Shoshin-Zazen

There is an old Zen saying

The road enters green mountains near evening’s dark;
Beneath the white cherry trees, a Buddhist temple
Whose priest doesn’t know what regret for spring’s passing means-
Each stroke of his bell startles more blossoms into falling.

-Keijo Shurin

Time is running short.

Looking around our beloved earth, we see many things going wrong with mother earth - more than most of us would want to see. For sure, we can see them on the TV box, with powdered newcasters talking about rising sea levels and melting icecaps with monotony that can immobilse a sloth.

A midst all these destruction and construction, new generation of earth beings, or rather human beings are being called forth to save this “little blue dot” as immortalised in the three words by Carl Sagan. Do we have any choice, to save our home from fire made by its previous occupants? Who are we saving it for? Do we owe it to somebody?

If you think we should save it for our children, what do you think of the declining population in developed countries, where people are said to have the best of lives drinking and eating to their hearts content?

In fact, what do you think of countries who have to enact populist baby-incentive laws to encourage people to pro-create? Is it just a pragmatic mindset that money is the parents’ main piority, to say, give their children the best in life?

Or is just pure materialistic thinking that people now, put their finances first,to count whether the dollar and cents makes sense first (that means putting their children in the so-called best education systems), are just thinking more about me and themselves?

I would like to think that we are doing too much, and too little at the same time. The reason is because although we, as human beings, have every intention to make this blue dot right, , we still do not understand ourselves. This is the reason why we are still fighting wars, creating poverty and selfishly depriving the disadvantaged.

The deceased and controversial comedian, George Carlin, whom the christians say is in hell in paying for sins on earth, used to say quite ably, that “we human beings are so self-important” and this is going to destroy us and our planet. Even environmental groups like the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and animal groups like PETA can act violently, shows that even if a cause is for a “greater good’, their means of doing it is far from exemplary.

The twisted mind of us, humans, can be quite hard to fanthom.

Going to the point of this, have you ever thought that some of the most beautiful places on Earth are places that are the most unpopulated, and untouched by man?

Just the other day, I was walking along a “broadwalk” along a mangrove swamp, meant to protect the mangrove ecology from human beings. Looking at the crowds and spoiled view, I mused that the broadwalk has made it more conveinient for us to litter the surroundings and bring in more city dwellers to scare away the wildlife. I concluded that “conservation” meant ironically, getting human intervention away. Look at chernobyl , wherethe  worst nuclear disaster took place, and you will see an example why.

One day, I will travel to tibet and see these flags fluttering in the crystal blue sky - we are like butterflies who only live a day but think we have all the time in the world.

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