May You Be Happy and Well
Infinite life. What would we do without plants? What would plants do without sunshine, water, and nutrients in the soil, not to mention insects and microscopic organisms? Even if we wanted to exist on a diet of burgers and ice cream, they wouldn’t be available to us without all of the above plus countless other life forms. The disappearance of bees has already been causing concern in the agricultural world for some time. Without bees, crops don’t get pollinated; and without crops … well, you get the picture about ecosystems.
Plants are producers and we are consumers. We rely on an infinite number of lives to exist. However, according to a recent United Nations report compiled by hundreds of international experts and based on over 15,000 studies, some one million plant and animal species are now at risk of extinction, endangering the ecosystems that are necessary to our very survival. Scientists say that the global ecosystem is undergoing a “sixth extinction.” The previous ones were caused by natural or unavoidable occurrences like volcanic eruptions or asteroid strikes. It has been shown that the current extinction is due to human activities such as land use, pollution, over-hunting and overfishing, and the depletion non-renewable “resources.” But while we may acknowledge that we should be mindful of the way we treat our planet, isn’t it our tendency to believe that our actions are gestures of our kindness and compassion to other life?
Given the urgency of our global situation, we would do well to heed the words of Robert Watson, chair of the UN organization that produced the report at the request of the world’s governments: “The health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever. We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.”
He’s not just talking about the poor in far-flung places. As we are witnessing through other daily news as diverse as trade retaliation and measles outbreaks, we’re all in this together whether we like it or not.
In a perfect world, we would always be mindful of Amida—of the vast net of interdependent, immeasurable life of which each of us is a part. We would take just enough, and with gratitude and wisdom, look after all that sustains us so that we and all life could co-exist and flourish in balance and harmony. But we are imperfect beings, unable to fully control our greed, aversion, and delusion. Great life has carried us this far, but now there are holes and tears in the net. The report states that the average abundance of native plant and animal life has fallen by more than twenty per cent over the past century alone. It warns that extinction rates are currently tens to hundreds of times higher than they have been in the past ten million years. Did the Buddha foresee this?
Like everything in life, we need to take the middle path and strike a balance. Our teaching normally says jiri-rita, benefitting oneself, benefitting others. But since we are such deluded beings, perhaps we might react more readily to the notion that benefitting others is benefitting oneself. What will get us to wake up? Our only recourse is to rely on other and do no harm. Easier said than done, and we thus see our true selves.
As we head into Obon season, may we reflect deeply on the infinite life that has brought us to our current station. It took so many beings so much to get us here. Let us humbly and gratefully act in accordance with the truth of interdependence, not because we are enlightened beings, but in response to the call of great life from deep within, going back to the fathomless past. I am because we are.
For our students, as you graduate from one level to the next, and for all of your days, may you be happy and well; may no harm or difficulties come to you; may you live in peace and harmony. May this be so for all beings.
Namo Amida Butsu.
Gassho, Rev. Patricia Usuki