Compassion is a human value learned when we are babies. A little older, many of us apply the principle to the natural environment and all its non-human actors. Yes that is a jump, but it definitely falls into the realm of self actualization. The earth and its environment need a counterbalancing force to the forces of raw short term economic exploitation. It is not clear that we have enough compassion, or even common sense as a species, to balance exploitation and sustainability.
The indigenous nature-based religions of the world have a strong tradition of that balance. Without the tools of the scientific method and with a mystic view of nature, perhaps destructive exploitation did not occur to them. And without vast machinery of industry, their ability to exploit beyond sustainability was limited.
Christianity's "multiply and subdue" passage, coupled with the tools of industry, has resulted, though not necessarily by intelligent design, in a culture of unsustainable exploitation of nature. That is not to say that philosophy is shared by all Christians, or that there have not been Christians with a focus on sustainability. One need only look at the work of Thomas Merton.
Taoism, with strong roots in nature, proposes a balance between man and nature. Modern Buddhism has addressed the question too. This week is a series of talks in Portland and Eugene by the Dalai Lama and others on the application of compassion and spirituality to environmental sustainability.
The events are long since sold out. But each event is being webcast live. Free!
May 9: “Spirituality & the Environment” at the University of Portland 9AM-11:30
Live webcast can be viewed at http://www.dalailama.com/live-portland9am
May 9: “Universal Responsibility & the Inner Environment” at the University of Portland 1:30PM-3
Live webcast can be viewed at http://www.dalailama.com/live-portland9pm
May 10: “Life and After Life” at Maitripa College 9AM-11
Live webcast can be viewed at http://www.dalailama.com/live-portland10am
May 10: “The Path to Peace and Happiness in the Global Society” at the University of Oregon’s Matthew Knight Arena 1:30-3:30
Live webcast can be viewed at http://www.uoregon.edu/
May 11: “Universal Responsibility & the Global Environment” at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland 9:30AM-11
Live webcast can be viewed at http://www.dalailama.com/live-portland11am
May 11: “Inspiration for the Global Environment” at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum 1:30PM-3:30
Live webcast can be viewed at http://www.dalailama.com/live-portland11pm
The webcasts are also available at http://youtube.com/dalailama or http://www.dalailama.com/liveweb.
All times Pacific time, now GMT-7.
We live in an era of spiritual remix. Each of us today can construct a personal spiritual system from samples of many available. Maybe a little Buddhist compassion for sustainability and the environment is a good sample for each of us to include?
Live, learn, act (compassionately).
