Chanting Growers Group

[PassTheDoobie]

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra (7)

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra (7)

Lectures on the Hoben and Juryo Chapters of the Lotus Sutra
by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda

Expedient Means Are Words of Wisdom for Raising People Up

Shari-hotsu. Go ju jo-butsu irai. Shuju innen. Shuju hiyu. Ko en gonkyo. Mu shu hoben. Indo shujo. Ryo ri shojaku.

Shariputra, ever since I attained Buddhahood I have through various causes and various similes widely expounded my teachings and have used countless expedient means to guide living beings and cause them to renounce their attachments.

Here, Shakyamuni is elaborating on the immediately preceding passage, where he says, "He [a Buddha] has realized the Law that is profound and never known before, and preaches it in accordance with what is appropriate [to the capacities of the people], yet his intention is difficult to understand."

Shakyamuni had earlier discussed the "wisdom of the Buddhas." In this passage, by contrast, he reveals this wisdom as he has gathered it up in himself.

"Ever since I attained Buddhahood" refers to the period from when Shakyamuni attained enlightenment until he taught the Lotus Sutra, during which time he expounded various provisional sutras. Shakyamuni then clarifies the distinctive character of the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings. He says that before teaching the Lotus Sutra he had employed "various causes" (explaining why things are the way they are) and "various similes" in widely expounding his teaching; and that these teachings were "expedient means" (Jpn hoben) for guiding people to the truth and freeing them from their various attachments.

The Expedient Means of the Pre-Lotus Sutra Teachings

An expedient means is a means or a device that the Buddha, out of compassion, employs to help people attain enlightenment. From the outset, Shakyamuni's ultimate purpose lay in enabling all people to attain Buddhahood; but he did not reveal this in the provisional sutras. He reveals it for the first time in the Lotus Sutra.

The purpose of the provisional sutras is to enable people to part with various attachments. People differ in terms of the types of attachments or "fetters" they possess. Therefore, Shakyamuni expounded a variety of teachings, employing various causes and similes that matched the capacities of specific people.

These teachings were all no more than "means" for drawing people toward the "end" of attaining Buddhahood. In this sense, the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings are regarded as expedient means.

Still, the expedient teachings expounded before the Lotus Sutra also arose from the Buddha's compassion. Shakyamuni strove to respond to the different capacities of people, to select teachings that precisely matched their needs, and to satisfy everyone. He was waging a struggle of compassion and wisdom.

"What is this person seeking?" "How should I instruct this person to ensure that he or she will not deviate from the correct path?" He deeply considered the case of each individual, and gave instruction with an earnest "must-win" spirit.

Though we may speak of "the people" in the aggregate, they are not an abstract, homogeneous multitude; they are not a colorless mass. "How can the heart of this person before me be opened?" "How can I reinvigorate this specific individual?" This is the spirit of Buddhism. When speaking to a large number of people, only if we have the attitude of addressing each individual can we offer "living words" that reverberate in the hearts of many.

Since attaining the Way, Shakyamuni thoroughly devoted himself to expounding the Law for the sake of individuals. Because his words and phrases were uttered for individuals and with their happiness in mind, the Law imbued the life of one person after another. Because he waged such a struggle he sent people's hearts a fresh breeze, dispelling the dark clouds of doubt and anxiety and causing the sun of hope and happiness to rise. Because he regarded the individual with such warmth, people from all walks of life -- young and old, men and women -- gathered with joy and enthusiasm to hear Shakyamuni expound his teachings.

Shakyamuni preached the expedient teachings because he sympathized with the people, whose lives were steeped in illusion and suffering. He was impelled by the desire to somehow help them. This led him to consider, "By what means can I save them from suffering?" "How might I liberate them from illusion?" In other words, expedients arose from his desire to help people; his compassion gave birth to wisdom.

Shakyamuni, who attained enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree, aroused a spirit of great mercy and determined to save all people from suffering. At that time, the Buddhas of the ten directions appeared and urged Shakyamuni on, saying: "Following the example of all other Buddhas, you will employ the power of expedient means. We too ... make distinctions and preach the three vehicles." Thereupon Shakyamuni, preparatory to expounding the Law "never known before" to which he had become enlightened, began to expound the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings using the power of expedient means.

Expedient means are expressions of wisdom serving to raise people up. Shakyamuni, armed with words of compassion and wisdom, thus resolutely took the first step on the difficult journey to expound the Law for the salvation of all people. And so he raised the curtain on Buddhism, which sends out a message of happiness to all humankind.

The 'Secret and Mystic Expedient' of the Lotus Sutra

As I have already mentioned, the "expedient means" to which this passage refers are the expedient means of the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings. These are not to be confused with the expedient means indicated by the title of the second chapter of the Lotus Sutra. Profound significance is attached to the expedient means of the Lotus Sutra.

T'ien-t'ai identifies three types of expedient means: "functional teaching expedients," "truth-gateway expedients" and the "secret and mystic expedient." The first two correspond to the expedient means of the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings. The secret and mystic expedients correspond to the expedient means of the Lotus Sutra, the expedient means of the "Expedient Means" chapter.

Functional-teaching expedients (hoyu hoben) are the various teachings expounded according to the differing capacities of the people. Through the function (yu) of these teachings (ho) Shakyamuni brought benefit to people of various capacities.

Truth-gateway expedients (notsu hoben) are teachings that represent the gateway for entering the truth. To follow these teachings is termed notsu, because through them people are led to the truth.

These expedients of the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings serve to guide people to the wisdom of the Buddha; they are "means" for directing people until they have reached the Lotus Sutra. And, as Shakyamuni indicates when he says "honestly discarding expedient means," the expedients of the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings should be discarded once the Lotus Sutra has been expounded.

(to be continued)

 

[PassTheDoobie]

(continued)

(continued)

Shakyamuni Dared To Express the Truth in Words

By contrast, the expedient of the Lotus Sutra is not an expedient that ought to be discarded; it is the teaching of the truth. At the same time, however, it is still always just an expedient. Although the second chapter explains the truth, it is not titled "Truth," but "Expedient Means." Herein lies the profound significance of the secret and mystic expedient (himyo hoben).

In the opening of the "Expedient Means" chapter, we are told that the wisdom of the Buddhas is infinitely profound and immeasurable, and difficult for all voice-hearers and pratyekabuddhas to comprehend. It is the ultimate teaching that defies expression through words and so cannot be explained.

However, unless the wisdom of, all Buddhas is expressed, all people will forever remain shut away in darkness. For this reason, the Buddha ventures to put it into words.

Compared with the inexpressible truth, the words the Buddha uses to expound it are an expedient. At the same time, however, it is a fact that through these words people can be saved. The words of the Lotus Sutra that the Buddha, out of his compassion, expounded "according with his own mind" (Jpn zuijii) for the sake of all people constitute the secret and mystic expedient; more than simply a means, the words are an expedient at one with the Buddha's wisdom.

Regarding the words of the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren Daishonin says things like: "Its words are the reality of life" (The Major Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, vol. 1, p. 3); "Each of the 69,384 characters of the Lotus Sutra is a Buddha" (Gosho Zenshu, p. 971); and "When you cast your eyes upon the words of the Lotus Sutra, you should consider that you are beholding the living body of the Buddha Shakyamuni" (MW-5, 147). Nichiren Daishonin thus repeatedly emphasizes the oneness of the Buddha's wisdom and the words whereby it is expressed.

In a sense, it could be said that the expedients of the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings and the expedient of the Lotus Sutra are entirely opposite in their directionality. The Japanese term hoben (expedient means) originally derives from the Sanskrit word upaya, meaning "approach." The pre-Lotus Sutra teachings enable people to move away from illusion and approach enlightenment. The direction, in other words, is toward the wisdom of the Buddhas. This is the direction of the functional-teaching expedients and the truth-gateway expedients. These expedients are no longer of any use once we arrive at the teaching of the Lotus Sutra.

In the Lotus Sutra, by contrast, Shakyamuni explains and articulates the wisdom of the Buddhas to the world and in a manner according with his own mind. The directionality of this expedient is thus that of the Buddha approaching the world of human beings. This is the secret and mystic expedient.

Through the power of the Lotus Sutra, the pre-Lotus Sutra teachings take on importance as partial expressions of the truth. They are said to be "revealed and unified" in the teaching of the Lotus Sutra.

Revealing the Power of the Mystic Law Through Our Struggles

The wisdom of the Buddhas revealed in "Expedient Means" is the "true entity of all phenomena." Put another way, it is the truth that all living beings are Buddhas.

The "secret" of the secret and mystic expedient is that this truth can only be understood between Buddhas. It is called "mystic" because it is difficult for people to comprehend. The teaching that awakens people to the truth that all living beings are Buddhas is the secret and mystic expedient.

This is exemplified in the parable of the gem in the robe related in "Prophecy of Enlightenment for Five Hundred Disciples" (Jpn Gohyaku Deshi Juki), the eighth chapter of the Lotus Sutra. This parable tells of how a man is given a gem of priceless value by a close friend, who sews it into the lining of his robe while he drowses in a drunken stupor. Not realizing that he possesses the gem, the man suffers hardships and is always in want. Much later he meets the friend again, and only then does he discover that all along he has possessed the priceless gem.

The mans friend (the Buddha) knew that the man possessed the gem in his robe (the world of Buddhahood in his life), even though the man (representing the beings of the nine worlds) failed to realize it.

An ordinary human being is a Buddha. This is difficult to understand. Unless we believe we possess the Buddha nature, it will remain forever "secret.' However, once we recognize it, it is no longer "secret," and our "mystic" powers appear.

The second Soka Gakkai president, Josei Toda, said: "That we are merely ordinary, unenlightened beings is the secret and mystic expedient. The truth is that we are Buddhas." To realize this truth is to understand the secret and mystic expedient.

Although we are Buddhas, we are born as common mortals. This is so that, through doing our human revolution and showing proof of the Mystic Law, we can accomplish kosen-rufu. If we had everything, including good health and riches, from the outset, then other people could not understand the power of the Mystic Law. Therefore, we try to reveal it to them through our struggles as common mortals. This is the secret and mystic expedient.

Victory in Life Through Victory in Faith

In a word, all of us who believe in the Gohonzon, the Lotus Sutra of the Latter Day of the Law, and who are struggling amid the reality of the nine worlds exemplify the secret and mystic expedient.

As long as we always live based on the Gohonzon, then any and all sufferings become expedient means for us to strengthen and deepen the world of Buddhahood in our lives. Sufferings and joys and everything that happens to us become expedient means for us to reveal the power of the Mystic Law.

It is said that life is like a drama. Whether in the world of business, education, the home or wherever, each person acts out a drama. This "role" is itself an expedient means; but should the "actor" abandon his or her role, he or she will be at a loss for a mission. When we are acting out our role we are manifesting our own inner truth most fully.

Daily life equals faith. And the world of Buddhahood appears nowhere except wedded to the stage of the reality of the nine worlds. Let us enact the drama of human revolution on the stage of our lives.

From misery to happiness, from disappointment to hope, from fate to mission, from suffering to eternal joy - the driving force that makes these dynamic transformations possible is the Mystic Law, is faith.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

from: http://www.sgi.org/english/Buddhism/research/inner_peace.htm

from: http://www.sgi.org/english/Buddhism/research/inner_peace.htm

From Inner Peace to World Peace: A Buddhist Perspective

Yoichi Kawada, Director, Institute of Oriental Philosophy,
Soka Gakkai International

Published in World Order for a New Millennium by St. Martin’s Press, New York


The Flames of Delusion

The purpose of this chapter is to offer a Buddhist perspective on the question of peace. I would like to discuss three dimensions of peace and the contributions a Buddhist understanding may make to their achievement. These are inner peace; peace in the community of humankind; and ecological peace or peace with Earth. First, we have to understand what the root causes of the absence and the presence of peace are.

In a sermon given by Shakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, he conveyed his essential outlook on the nature and cause of suffering. On this occasion, Shakyamuni ascended a mountain summit together with his recently converted disciples. Gazing at the view below, Shakyamuni began to expound: “Indeed, this world is burning with many and various fires. There are fires of greed fires of hatred fires of foolishness, fires of infatuation and egoism, fires of decrepitude, sickness and death, fires of sorrow, lamentation, suffering and agony.”

What he was trying to convey was his understanding that the phenomenal world that we inhabit is engulfed in the “fires” of suffering originating in deluded impulses. These fires of greed, hatred and ignorance, raging fiercely in the hearts of people, are the basic cause of the suffering of human existence. Therefore, Shakyamuni urges us first and foremost to come to a clear understanding of the root cause of suffering.

Here, the deluded impulse of “greed” indicates uncontrolled desire for, and attachment to, material comforts, for wealth, power or fame. Desires of this kind grow and multiply without cease, and since their fulfillment cannot bring true and lasting happiness, a person in their grip is condemned to endless torment and frustration.

The deluded impulse of “hatred” describes emotions such as resentment, rage and envy, that are triggered when our egocentric desires are not fulfilled. Unless controlled, these escalate into various forms of destruction and violence. Simply put, the deluded impulse of hatred is the violence that grows from an egocentric view of life.

“Ignorance” refers to willful ignorance of reality, or the true nature of life and the cosmos. Thus it is this deluded impulse that generates discord and rebellion against the principles that govern the functioning of the cosmos. The wisdom that illuminates and reveals the true nature of the cosmos is referred to as “enlightenment,” while this kind of willful ignorance is referred to as “fundamental darkness” because it clouds and obscures the light by which we might see things in their true nature. Of all the deluded impulses, Buddhism considers ignorance the most fundamental.

Buddhism views these impulses--greed, hatred and ignorance--as poisons inherent in life; together they are sometimes referred to as the “three poisons.” What Shakyamuni sought to teach his disciples in his sermon is that the flames of the three poisons and of all deluded impulses originate in, and spew forth from, the inner lives of individuals to engulf families, ethnic groups, nations and eventually the whole of humanity.

We see this in the world today, where the impact of uncontrolled greed goes far beyond the individual level; it creates economic disparities among racial and ethnic groups, and between countries on a global scale. The avarice of the industrialized nations has deprived people in developing countries of the conditions by which their basic needs can be met. And the greed of the human race is undermining the right of other living beings to exist.

Violence is commonly found within families, in schools and in local communities. Deep hatreds that trace back to distant historical events give rise to intractable ethnic and racial conflicts. In some cases, such historical hatred is bound up with religious causes or identities, and finds expression in terror and random killing.

Willful ignorance of the true nature of existence signifies a state of rebellion against, and denial of, the basic principles of life and the cosmos. As such, it distorts all aspects of life, from individual lifestyles to family, ethnic and national values. In other words, this kind of willful ignorance can be found in all value systems, ways of life, and views of nature that put one into rebellious conflict with the very principles that support one’s own existence, the principles that, ultimately, govern the functioning of the living cosmos.

By sharing his enlightened understanding with others, Shakyamuni sought to help people minimize the destructive effects of these deluded impulses and in fact to transform them into the impetus for happiness.

A Tranquil Heart

In India, the equivalent of “peace” is “shanti,” which means the state of inner tranquillity. It also means the enlightened condition attained by Shakyamuni sometimes referred to as “nirvana.” With respect to the state of inner peace, a Buddhist text describes this as follows: “Tranquillity of mind comes from having successfully transcended greed, hatred and ignorance.” As this passage makes clear, the Buddhist approach to peace starts from the fundamental act of surmounting these deluded impulses or inner poisons. The state of having brought these impulses under control, however, is not a static and private inner peace. Rather, it is limitlessly dynamic, expansive and evolutionary in its nature.

The thirteenth-century Japanese Buddhist Nichiren expressed this with the following image: “Burning the firewood of deluded impulses, we behold the flame of enlightened wisdom.” In other words, through spiritual practice the energy inherent in our deluded impulses can be transformed in its entirety into the illuminating “flame” of enlightened wisdom. Thus, the three poisons can be subdued so that they no longer produce confusion and disruption; they can no longer drive us to act in a bizarre and destructive manner. It is for this reason that this transcendence of deluded impulses is known as inner tranquillity.

In the state of tranquillity, the light of enlightened wisdom shines brilliantly, unblocked and unhindered by the clouds of deluded impulses. If one surveys the Buddha’s teachings, from the earliest scriptures through the subsequent Mahayana tradition, one can see that the core of Shakyamuni’s enlightenment was his awakening to the “law of dependent origination.” This concept has been expressed in various ways and was developed in great depth and detail in Mahayana Buddhism; its essence is the interdependence of all living beings and indeed all phenomena. Dependent origination teaches us that all things occur and exist only through their interrelationship with all other phenomena and that this fabric of relatedness is of infinite extent both temporally and spatially. Herein lies the basis for the principle of mutually supportive coexistence of all beings so central to Buddhist thinking.

Each human being exists within the context of interrelationships that include other human beings, all living beings and the natural world. In other words, each person is sustained by the interdependent web of life. By awakening to this principle we are able to expand instinctive self-love into an altruistic love for others; we are able to nurture the spirit of tolerance and empathy for others.

The doctrine of dependent origination also provides a theoretical foundation for peace. In terms of concrete action, it manifests itself as the practice of compassion. In Buddhism, compassion indicates the practical ethic of always maintaining an empathetic involvement with others. It means sharing their sufferings and unhappiness, working alongside them to overcome the deluded impulses that are the root cause of suffering, transforming these into happiness, benefit and joy.

Ignorance is considered fundamental among these deluded impulses precisely because it blinds people to the reality of dependent origination, the unavoidable and all-encompassing interrelatedness within which we live. This ignorance gives rise to the greed that drives people to seek the fulfillment of their desires even at the cost of the suffering of others. It also leads to the kind of uncontrolled rage that seeks the destruction of a situation in which one’s desires are frustrated. It is for this reason that the deluded impulse of ignorance is considered equivalent to a fundamental egocentrism. It is a blind and finally self-destructive egocentrism because it violently severs the strands of the web of life that supports one’s own existence.

The state of mind of one who ceaselessly strives to transcend this fundamental egocentrism is that of inner peace and tranquillity. The heart of such a person is lit with the wisdom of dependent origination, and overflows with the spirit of compassion.

(to be continued)

 

[PassTheDoobie]

(continued)

(continued)

The “Five Defilements”

Buddhism’s core contribution to peace is to be found in the struggle against the deluded impulses that, rooted in the depths of the inner life of the individual, cause so much suffering and destruction in the whole of human society. In Shakyamuni’s Lotus Sutra, the destructive effects brought about by the deluded impulses are described as “defilements,” and classified into five stages, from the innermost and most personal to that which stains an entire age or era. These are: defilements of desire, of thought, of the people, of life itself and of the age.

T’ien-t’ai, a Buddhist philosopher active in China in the sixth century, described the five defilements in the following manner: “The most fundamental of these five are the defilements of thought and of desire, which result in the defilements of the people and of life. These in turn give rise to the defilement of the age.” “Defilement of desire” points to deluded impulses such as the three poisons themselves. “Defilement of thought” refers to excessive and unreasoning attachment to specific ideas or ideologies. According to T’ien-t’ai, the defilements of thought and desire are the most fundamental and, through their impact on individuals, bring chaos and disruption to families, nations and states. Passed on from one generation to another, these defilements give rise to the “defilement of life,” instilling historical hatred and violence among different peoples, ethnic groups and nations. These defilements finally influence all people living in that era, resulting in the “defilement of the age.”

Modern civilization increasingly exhibits the aspects of what Buddhism would term the “defilement of the age.” Signs of this include rampant materialism, the ruthless domination and exploitation of nature, and unbridled consumption. Since the end of the Cold War, our world has been spared major outbreaks of conflict stemming from attachment to ideology, that is, defilement of thought. However, the kinds of conflicts that are flaring up are rooted in the irrational passions, such as extreme nationalism, that Buddhism would classify as “defilement of desire.” These are considered even more deeply rooted in people’s lives and therefore even more difficult to control.

In a world where deluded impulses cast the pall of their negative effects in the form of the five defilements described above, Buddhists have, I believe, a particular mission to contribute to the realization of peace on all planes. In other words, we should not be content with our inner peace of mind but should broaden our horizons and extend our endeavors to include abolition of war--that is, peace of the global human community--as well as peace with the natural world, through truly sustainable development and harmonious coexistence with the global ecosystem.

The Bodhisattva Way in the Modern World

I would now like to elaborate on how the bodhisattva practice, compassionate action based on the Buddhist understanding of life, can contribute to the realization of peace in its three dimensions (inner, community and ecological peace).

First let us consider inner peace, or tranquillity of spirit and mind. In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is one who carries out altruistic acts and seeks to contribute to human society by fully manifesting the qualities of wisdom and compassion. A bodhisattva strives first to transform his or her own life; the locus for this struggle is the realities of human existence and the sustained effort to alleviate people’s sufferings. In this way the bodhisattva strives to generate joy for both self and others.

The practice of the bodhisattva has been expressed in contemporary terms as “human revolution.” The inner state of one striving for the realization of human revolution can be considered that of spiritual tranquillity; the state of inner peace expounded in Buddhism is a dynamic condition brimming with wisdom and compassion.

Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a Buddhist lay organization, exists to help facilitate people’s practice of compassion in daily life by providing an environment of cooperation, spiritual sustenance and support. In this way, the SGI seeks to bring the practice of the bodhisattva to the contemporary world.

While the SGI pursues many diverse activities, the most fundamental of all are the discussion meetings held and rooted in local communities. In present-day society, where unrestrained egotism has brought profound disruptions to the human heart and where humanity is losing sight of the art of coexisting with nature, these small gatherings of people of all ages, races, interests and backgrounds offer a forum for rich and refreshing exchange. In a world afflicted by “social desertification,” these meetings serve as a human oasis.

It is, after all, individual human beings who alone can work toward the realization of the grand goals of world peace and the prosperity of human society. As an organization, the SGI has consistently focused on people and on the movement for human revolution through the bodhisattva practice. As Buddhists, we strive to establish a condition of inner peace in daily life and, at the same time, to contribute to the realization of the peace of the world around us, by enabling each individual to develop his or her unique qualities to the very fullest.

Secondly, with regard to the dimension of social peace, or peace in the community of humankind, the SGI’s cultural and educational activities support a variety of political and economic measures that are being proposed in various forums, seeking to move them toward implementation. These include the abolition of nuclear weapons and the reduction of economic disparity. As part of the SGI’s ongoing efforts to promote public education regarding these and other global issues, we have mounted international exhibitions that have been seen by millions of citizens worldwide. Likewise, we have long been involved in efforts to provide concrete humanitarian support for the world’s refugees and displaced persons.

With respect to these questions of security and development, Buddhism upholds the principle of non-violence and calls for a fundamental transformation in our way of life. At the individual level, this means a transformation from a way of life dominated by attachment to material desires to one more focused on spiritual and existential values. At the same time, it also means a compassionate way of life, of being ready to make those efforts required to ensure that the citizens of developing countries can have their basic needs fulfilled. In connection with human rights, we recognize the existence of the supreme life-condition--that of Buddhahood--in all people, and therefore insist that all members of the human family are without distinction capable of manifesting that condition of unlimited wisdom and compassion. Buddhism’s unique contribution to the resolution of culturally based conflicts is related to the teaching of “dependent origination” cited above, and to the empathy and tolerance that issue from that cosmology.

As mentioned earlier, the law of dependent origination describes the insight that all things and phenomena are interdependent and all manifest the ordering principle of the cosmos, each in its own unique manner. Since Buddhism views deluded impulses as those that prevent people from clearly seeing this reality, we feel that humankind will be best served when each religious tradition engages in its own characteristic struggle against the three poisons of hatred, avarice and ignorance, while cooperating toward the resolution of global issues. This is how Buddhism views the key concepts of cultural pluralism and religious tolerance.

Coming to the third dimension, “peace with the ecosystem,” the Buddhist perspective on nature has always pointed to creative coexistence with nature. Shakyamuni’s compassion was not limited to humankind but extended to all living things. The philosophical basis for sustainable development can be found in this kind of creative symbiosis with the rest of the natural world. Such a philosophical outlook will support the kind of lifestyle that is truly in harmony with the ecosystem. The SGI has supported afforestation projects in the Amazon and elsewhere. Local SGI organizations have been involved in a wide range of activities to protect the environment.

In resolving the global challenges confronting humanity, political, economic and scientific measures must be pursued together with a transformation of human consciousness. We should establish a lifestyle of conserving energy, recycling resources and pursuing spiritual values. Our overarching goal should be to cultivate a shared awareness of our common humanity and of solidarity with the living organism that is Earth. As we move toward that awareness, we must develop the wisdom to properly direct toward beneficial ends of the life sciences, including the burgeoning field of genetic engineering. In this, I feel that the outlook of the world’s religious and ethical traditions can and must make an important contribution.

A Buddhist approach to peace, I believe, offers important common ground with other traditions. The cause of a truly comprehensive and lasting peace can most effectively be furthered by ceaselessly expanding circles of friendship and understanding through dialogue, exchange and cooperation.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

Bud,

I have the book, but have never read it. I scanned it, saw it was not going to tell me anything I really wanted to know, and have been saving it for a rainy day that has never come. If you are looking for a biographical reference to Shakumuni's life, read the interpretive biography, "The Living Buddha", by (you guessed it) Daisaku Ikeda.

Peace,

Thomas

(where the hell has everyone gone?)

 

[Babbabud]

Siddhartha

Siddhartha

I read it prolly 25 years ago. Just a good story with some nice lessons ... just curious if it was something you have seen or not. Not really sure how you can know what something will tell you before you read it ? Just a fun short story..... your prolly right though. Thanks so much for taking the time to post

 

[SoCal Hippy]

gosho quote

gosho quote

The heart of the Lotus Sutra is its title, or the daimoku, of Nam-
myoho-renge-kyo. Truly, if you chant this in the morning and evening,
you are correctly reading the entire Lotus Sutra. Chanting daimoku
twice is the same as reading the entire sutra twice, one hundred
daimoku equal one hundred readings of the sutra, and one thousand
daimoku, one thousand readings of the sutra. Thus, if you ceaselessly
chant daimoku, you will be continually reading the Lotus Sutra.

(WND, 923)
The One Essential Phrase
Written to the lay nun Myoho on July 8, 1278

 

[BushyOldGrower]

Wonderful Lesson Tom! Ex-Communicated organization and was this because SGI wanted to make it easier for people to see the Gohonzon? To me it seems clear that if all this was just translated recently that this is the new information prophecied to come in these latter days.

I am all for showing the Gohonzon. I see this peoples revolution as not just for the priests but for all the people to receive. Exactly what are these 3 secret laws? Are these principles 2 of them?

one can see that the core of Shakyamuni’s enlightenment was his awakening to the “law of dependent origination.” This concept has been expressed in various ways and was developed in great depth and detail in Mahayana Buddhism; its essence is the interdependence of all living beings and indeed all phenomena. Dependent origination teaches us that all things occur and exist only through their interrelationship with all other phenomena and that this fabric of relatedness is of infinite extent both temporally and spatially. Herein lies the basis for the principle of mutually supportive coexistence of all beings so central to Buddhist thinking.

Each human being exists within the context of interrelationships that include other human beings, all living beings and the natural world. In other words, each person is sustained by the interdependent web of life. By awakening to this principle we are able to expand instinctive self-love into an altruistic love for others; we are able to nurture the spirit of tolerance and empathy for others.

The doctrine of dependent origination also provides a theoretical foundation for peace. In terms of concrete action, it manifests itself as the practice of compassion. In Buddhism, compassion indicates the practical ethic of always maintaining an empathetic involvement with others. It means sharing their sufferings and unhappiness, working alongside them to overcome the deluded impulses that are the root cause of suffering, transforming these into happiness, benefit and joy.


I am learning slowly but I will learn. I wish to understand Rosen Kufu and I wish to understand these laws. I have to see the Gohonzon but I know that the proper time will come for this. Until then I will do my best to gain understanding of the principles but so far I haven't seen one thing that I cannot embrace.

It all rings so true and Tom I trust you. Eventually my views will be more accurate and my heart will be more a part of me at all times. My desire is to conquer my desires the easy way. By chanting and learning and having steadiness of mind. Faith in my eventual ability to help someone else in my turn.

I asked all the others about the aliens and none really had any answers but only in some ancient texts are the extra terrestrial visitors discussed. Nowadays they are ridiculed and considered lunatic fringe stuff. But are we the only buddhists in this vast universe and might we not call upon our sky brothers to help us?

There is some mystery here for me as my part seems unusual given my past. One night that summer of 1974 my mother and father, Sister and Brother-in-Law and my nephew along with my wife and myself all saw one. My dad admitted it certainly was unidentifiable and very strange. It made a funny sound he could hear loudly in his hearing aid. His mouth dropped open in disbelief but he was no stoner.

I showed my family and friends that someone is out there and some day my hope is that our human revolution can be aided from out there. I am serious.

I felt good things from the UFO's and the alien told me so. BOG

 

[BushyOldGrower]

Oh, BTW, the descriptions of a troubled world are so true. This planet is in sad shape and the future looks bleak given the current trends. Something has to change and I am overjoyed by the Buddhist outlook and agenda. Non-violence is a concept I have embraced and our relationship with nature is essential to our recovering what can be saved from this abused and misused planet. BOG

 

[SoCal Hippy]

I don't want any problems!!!

I don't want any problems!!!

A wealthy man heard that Buddha was a great teacher and came to him
for help with his problems. He sat with Buddha and explained his
troubles. How his crops did not have enough water, how his children
were misbehaving, how his arm hurt from a fall, on and on he went.

After half an hour of these troubles he asked Buddha what to do.

The reply was "I can not help you with these."

The man became angry and asked "What kind of teacher are you that
you can't help me ?"

Buddha smiled and said softly; "We all have 83 problems. If you work
really hard you might solve one or two of them. But, then another
would take it's place and you would be no better off than before.
However, I can help you with your 84th problem".

The man was confused and asked; "What's my 84th problem then ?"

Buddha answered "That you want to have no problems." :wink:

 

[SoCal Hippy]

This is for ME

This is for ME

Now, if you wish to attain Buddhahood, you have only to lower the
banner of your arrogance, cast aside the staff of your anger, and
devote yourself exclusively to the one vehicle of the Lotus Sutra.
Worldly fame and profit are mere baubles of your present existence,
and arrogance and prejudice are ties that will fetter you in the next
one. Ah, you should be ashamed of them! And you should fear them, too!

(WND, 58-59)
Questions and Answers about Embracing the Lotus Sutra
Recipient unknown; written in March 1263

 

[PassTheDoobie]

"...was this because SGI wanted to make it easier for people to see the Gohonzon?"

They (the priesthood) made up a bunch of bullshit. The truth, in my opinion, was that they saw the "people" becoming more and more capable and powerful, and their influence on them less and less based on the correct instruction, encouragement and propagation of the Daishonin's Buddhism by the SGI. It is based on this correct perspective, in my opinion that the SGI developed the fortune to grow to be a huge and RICH lay organization. Many of the followers in Japan had lost everything after the war. They began practicing because there was no hope--no other solution--and the practice of Nichiren's Buddhism offered them an opportunity to dig in, to advance, to create tremendous good fortune, and to be triumphant in the struggles of their daily life. When many prospered beyond their wildest dreams, they gave back without being asked to. The SGI got richer and more powerful and the priesthood more jealous and determined to bring things back under their absolute control. They got rid of President Ikeda, expecting the rest of the lay people would just capitulate under the threat of being "cut off" from the Daishonin's Buddhism. That didn't happen, and the rest is history. THE SGI PRACTICES THE DAISHONIN'S TEACHING IN EXACT ACCORD WITH THEIR TRUE INTENT! (In my opinion)

"But are we the only buddhists in this vast universe ..."

The Lotus Sutra says no.

"...and might we not call upon our sky brothers to help us?"

Who knows, we may be doing that with every Daimoku we chant.

The Three Great Secret Laws:

Three Great Secret Laws
[三大秘法] (Jpn.: sandai-hiho)

The core principles of Nichiren's teaching. They are the object of devotion of the essential teaching, the daimoku of the essential teaching, and the sanctuary of the essential teaching. Here, "essential teaching" refers to the teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and not to the essential teaching, or the latter fourteen chapters, of the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren (1222-1282) established these three essential principles to enable people in the Latter Day of the Law to attain Buddhahood. They are called secret because they are implicit in the text of the "Life Span" (sixteenth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra and remained hidden or unknown until Nichiren revealed them. Nichiren regarded them as the vital teaching that Shakyamuni Buddha transferred to Bodhisattva Superior Practices in the "Supernatural Powers" (twenty-first) chapter of the sutra. He regarded his mission as one with that of Bodhisattva Superior Practices.

The Three Great Secret Laws represent Nichiren's embodiment of the Mystic Law, to which he was enlightened, in a form that all people can practice and thereby gain access to that Law within their own lives. He associated the Three Great Secret Laws with the three types of learning set forth in Buddhism-precepts, meditation, and wisdom. Specifically, the object of devotion corresponds to meditation, the sanctuary to precepts, and the daimoku to wisdom. Concerning the three types of learning based on the Lotus Sutra, Dengyo (767-822), in his Questions and Answers on Regulations for Students of the Tendai Lotus School, states, "The spacelike immovable precept, the spacelike immovable meditation, and the spacelike immovable wisdom-these three all together are transmitted under the name 'Wonderful Law.'" The three types of learning based on the Lotus Sutra are called "spacelike" and "immovable" because, like space, which represents the ultimate truth, they are immovable, or imperturbable. Nikko, Nichiren's successor, stated that in Nichiren's teachings the object of devotion corresponds to the spacelike immovable meditation, the sanctuary to the spacelike immovable precept, and the daimoku to the spacelike immovable wisdom.

Nichiren mentions the Three Great Secret Laws in several of his writings (all dated after his near execution at Tatsunokuchi and subsequent exile to Sado Island in 1271), and in a work known as On the Three Great Secret Laws, he offers a detailed definition.

At the core of the Three Great Secret Laws is the One Great Secret Law. This is the object of devotion of the essential teaching, or Nichiren's embodiment in the form of a mandala of the eternal Law of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which he fully realized and manifested in his life. He writes in The Person and the Law, "Deep in this mortal flesh I preserve the ultimate secret Law inherited from Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings, at Eagle Peak" (1097). Because embracing this object of devotion called the Gohonzon is the only precept in Nichiren's teaching, the place where it is enshrined corresponds to the place where one vows to observe the Buddhist precepts-the ordination platform, or sanctuary, of the essential teaching. The term precept in Buddhism implies preventing error and putting an end to evil. The daimoku of the essential teaching indicates the invocation or chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo with faith in the object of devotion; it includes chanting the daimoku for oneself and teaching it to others. Thus, both the sanctuary and the daimoku derive from the object of devotion.

Later Nichikan (1665-1726), the twenty-sixth chief priest of Taiseki-ji temple, classified the Three Great Secret Laws into Six Great Secret Laws. First, the object of devotion is viewed in terms of both Person and Law. The Person indicates Nichiren himself, who achieved the enlightenment and virtues of the eternal Buddha and who established the Buddhism of sowing for all people in the Latter Day of the Law. The object of devotion in terms of the Law is the Gohonzon, which embodies Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Second, the sanctuary also has two aspects, the specified sanctuary and the general sanctuary. The former is the sanctuary to be built at the time of kosen-rufu, or wide propagation, in accordance with Nichiren's instruction. This is the place where the object of devotion Nichiren inscribed for all humanity (commonly known as the Dai-Gohonzon) is to be enshrined when his teaching has been widely spread and established. The general sanctuary is any place where one enshrines the object of devotion and engages in practice. Third, the daimoku of the essential teaching also has two aspects: the daimoku of faith and the daimoku of practice. The former means to believe in the Gohonzon, and the latter means to chant the daimoku and spread it.

According to Nichikan's "Interpreting the Text Based upon Its Essential Meaning," the Six Great Secret Laws are considered a crystallization of the Buddha's eighty-four thousand teachings, the Three Great Secret Laws a crystallization of the Six Great Secret Laws, and the One Great Secret Law a crystallization of the Three Great Secret Laws.

From source: The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism

 

[PassTheDoobie]

And Bud!

I wasn't dissing Herman Hess or the book. I got my copy at a second hand book store for like fifty cents or a dollar. By the time I had received it, I had already been practicing for many years. I wasn't interested in the story, I already knew it. I got it to honor the fact that it had even been written. When I used to walk up to strangers to introduce them to Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, no one knew the name Shakyamuni, but everyone knew Siddhartha, thanks to that book.

Many lifetimes of good fortune to Mr. Hess! May he embrace the Lotus Sutra in one of his future existences!

Thomas

 

[PassTheDoobie]

from: http://www.sgi.org/english/Buddhism/more/more04.htm

from: http://www.sgi.org/english/Buddhism/more/more04.htm

Faith and Reason

Faith, or belief, and reason are commonly seen as being fundamentally in opposition to each other. Many people regard any kind of belief--and religious belief in particular--as some sort of paralysis of the faculty of reason, an intellectual crutch. Currently, however, this presumption of a sharp opposition between belief and reason, which has been the hallmark of modern thought, is being reexamined.

Twentieth-century philosophers such as Ludwig Wittgenstein and Josei Ortega y Gasset have pointed out that each of us lives, acts and thinks within a system of beliefs that is largely unconscious but without which we would be incapable of any thought or action. "Our beliefs are already operating in the depths of our lives when we begin to think something," writes Ortega y Gasset. Reason, in this sense, is founded on belief. If belief is the foundation of life, we don't really have a choice of whether to believe or not. We can choose, however, what to believe, what the substance of our faith will be.

Within the Buddhist tradition, the relationship between faith and reason has been the subject of sustained inquiry since ancient times. While this tradition has always held that the Buddha's enlightenment cannot be grasped or expressed in its entirety by reason or language, Buddhism has consistently held that reason and language should be highly valued.

While the Buddha's enlightenment may transcend the realm of reason, it is not irrational, nor does it resist rational examination. Faith in the Buddha's teaching is in fact the basis for a mode of intellectual examination which enlists not only analytical capacities but also seeks to develop the intuitive wisdom found in the deepest spiritual strata of the human being. Learning and knowledge can serve as the portal to wisdom; but it is wisdom that enables us to use knowledge in the most humane and valuable way. The confusion of knowledge and wisdom, arguably, is at the root of our societal distortions.

Nichiren likewise developed and presented his teachings very rationally. He is well known for his scholarship and his willingness to debate. Many of his important writings take the form of a dialectic question and answer in which doubts are presented, responded to and resolved.

Sraddha, prasada and adhimukti are three Sanskrit terms translated in the Lotus Sotra as "faith" or "belief." Sraddha, defined as the first stage of Buddhist practice, means "to arouse faith" and also "to possess curiosity about." The term thus includes the meaning of a sense of awe or wonder that seems to be at the root of all religious sentiment.

Prasada expresses the idea of purity and clarity. It could be said that, from the perspective of Buddhism, the proper purpose of faith is to cleanse the mind in order to enable our inherent wisdom to shine forth.

Adhimukti literally means intent, that is, the orientation of one's mind or will. This is the mental attitude of deepening one's understanding, cultivating and polishing one's life toward perfecting the sublime state of prasada. Faith thus purifies reason, strengthens it and elevates it and is an engine for continuous self-improvement. Daisaku Ikeda has defined faith as "an open, seeking mind, a pure heart and a flexible spirit."

The above terms can be contrasted with bhakti, another Sanskrit term for faith. Bhakti, originally meaning "to become part of," is a faith associated with a practice of surrender to--and unification with--a transcendent deity. This term is seldom, if ever, used in Buddhist texts.

The modern age seems convinced that intellect is an independent faculty, operating independently from feeling or belief. Yet it is becoming clearer that many trends, such as efforts to exert technological mastery over nature, rest on highly subjective beliefs or value judgements.

What is called for now is new unification of belief and reason encompassing all aspects of the human being and society, including the insights achieved by modern science. This must be an attempt to restore wholeness to human society, which has been rent asunder by extremes of reason artificially divorced from belief and irrational religious fanaticism.

This synthesis must grow from a dialogue based on mutual respect. Both sides must approach this dialogue, not with the desire to establish dominion over the other, but with a spirit of learning, of mining deeper and richer veins of truth. This will only be possible if all participants keep firmly in view the goal of human happiness. Does a particular position, approach or belief advance the human condition, or does it drive it back? Only on this basis can a dialogue between faith and reason produce true and lasting value for humankind.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

kosen-rufu (Jpn)
[広宣流布]

Wide propagation, or wide proclamation and propagation. A term from the Lotus Sutra that literally means to declare and spread widely. The "Medicine King" (twenty-third) chapter of the Lotus Sutra reads, "After I [Shakyamuni Buddha] have passed into extinction, in the last five-hundred-year period you must spread it abroad widely (kosen-rufu) throughout Jambudvipa and never allow it to be cut off." Nichiren (1222-1282), identifying himself as the votary of the Lotus Sutra, made it his lifelong mission to fulfill the above injunction of the Buddha, that is, kosen-rufu. He saw widely propagating his teaching of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, which he identified as the essence of the sutra, as the fulfillment of that mission. Nichiren wrote in his Selection of the Time, "Can there be any doubt that, after this period described in the Great Collection Sutra when 'the pure Law will become obscured and lost,' the great pure Law of the Lotus Sutra will be spread far and wide (kosen-rufu) throughout Japan and all the other countries of Jambudvipa?" (550). In The True Aspect of All Phenomena, he also wrote, "At the time when the Law has spread far and wide (kosen-rufu), the entire Japanese nation will chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, as surely as an arrow aimed at the earth cannot miss the target" (385).

In On Practicing the Buddha's Teachings, he wrote: "The time will come when all people will abandon the various kinds of vehicles and take up the single vehicle of Buddhahood, and the Mystic Law alone will flourish throughout the land. When the people all chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the wind will no longer buffet the branches, and the rain will no longer break the clods of soil. The world will become as it was in the ages of Fu Hsi and Shen Nung" (392). He meant that the spread of the Mystic Law would bring about peace in society and nature.

From source: The Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism

 

[SoCal Hippy]

To mix other practices with this Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is a grave error.
A lantern is useless when the sun rises. How can dewdrops be
beneficial when the rain falls? Should one feed a newborn baby anything
other than its mother's milk? No addition of other medicines is needed
with a good medicine.

(WND, 903)
The Teaching for the Latter Day
Written to Nanjo Tokimitsu on April 1, 1278

 

[SoCal Hippy]

Hope not too political

Hope not too political

I apologize if some feel this in inappropriate here. It is a scary article.

Why I did it is it confirms to me strongly more than ever that we need more 'Buddhist' thought in our world. I am so fortunate to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and to be able to share this hope and compassion with others. I ask those interested in Nichiren's Buddhism to try chanting to view and experience the most incredible positive changes possible in your life.


Bill Moyers: There is no tomorrow
Published January 30, 2005 Minneapolis Star Tribune
© Copyright 2005 Star Tribune. All rights reserved

One of the biggest changes in politics in my lifetime is that the
delusional is no longer marginal. It has come in from the fringe, to
sit in the seat of power in the Oval Office and in Congress. For the
first time in our history, ideology and theology hold a monopoly of
power in Washington.

Theology asserts propositions that cannot be proven true; ideologues
hold stoutly to a worldview despite being contradicted by what is
generally accepted as reality. When ideology and theology couple,
their offspring are not always bad but they are always blind. And
there is the danger: voters and politicians alike, oblivious to the
facts.

Remember James Watt, President Ronald Reagan's first secretary of
the interior? My favorite online environmental journal, the ever-
engaging Grist, reminded us recently of how James Watt told the U.S.
Congress that protecting natural resources was unimportant in light
of the imminent return of Jesus Christ. In public testimony he
said, "after the last tree is felled, Christ will come back."

Beltway elites snickered. The press corps didn't know what he was
talking about. But James Watt was serious. So were his compatriots
out across the country. They are the people who believe the Bible is
literally true -- one-third of the American electorate, if a recent
Gallup poll is accurate. In this past election several million good
and decent citizens went to the polls believing in the rapture
index.

That's right -- the rapture index. Google it and you will find that
the best-selling books in America today are the 12 volumes of
the "Left Behind" series written by the Christian fundamentalist and
religious-right warrior Timothy LaHaye. These true believers
subscribe to a fantastical theology concocted in the 19th century by
a couple of immigrant preachers who took disparate passages from the
Bible and wove them into a narrative that has captivated the
imagination of millions of Americans.

Its outline is rather simple, if bizarre (the British writer George
Monbiot recently did a brilliant dissection of it and I am indebted
to him for adding to my own understanding): Once Israel has occupied
the rest of its "biblical lands," legions of the antichrist will
attack it, triggering a final showdown in the valley of Armageddon.

As the Jews who have not been converted are burned, the messiah will
return for the rapture. True believers will be lifted out of their
clothes and transported to Heaven, where, seated next to the right
hand of God, they will watch their political and religious opponents
suffer plagues of boils, sores, locusts and frogs during the several
years of tribulation that follow.

I'm not making this up. Like Monbiot, I've read the literature. I've
reported on these people, following some of them from Texas to the
West Bank. They are sincere, serious and polite as they tell you
they feel called to help bring the rapture on as fulfillment of
biblical prophecy. That's why they have declared solidarity with
Israel and the Jewish settlements and backed up their support with
money and volunteers. It's why the invasion of Iraq for them was a
warm-up act, predicted in the Book of Revelations where four
angels "which are bound in the great river Euphrates will be
released to slay the third part of man." A war with Islam in the
Middle East is not something to be feared but welcomed -- an
essential conflagration on the road to redemption. The last time I
Googled it, the rapture index stood at 144 -- just one point below
the critical threshold when the whole thing will blow, the son of
God will return, the righteous will enter Heaven and sinners will be
condemned to eternal hellfire.

So what does this mean for public policy and the environment? Go to
Grist to read a remarkable work of reporting by the journalist Glenn
Scherer -- "The Road to Environmental Apocalypse." Read it and you
will see how millions of Christian fundamentalists may believe that
environmental destruction is not only to be disregarded but actually
welcomed -- even hastened -- as a sign of the coming apocalypse.

As Grist makes clear, we're not talking about a handful of fringe
lawmakers who hold or are beholden to these beliefs. Nearly half the
U.S. Congress before the recent election -- 231 legislators in total
and more since the election -- are backed by the religious right.

Forty-five senators and 186 members of the 108th Congress earned 80
to 100 percent approval ratings from the three most influential
Christian right advocacy groups. They include Senate Majority Leader
Bill Frist, Assistant Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Conference
Chair Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, Policy Chair Jon Kyl of
Arizona, House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Majority Whip Roy Blunt.
The only Democrat to score 100 percent with the Christian coalition
was Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia, who recently quoted from the
biblical book of Amos on the Senate floor: "The days will come,
sayeth the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land." He
seemed to be relishing the thought.

And why not? There's a constituency for it. A 2002 Time-CNN poll
found that 59 percent of Americans believe that the prophecies found
in the book of Revelations are going to come true. Nearly one-
quarter think the Bible predicted the 9/11 attacks. Drive across the
country with your radio tuned to the more than 1,600 Christian radio
stations, or in the motel turn on some of the 250 Christian TV
stations, and you can hear some of this end-time gospel. And you
will come to understand why people under the spell of such potent
prophecies cannot be expected, as Grist puts it, "to worry about the
environment. Why care about the earth, when the droughts, floods,
famine and pestilence brought by ecological collapse are signs of
the apocalypse foretold in the Bible? Why care about global climate
change when you and yours will be rescued in the rapture? And why
care about converting from oil to solar when the same God who
performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes can whip up a few
billion barrels of light crude with a word?"

Because these people believe that until Christ does return, the Lord
will provide. One of their texts is a high school history
book, "America's Providential History." You'll find there these
words: "The secular or socialist has a limited-resource mentality
and views the world as a pie ... that needs to be cut up so everyone
can get a piece." However, "[t]he Christian knows that the potential
in God is unlimited and that there is no shortage of resources in
God's earth ... while many secularists view the world as
overpopulated, Christians know that God has made the earth
sufficiently large with plenty of resources to accommodate all of
the people."

No wonder Karl Rove goes around the White House whistling that
militant hymn, "Onward Christian Soldiers." He turned out millions
of the foot soldiers on Nov. 2, including many who have made the
apocalypse a powerful driving force in modern American politics.

 

[SoCal Hippy]

(cont'd) Bill Moyers article

(cont'd) Bill Moyers article

It is hard for the journalist to report a story like this with any
credibility. So let me put it on a personal level. I myself don't
know how to be in this world without expecting a confident future
and getting up every morning to do what I can to bring it about. So
I have always been an optimist. Now, however, I think of my friend
on Wall Street whom I once asked: "What do you think of the
market?"I'm optimistic," he answered. "Then why do you look so
worried?" And he answered: "Because I am not sure my optimism is
justified."

I'm not, either. Once upon a time I agreed with Eric Chivian and the
Center for Health and the Global Environment that people will
protect the natural environment when they realize its importance to
their health and to the health and lives of their children. Now I am
not so sure. It's not that I don't want to believe that -- it's just
that I read the news and connect the dots.

I read that the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency has declared the election a mandate for President Bush on the
environment. This for an administration:
. That wants to rewrite the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and
the Endangered Species Act protecting rare plant and animal species
and their habitats, as well as the National Environmental Policy
Act, which requires the government to judge beforehand whether
actions might damage natural resources.
. That wants to relax pollution limits for ozone; eliminate vehicle
tailpipe inspections, and ease pollution standards for cars, sport-
utility vehicles and diesel-powered big trucks and heavy equipment.
. That wants a new international audit law to allow corporations to
keep certain information about environmental problems secret from
the public.
. That wants to drop all its new-source review suits against
polluting, coal-fired power plants and weaken consent decrees
reached earlier with coal companies.
. That wants to open the Arctic [National] Wildlife Refuge to
drilling and increase drilling in Padre Island National Seashore,
the longest stretch of undeveloped barrier island in the world and
the last great coastal wild land in America.

I read the news just this week and learned how the Environmental
Protection Agency had planned to spend $9 million -- $2 million of
it from the administration's friends at the American Chemistry
Council -- to pay poor families to continue to use pesticides in
their homes. These pesticides have been linked to neurological
damage in children, but instead of ordering an end to their use, the
government and the industry were going to offer the families $970
each, as well as a camcorder and children's clothing, to serve as
guinea pigs for the study.

I read all this in the news.

I read the news just last night and learned that the
administration's friends at the International Policy Network, which
is supported by Exxon Mobil and others of like mind, have issued a
new report that climate change is "a myth, sea levels are not
rising" [and] scientists who believe catastrophe is possible are "an
embarrassment."

I not only read the news but the fine print of the recent
appropriations bill passed by Congress, with the obscure (and
obscene) riders attached to it: a clause removing all endangered
species protections from pesticides; language prohibiting judicial
review for a forest in Oregon; a waiver of environmental review for
grazing permits on public lands; a rider pressed by developers to
weaken protection for crucial habitats in California.

I read all this and look up at the pictures on my desk, next to the
computer -- pictures of my grandchildren. I see the future looking
back at me from those photographs and I say, "Father, forgive us,
for we know not what we do." And then I am stopped short by the
thought: "That's not right. We do know what we are doing. We are
stealing their future. Betraying their trust. Despoiling their
world."

And I ask myself: Why? Is it because we don't care? Because we are
greedy? Because we have lost our capacity for outrage, our ability
to sustain indignation at injustice?
What has happened to our moral imagination?

On the heath Lear asks Gloucester: "How do you see the world?" And
Gloucester, who is blind, answers: "I see it feelingly.'"

I see it feelingly.

The news is not good these days. I can tell you, though, that as a
journalist I know the news is never the end of the story. The news
can be the truth that sets us free -- not only to feel but to fight
for the future we want. And the will to fight is the antidote to
despair, the cure for cynicism, and the answer to those faces
looking back at me from those photographs on my desk. What we need
is what the ancient Israelites called hochma -- the science of the
heart ... the capacity to see, to feel and then to act as if the
future depended on you.

Believe me, it does.

 

[PassTheDoobie]

I think what I want to say is one more time:

This is NOT political! Reporting the truth of what is happening in the world is not political! Discussing and acknowledging the mistakes being made in the world by the people that inhabit it IS NOT POLITICAL! We should be encouraging this kind of discourse among each other.

It's those that try and label such conversations as political that are being political. Who wants to knowingly hide their heads in the sand? If one does, then do so, but please don't label or distort the truth as being political unless you can back it up with facts and not just an opinion.

Opinions are like assholes; everybody has one. Speak yours if you like.

Thomas

 

[SoCal Hippy]

No assholing here

No assholing here

OSLO, Norway (Reuters) -- Humans are damaging the planet at an
unprecedented rate and raising risks of abrupt collapses in nature
that could spur disease, deforestation or "dead zones" in the seas, an
international report said on Wednesday.

The study, by 1,360 experts in 95 nations, said a rising human
population had polluted or over-exploited two thirds of the ecological
systems on which life depends, ranging from clean air to fresh water,
in the past 50 years.

"At the heart of this assessment is a stark warning," said the
45-member board of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.

"Human activity is putting such strain on the natural functions of
Earth that the ability of the planet's ecosystems to sustain future
generations can no longer be taken for granted," it said.

Ten to 30 percent of mammal, bird and amphibian species were already
threatened with extinction, according to the assessment, the biggest
review of the planet's life support systems.

"Over the past 50 years, humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly
and extensively than in any comparable time in human history, largely
to meet rapidly growing demands for food, fresh water, timber, fibre
and fuel," the report said.

"This has resulted in a substantial and largely irreversible loss in
the diversity of life on earth," it added. More land was changed to
cropland since 1945, for instance, than in the 18th and 19th centuries
combined.
Getting worse

"The harmful consequences of this degradation could grow significantly
worse in the next 50 years," it said. The report was compiled by
experts, including from U.N. agencies and international scientific and
development organizations.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the study "shows how human
activities are causing environmental damage on a massive scale
throughout the world, and how biodiversity -- the very basis for life
on earth -- is declining at an alarming rate."

The report said there was evidence that strains on nature could
trigger abrupt changes like the collapse of cod fisheries off
Newfoundland in Canada in 1992 after years of over-fishing.

Future changes could bring sudden outbreaks of disease. Warming of the
Great Lakes in Africa due to climate change, for instance, could
create conditions for a spread of cholera.

And a build-up of nitrogen from fertilizers washed off farmland into
seas could spur abrupt blooms of algae that choke fish or create
oxygen-depleted "dead zones" along coasts.

It said deforestation often led to less rainfall. And at some point,
lack of rain could suddenly undermine growing conditions for remaining
forests in a region.

The report said that in 100 years, global warming widely blamed on
burning of fossil fuels in cars, factories and power plants, might
take over as the main source of damage. The report mainly looks at
other, shorter-term risks.

And it estimated that many ecosystems were worth more if used in a way
that maintains them for future generations.

A wetland in Canada was worth $6,000 a hectare (2.47 acres), as a
habitat for animals and plants, a filter for pollution, a store for
water and a site for human recreation, against $2,000 if converted to
farmland, it said. A Thai mangrove was worth $1,000 a hectare against
$200 as a shrimp farm.

"Ecosystems and the services they provide are financially significant
and...to degrade and damage them is tantamount to economic suicide,"
said Klaus Toepfer, head of the U.N. Environment Program.

The study urged changes in consumption, better education, new
technology and higher prices for exploiting ecosystems.

"Governments should recognize that natural services have costs," A.H.
Zakri of the U.N. University and a co-chair of the report told
Reuters. "Protection of natural services is unlikely to be a priority
for those who see them as free and limitless."