[Buddha-l] Ecological Buddhism

[Kdorje at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/16/2009 4:45:41 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
mike at lamrim.org.uk writes:

jkirk  wrote:
>
>Joanna [Macy] finds that many people (especially those  drawn to
>Eastern paths) have developed notions about spirituality  that
>hinder them from realizing their power to effect change.?  Among
>the 'spiritual traps' that cut the nerve of compassionate  action
>are these:
>
>1. That the phenomenal world of beings  is not real.? With this
>view the pain of others and the demands on us  that are implicit
>in that pain are less tangible than the pleasures or  aloofness we
>can find in transcending them.
>
>2. That any  pain we may experience in beholding the world derives
>from our own  cravings and attachments.? With this view, the ideal
>way to deal with  suffering becomes nonattachment to the fate of
>all beings, not just  nonattachment to matters of the ego.
>
>3. That we are constantly  creating our world unilaterally through
>our subjective thoughts.?  Confrontation is considered negative
>thinking, acceptance is positive.?  Therefore it is concluded that
>when we confront the injustice and  dangers of our world we are
>simply creating more conflict and  misunderstanding.
>
>4. And the corollary, that the world is  already perfect when we
>view it spiritually.? We feel so peaceful that  the world itself
>will become peaceful without our need to  act.


I think Joanna Macy may be applying a bit of 'overbend' here  in order to 
achieve a straight pipe. There would be similar traps in her  approach if 
one were to fully embrace it. One trap would be to direct  one's critical 
eye away from oneself and to others - an attempt to 'fix'  the phenomenal 
world.  The move would be from individual practitioner  to politician, or 
activist. That is, a move from one who seeks to change  'self' to one who 
seeks to change 'other.'

It is very tempting to  do this. When I read her four points, the thought 
arose in my mind, "Yes.  I know other practitioners like this and we need 
to change them." Of  course, I have these tendencies myself. It is easier 
to find a  misunderstanding than an understanding, because there are more 
of them. It  is easier to find an 'other' who seems to misunderstand than 
a 'self' who  misunderstands, because there are more of them also.

It appears to me  that attention to one's own behaviour is more likely to 
be productive than  attention to the behaviour of others. Balance between 
these two is  required, and the balance could be a bit different for each 
of us. I feel  in no position to tackle the politics and economics of the 
world, but it  may be within my capacity to help occasional individuals.

In my  experience,  if I become engaged by taking a lot of external stuff  
on, it can lead to a scattered mind that jeopardises my ability to be of  
any real help in the future. It is not a sustainable option. It has less  
benefit in the long run.

There are many things 'wrong' in this  world.  I do not hope to fix them, 
because I cannot fix them. Indeed,  it would be like trying to repair the 
sea rather than rescuing  people.  Joanna Macy's points are fine if taken 
as a critique of  oneself, but could lead us astray, like the quail going 
out of its range  (Sakunagghi Sutta - The Hawk. SN 47.6)

-- 
Metta
Mike  Austin
_______________________________________________
 
I agree that there is an "overbend" above, but even more the analysis seems  
to take as it starting points premises that not all would agree to, especially 
 points 2 and 3. For most Americans, indeed for most citizens of liberal  
democracies, political involvement is limited to merely having opinions of like  
and dislike---and "heavily involved in politics" equates to "deeply held  
opinions that I express to all my friends until they avoid me, and are  therefore 
part of the problem and not part of the solution."
 
For those actually involved in legislative and electoral processes an  
analysis is quite different, and contrary to the above Buddhism can be quite  
helpful in achieving one's purposes. Electoral politics, and even more so, the  
legislative processes, are chaotic business. It is easy to become distracted and  
loose sight of one's goals. Lobbying involves dealing successfully with  
legislators, lobbyists, administrators, and others, all of whom are  enmeshed in an 
ever-shifting seamless web of alliances and competing interests  and agendas, 
as is the actor. It is easy to become distracted with others'  issues and 
neglect implementation of one's own. Having a clear mind is  essential, and 
Buddhism can help develop that clarity of purpose, both by  training the mind in 
attaining focus, and by inculcating a sense of  non-attachment that encourages 
the kind of creative thought that is so helpful  in making decisions about how 
to effect the passage of one's legislation (or  contra, the defeat of 
legislation one opposes), or in securing funding, or  raising or eliminating taxes, or 
whatever is the project at hand.
 
Best wishes,
 
Konchog Dorje





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