workshop will discuss the conditions leading to the current social and economic crises, outline a model for a self-sufficient community; and open a dialogue on how such a community can be pursued.

Bill Sharp has been active in environmental and economic development issues for over 40 years. He has been a teacher, planner and manager in higher education, government and business. His has worked in urban and rural areas, served on and been an officer of several non-profit organizations and associations and been forming member of several of these. He has a life-long interest in community. He is currently working to develop an architecture for self-sufficient communities and is a local supporter of the Transition US and UK based Transition Towns network.

Light refreshments at 7:30pm, followed by program. Please RSVP to bob@ahimsavillage.org, 814-355-0850 if you plan to join us. Suggested donation $5 benefits the Ahimsa Education Committee.

Green Buddhism Talk at Ahimsa Village with Steve Kanji Ruhl

Green Buddhism:

Using the Ancient Buddha Way to Meet Our 21st Century Environmental Crisis

Friday, December 11, 2009 at 7:30PM

What do Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, Pulitzer Prize winning writers Gary Snyder and Peter Matthiessen, the Dalai Lama, and activist Joanna Macy have in common? They're all part of the widespread Green Buddhism movement.

Please join us for this lively, fascinating, and unique presentation. It will offer a global perspective of Buddhist relations to nature, discuss Buddhist philosophical approaches to the environment, compare these to other world religions, explain the rise of the modern Green Buddhist movement in Asia and America, and describe how Zen Buddhists are now addressing environmental concerns in central PA and offering models for sustainable living and healing the earth.

Steve Kanji Ruhl received his Master of Divinity degree from Harvard University. Kanji is a lay Buddhist minister in the Zen Peacemakers Order, completing his training for ordination as a Soto Zen Buddhist priest. He is also a longtime environmentalist, an active lover of the sacred outdoors and member of such eco-organizations as the Sierra Club, the Creation Care Coalition of Centre County, and Interfaith Power and Light.

Light refreshments at 7:30pm, followed by program. Please RSVP to e4bob@yahoo.com, 814-355-0850 if you plan to join us. Suggested donation $5 benefits the Ahimsa Education Committee.