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Nature
Zayl
Veteran
Hello everyone.
I was wondering as to what the prevailing take on nature, the environment, and the natural world were among Buddhists at large? or at least your own, personal opinion on the matter. I ask this because I have grown up next to wild nature nearly my entire life. It was not until 1999 when I first ever saw the internet, and used it at a public library in town (which was a long distance from my home) and not until 2004 when we got our first dial-up connection, and finally 2008 we got DSL or somesuch... I tell you this to give some perspective. Anyway when I step outside, aside from a small clearing it immediately enters some very old forests which while I have explored since my childhood, still holds mysteries to this day.
I have seen everything from blossoming wildflowers, to a Cougar taking down a white-tailed deer, to a black bear comically rolling around in some grass (in the latter two instances, I did not stick around to watch) it is also not uncommon for me to hear a collection of howls, yelps, and other strange animal calls at night. We do not have wolves here though, just to clarify.
Perhaps it is this upbringing I had, that nature has been close to my heart ever since I was brought home from the hospital after my birth that I feel a rather strong sense of environmentalism and pure fascination when it comes to the natural world. A favorite Native American saying of mine goes "We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; We borrow it from our Children" And I feel this saying holds a resounding truth.
So again, back to my original question, how do you feel nature relates to you, your own practice, and to Buddhism in general?
I was wondering as to what the prevailing take on nature, the environment, and the natural world were among Buddhists at large? or at least your own, personal opinion on the matter. I ask this because I have grown up next to wild nature nearly my entire life. It was not until 1999 when I first ever saw the internet, and used it at a public library in town (which was a long distance from my home) and not until 2004 when we got our first dial-up connection, and finally 2008 we got DSL or somesuch... I tell you this to give some perspective. Anyway when I step outside, aside from a small clearing it immediately enters some very old forests which while I have explored since my childhood, still holds mysteries to this day.
I have seen everything from blossoming wildflowers, to a Cougar taking down a white-tailed deer, to a black bear comically rolling around in some grass (in the latter two instances, I did not stick around to watch) it is also not uncommon for me to hear a collection of howls, yelps, and other strange animal calls at night. We do not have wolves here though, just to clarify.
Perhaps it is this upbringing I had, that nature has been close to my heart ever since I was brought home from the hospital after my birth that I feel a rather strong sense of environmentalism and pure fascination when it comes to the natural world. A favorite Native American saying of mine goes "We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; We borrow it from our Children" And I feel this saying holds a resounding truth.
So again, back to my original question, how do you feel nature relates to you, your own practice, and to Buddhism in general?
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Comments
Well, most countries today in at least moderation I think. The greater the intellectual and conceptual speculation about life, the greater/more-powerful the tendency toward belief systems as transmitted through families or identified with a nation/culture, the greater the sphere of sense-pleasure available in a culture and to individuals, the greater the attachment to ritual and tradition... such (and many more) are detractors from a calm and detached mind that would have more concern for simplicity and survival than "having fun", "amassing wealth", "owning stuff", "fame and glory" and the like. America, I think, is probably the worst type of upbringing to overturn in favor of bare reality.
That's not really saying anything other than the attachments and delusions are carried upon a strong wind in this selfish, selfish land.
The move of the world deeper into self-centered thought, possession and having your desires fulfilled, takes us further and further away from the natural emergence of conditions such as in India during the Buddha's life which would have leaned (or did lean) much more heavily toward a probability of awakening rather than our predicament of ever-deepening darkness. This is I think why some despair of enlightenment being possible, but there is no reason that any of this modern world's infatuations could not be overcome; this depends greatly upon the individual effort put forth to detachment, cultivation of that which is wholesome, eradication of that which is unwholesome, and dedicated focus upon insight-meditation and other practices despite the world-that-man-made (and we each, as well).
Namaste
A couple of weeks outside of mundane cycles really goes a long way to help you think clearly. It's like a very powerful meditation that cuts straight through many of the delusions of modern life. I suppose when you see something as pure as nature, you can't help but be anywhere else but the now.
The secret is simply to Be - to live in harmony with our true 'nature'.
Unlike us, the elements of nature do not have ego. The bird sings, the wind blows, the sun rises, the river flows, just like that. In beauty and simplicity, It just is.
Any plant, animal, body of water - even a stone can be there to show us how to be at perfect ease. By observing them in their true nature, it allows us to relax into our own nature.
Some nature meditations -
River
Consider a pure, clean, river - the sun sparkling on its surface, its waters winding gently along the earth. The waters of the river flow on and on nourishing, watering, giving life to all.
Close your eyes and imagine yourself as a river flowing. Feel your inner being as liquid, flowing freely. Enjoy the gentle sensation of flowing. You're always moving, attached to nothing.
Sit like this for some time and then imagine that in the distance you can feel the presence of the ocean-vast, deep, and infinite. You can feel the ocean drawing you nearer, calling you towards it. Imagine yourself as a river flowing into the sea - imagine your river-ness merging into the sea - your small waters blending and becoming one with the vast waters of the ocean.
Sky
Consider the sky - vast and infinite; a dome with no support. It's always there above us filled with the sun and blue and clouds in the day, filled with the moon and the stars at night.
Close your eyes and imagine yourself as a vast daytime sky. Imagine your spacious, infinite blue body. Wind moves through you, clouds pass, birds fly in you. You hold everything but nothing holds you. You are free - expansive and vast.
Imagine now that you're the nighttime sky; cool, blue-black, stretching in every direction. Your infinite body is filled with shimmering stars.
Tree
Consider the miracle of a tree. From a tiny seed, a sprout erupts and grows until it becomes an exquisite tree; a source of fruit, a source of beauty and shade and shelter. The tree is strong and flexible at the same time.
With your eyes closed, imagine yourself as a beautiful living tree. Feel your roots extending deep into the rich and fertile soil of the earth. Imagine your roots drawing healingwaters and nutrients up into your trunk. Breathe and feel your life-force flowing upward through your trunk into your branches. Imagine your branches reaching upwards and outwards in all directions, your leaves reaching outward for the light of the sun. As you meditate, breathe and imagine your breathcoming in and out through millions of tiny tender leaves.
Mountain
Consider the mountain - broad, gigantic, majestic; rising up to the heavens, catching the first light of the morning on its peak.
Close your eyes and imagine that you are a mountain. You are giant, solid, immovable. Imagine your power extending before you, behind you; imagine your power extending outwards on all sides. Take time to feel the steadiness in your peak, on your surface. Imagine plumbing the depths of your steadiness - going deep inside the body of the mountain. Meditate as a mountain of steadiness and power.
But buddhism is for it as a skillful remedy to suffering. And a chance to open to wonder. We need to live in harmony.
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