Saturday, May 2, 2015

Humans, Earth and Cosmos (1)

The following Thay's talk is very deep.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM8-QlUJLy0


(1:33)
The earth is not just the environment. The earth is in you. You are the earth. You touch the nature of interbeing (interdependent co-arising). And that moment you can have real communication with the earth. That is the highest form of prayer.
(2:15)
First of all, we have to get right view. Right view is a kind of view that transcends all notions, including the notions of being and non-being, creator and creature, mind and spirit. That kind of insight is crucial for transformation and healing. And only then you will have that kind of right view or right insight. Discrimination is no longer there and there will be deep communion, a communication communion and a mutual understanding. And everything will come from it. Because discrimination brings about fear, separation, hate and anger. And the root is the wrong view that you and the earth are two separate entities. And the earth is only the environment. You are in the center. And you want to do something for the earth in order for you to survive. That is the non-dualistic and the dualistic way of seeing.
(3:45)
So, to breathe in, and to be aware of your body, and to look deeply into your body and to realize that you are the earth and your consciousness is also the consciousness of the earth and that consciousness can be liberated from wrong views. And you are doing what the mother earth are expecting you to do to get enlightened in order to become a Buddha and to help other living beings not only on earth but also other planets. So, we should not think of environment as something apart. Not to cut the trees, not to pollute the water...etc. That's not enough. And I think all activists have to get a spiritual practice in order to help them suffer less, to nourish the happiness in them and to handle the suffering in them so that they will be effective in trying to help the world and people. With anger and frustration, you can't do much. You may make the situation worse.
(5:28)
If we have enough mindfulness and concentration, we go get insight. And the insight is the kingdom of God is on earth. The kingdom of heaven is on earth. And if we get that insight, we see that the earth is not only the environment but the earth is us and taking care of the earth is taking care of ourselves. And many people get sick today because they get urinated by the mother earth. They forget they are on earth and they have a body that is going in them by the mother earth. And the practice of mindfulness helps us to go back to our body and touch the mother earth inside of our body and touch the mother earth outside of our body. And that practice can help heal people. So, the healing of the people should go together with the healing of the earth. That is the teaching. 

The religion that is not based on dogma and belief in a thing, you can not verify. It is possible to have a kind of spiritual practice that is based on evidence. When we say that the great earth is the beautiful Bodhisattva, we are not creating anything from our mind. This is something that everyone can check that the great earth is the real Bodhisattva, the most beautiful Bodhisattva that we have ever seen. We don't need a belief. It is the reality. It is the fact that the earth is giving life and she is very beautiful. You have been looking around and you don't see any Buddha or Bodhisattva as beautiful as our planet. So, when people say, "Let us abandon this realm of suffering in order to look for a spot that is more beautiful", we shouldn't believe it. Because we already touched the truth. 

(To be continued)

(Cf.) http://www.slideshare.net/compassion5151/notion

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