One Earth Sangha

[Kim O'Hara]

New environmentally-focused group:
http://1earthsangha.org/

Welcome to One Earth Sangha (1EarthSangha). This site has just been born, and is poised for rapid growth. In coordination with Gaia House in the UK and Green Sangha in the Bay Area ...

Our mission is to support awakening and responding to climate change and other threats through education, sustainable living and careful advocacy. We explore the teachings of the Buddhist path and how they can inform, support and motivate this work. We recognize the critical role that sangha plays in this work. We need each other. Therefore, we are committed to making connections that bring together a variety of environmental, cultural, racial, socioeconomic, Buddhist lineage and faith voices all to deepen our practice of responding to the call of our home.

I'm not part of it (yet, anyway!) but think it's a great initiative and hope it does well.


Kim

[Konchog1]

He who chases two birds shall attain neither?

[Kim O'Hara]

He who chases two birds shall attain neither?

That depends a lot on whether they fly off together or in different directions.

But why don't we use plain language instead of easily-misunderstood metaphors?


Kim

[lobster]

Are they affiliated to the One Earth Army?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Earth_Battalion

Mother Earth… my life support system… as a soldier… I must drink your blue water… live inside your red clay and eat your green skin.

I pray… my boots will always kiss your face and my footsteps match your heartbeat.

Carry my body through space and time… you are my connection to the Universe… and all that comes after.

I am yours and you are mine.

I salute you.

[Kim O'Hara]

Are they affiliated to the One Earth Army?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Earth_Battalion

Mother Earth… my life support system… as a soldier… I must drink your blue water… live inside your red clay and eat your green skin.

I pray… my boots will always kiss your face and my footsteps match your heartbeat.

Carry my body through space and time… you are my connection to the Universe… and all that comes after.

I am yours and you are mine.

I salute you.

Nope ... no on their site - see for yourself.
Try again (helpful list of possibilities is below).


Kim

One earth.png (32.77 KiB) Viewed 2775 times

[lobster]

Try again

OK, staring at goats was kinda boring anyways . . .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Men_Wh ... ats_(film)

Several years ago I booked a retreat at Gaia House. Had my bus ticket but they in their wisdom decided it was too advanced for my limited abilities - ain't it the truth though.

I went anyway, having bought the weekly return ticket. I had to do a solo retreat unbeknownst to them, in land several miles away. So I could practice in my limited way, without disturbing the advanced mindful ones. It was March and quite cold and for reasons best known to karma, I only had a summer sleeping bag. My first night of shivering practice was no match for tumo adepts, but I have fond memories . . .

My fishing tent was barely large enough to lie down in and the next day I purchased a warm sleeping bag. During the day I walked around a nearby tree. I sat, chanted quietly or internally, was visited by the kindly farmer who gave me his blessing to stay for a week and even create a fire - which I never did being loath to kill grass that I would be responsible for throughout all incarnation . . .

I hope the one earth sangha initiative will be as successful as my time in nature, watching very early spring flowers and returning just as snow was falling on local moorland . . .

[Kim O'Hara]

Try again

OK, staring at goats was kinda boring anyways . . .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Men_Wh ... ats_(film)

I read the book and I found it ... fascinating ... in an kind of way.
I have trouble imagining the movie. Maybe that's good.

Several years ago I booked a retreat at Gaia House. Had my bus ticket but they in their wisdom decided it was too advanced for my limited abilities - ain't it the truth though.

I went anyway, having bought the weekly return ticket. I had to do a solo retreat unbeknownst to them, in land several miles away. So I could practice in my limited way, without disturbing the advanced mindful ones. It was March and quite cold and for reasons best known to karma, I only had a summer sleeping bag. My first night of shivering practice was no match for tumo adepts, but I have fond memories . . .

My fishing tent was barely large enough to lie down in and the next day I purchased a warm sleeping bag. During the day I walked around a nearby tree. I sat, chanted quietly or internally, was visited by the kindly farmer who gave me his blessing to stay for a week and even create a fire - which I never did being loath to kill grass that I would be responsible for throughout all incarnation . . .

I hope the one earth sangha initiative will be as successful as my time in nature, watching very early spring flowers and returning just as snow was falling on local moorland . . .

Thank you for sharing that story, lobster. I know nothing of Gaia House (wrong hemisphere) but you seem to have made the best choices in the circumstances and benefited accordingly.



Kim

[DGA]

from their website:

we’re currently hosting the Request for Teachings letter to teachers in the Insight Tradition to contemplate the dharma of and engage sanghas on climate suffering.

This is excellent: I agree completely that Buddhist teachers need to consider the suffering caused by climate change, its causes, and its consequences. I'm a bit disappointed that their scope is limited only to the Insight Meditation scene, though: a relatively small segment of the overall Buddhist community. There are other Buddhist schools and teachers who are already on board with this kind of thinking (see the example below); it might be more effective and more convincing for the One Earth Sangha to coordinate more broadly.

the pillars of International Tendai, for laity and ordained, should be:

*Spiritual awakening of the participant through practices, devotion and study,
*positive contributions to self, family, society, and the environment,
*engaged service to others
*integration of the sacred and the provisional to attain peace and equanimity on earth and an assurance of liberation from dukkha, now and in future lives.

http://dctendai.blogspot.com/2013/06/co ... ional.html