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"Braiding Sweetgrass"

"Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Wall Kimmerer is a profound exploration of indigenous wisdom, ecology, and the interconnectedness of all living beings. Kimmerer, a botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, weaves together personal narratives, scientific insights, and indigenous teachings to offer a vision of reciprocity and reverence for the natural world.

 

Here are some key lessons from the book

 

1. The Importance of Indigenous Wisdom: Kimmerer highlights the value of indigenous knowledge systems, which are deeply rooted in respect for the land and all its inhabitants. She emphasizes the need to learn from indigenous peoples and incorporate their perspectives into our understanding of ecology and sustainability.

 

2. Reciprocity with the Natural World: Central to Kimmerer's teachings is the concept of reciprocity—the idea that humans should give back to the earth as much as they take. She encourages readers to cultivate a reciprocal relationship with the natural world, honoring and respecting the gifts it provides.

 

3. The Language of Plants: Kimmerer explores the rich language of plants and the ways in which they communicate with each other and with humans. She encourages readers to listen to the wisdom of plants and learn from their teachings.

 

4. Cultivating Gratitude: Gratitude is a recurring theme in the book, with Kimmerer emphasizing the importance of gratitude as a practice for connecting with the earth and fostering a sense of belonging and interconnectedness.

 

5. Honoring Ancestral Knowledge: Kimmerer pays homage to the wisdom of her ancestors and encourages readers to reconnect with their own ancestral knowledge. She suggests that by honoring the wisdom of those who came before us, we can gain insights into living more harmoniously with the earth.

 

6. The Ethics of Gathering: Gathering food and materials from the land is an important part of many indigenous cultures, but Kimmerer stresses the importance of doing so ethically and sustainably. She advocates for practices that respect the land and ensure its health and vitality for future generations.

 

7. Restoring Ecological Balance: Kimmerer discusses the urgent need for humans to play a role in restoring ecological balance and healing the damage caused by human activities. She offers insights into how we can work with nature rather than against it to create a more sustainable future.

 

8. The Power of Storytelling: Throughout the book, Kimmerer uses storytelling as a powerful tool for conveying knowledge and wisdom. She demonstrates the importance of storytelling in indigenous cultures and encourages readers to embrace storytelling as a way of connecting with the land and with each other.

 

9. Finding Beauty in the Natural World: "Braiding Sweetgrass" is filled with descriptions of the beauty and wonder of the natural world. Kimmerer invites readers to slow down, observe the world around them, and find beauty and meaning in the smallest of details.

 

10. Living in Kinship with All Beings: Ultimately, Kimmerer's teachings revolve around the idea of living in kinship with all beings. She encourages readers to cultivate a sense of reverence, responsibility, and reciprocity in their relationships with the earth and all its inhabitants.

 

"Braiding Sweetgrass" is a lyrical and deeply moving book that challenges readers to rethink their relationship with the natural world and embrace a more holistic and interconnected way of living. It offers profound lessons in ecology, spirituality, and indigenous wisdom that are essential for navigating the challenges of the modern world.

 

Book: https://amzn.to/4dpAhv1

You can get the audiobook for FREE by using the same link above when you register on the Audible platform.

10 practical lessons from Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmere

 

10 practical lessons from Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer:

 

1. Cultivate gratitude: Embrace a mindset of gratitude towards nature and the interconnected web of life, recognizing the gifts that the natural world provides.

 

2. Embrace reciprocity: Understand the importance of reciprocity in our relationship with the natural world, acknowledging the need to give back and care for the earth in return for what it provides us.

 

3. Cultivate a deeper connection with nature: Develop a conscious and respectful relationship with the natural world, fostering a sense of interconnectedness and mutual respect.

 

4. Honor indigenous wisdom: Embrace the wisdom of indigenous cultures and their deep understanding of the natural world, recognizing the value of traditional ecological knowledge.

 

5. Foster environmental stewardship: Take proactive steps to care for the environment and advocate for the protection of natural spaces, recognizing our responsibility as stewards of the earth.

 

6. Embrace the teachings of plants: Learn from the wisdom of plants and the natural world, recognizing the valuable lessons they have to offer about resilience, adaptation, and interconnectedness.

 

7. Cultivate a sense of belonging in nature: Foster a deep sense of belonging and connection to the natural world, recognizing that humans are an integral part of the larger ecosystem.

 

8. Practice sustainable living: Embrace sustainable practices and advocate for environmentally conscious living, recognizing the importance of living in harmony with nature.

 

9. Learn from indigenous storytelling: Embrace the power of storytelling as a means of transmitting wisdom, knowledge, and cultural values, recognizing the importance of preserving and sharing indigenous stories.

 

10. Advocate for environmental justice: Stand up for the rights of marginalized communities and the protection of natural resources, recognizing the interconnectedness of social justice and environmental sustainability.

Joanna Macy & Chris Johnstone introduce ACTIVE HOPE

 

 

A Hopi perspective

 

“We were told that we would see America come and go. In a sense, Humanity is dying, from within, because they forgot the instructions of how to live on earth. It's the Hopi belief, it's our belief, that if you are not spiritually connected to the earth, and understand the spiritual reality of how to live on earth, it's likely that you will not make it.

 

Everything is spiritual, everything has a spirit, everything was brought here by the creator, the one creator. Some people call him God, some people call him Buddha, some people call him Allah, some people call him other names. We call him Tunkaschila... Grandfather.

 

We are here on earth only a few winters, then we go to the spirit world. The spirit world is more real than most of us believe.

 

The spirit world is everything. Over 95% of our body is water. In order to stay healthy, you've got to drink good water. ... Water is sacred, the air is sacred.

 

Our DNA is made out of the same DNA as the tree, the tree breaths what we exhale, we need what the tree exhales. So we have a common destiny with the tree.

 

We are all from the earth, and when the earth, the water, the atmosphere is corrupted, then it will create its own reaction. The mother is reacting.

 

In the Hopi prophecy, they say the storms and floods will become greater. To me, it's not a negative thing to know that there will be great changes. It's not negative, it's evolution. When you look at it as evolution, it's time, nothing stays the same. You should learn how to plant something. That is the first connection.

 

You should treat all things as spirit, realize that we are one family. It's never something like the end. It's like life, there is no end to life.”

 

~Floyd Red Crow Westerman

Borrowed from All Natives United

"We are all connected; we all belong."

Dharmavidya's Buddhist Podcasts and Zoom groups

Dharmavidya writes, on issuing today's podcast:

A full list of podcasts in June is :: here

To receive the podcasts  :: contact Dharmavidya


GROUPS NEWS

There are  three "friendship, support and learning" zoom groups.. All three meetings are 90 minutes long.  Do come and join in.

Amida Shu Interest Group
On Sunday at 11am Rome time (11.00)
This group is open to anybody, but will be most relevant to people who receive these podcasts.  There is often a talk about a topic related to one of the recent podcasts, plus time for discussion in break-out groups and for questions and sharing in the whole group. This group meets each week at the same time.

Amida Shu Friendship Group
On Sunday at 8pm Rome time (20.00)
A similarly open group with a more conversational style.  Topics include podcast themes, current affairs and Pureland practice. This group meets each week at the same time.

Amida Shu Refuge Group
On alternate Saturdays and Mondays at 2pm Rome time (14.00)
This group is for Amida Shu members and others who have taken refuge and is primarily a sangha building group.  This group meets on Saturdays once per fortnight and on Mondays in the intervening week.

If you would like to attend any of these groups (or to receive the podcasts) :: let Dharmavidya know and he will send you the join code if you don't already have it.

There is now an Amida Interest Group meeting on Thursdays at 6pm (Rome) in Italian!  Contact  Angela Romani or myself for details.  And if you prefer Dutch, do contact Vajrapala, or I can put you in touch.  Also I'm still trying to find a few more people in the east (Asia/Australia) who might be interested in a fortnightly Buddhist Psychology interest group.

OTHER STUFF
On the ecological problem and how to solve the dilemmas that this creates for society, there are some good ideas in this little film from BBC
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p08hppxt/how-the-dutch-are-reshaping-their-post-pandemic-utopia
As she says, the "Doughnut idea" only really defines the problem; it does not, in itself, provide the answers.  Nonetheless, changing goals and changing the way we think about things can yield results eventually and help policy makers.

Namo Amida Bu
Dharmavidya

How an army of women resurrected a river

Women in Vellore, India, have resurrected the Naganadhi river and the agriculture of the area that were almost lost to drought. In 2014, the women took matters into their own hands and worked with engineers and hydrologists to build 600 recharge wells by hand: digging wells, making cement rings, placing the rings and stones, and planting drought-resistant saplings along the river basin. This labor-intensive work has resulted in wells that help replenish the groundwater. They have not only brought a dead river back to life, but have ensured their children do not endure the hardship they did.

http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=8497

Bhikkhu Bodhi addresses the Climate Crisis at the UN (Video)

:: link

Watch below as Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi addresses the UN on the climate crisis. According to scientists, we have only a matter of years to prevent widespread ecological collapse, and every day new reports suggest that the window of opportunity might be even smaller than anticipated. As Bhikkhu Bodhi points out, much of this gets little attention by mainstream media, “A symptom of how we can seal from ourselves, the real perils that lie just before us.”

Indeed, delusion, often self-delusion, is at the root of, well, most everything in Buddhism. And as such it is incumbent upon Buddhists to seek out the roots of that delusion and see the reality of the climate crisis as it is.

Four years ago, Bhikkhu Bodhi was a signature on the “Call to Action for U.S. and World Leaders to Proactively Address the Adverse Psychological and Social Impacts of Climate Disruption” (see link below), and he has continued his steadfast work to raise awareness about this pressing concern. As he says in the address:

The discourses of the Buddha speak of the causal origins of suffering primarily in the framework of the individual quest for liberation. They show how the mental afflictions damage our personal lives and how was individuals. We can free ourselves from them today. However, as the world has been integrated into a single interdependent global order, we have to examine how this process of causation operates at a collective level and then based on this investigation we must determine the kind of changes we must make in our societies, political institutions, and global policies to avoid the adversities we face as an international community. We can call this a global application of sati sampajañña, of mindfulness and clear comprehension of all the dangers we face together today, the most formidable, the most all-embracing, and the most threatening is the one usually called climate change, but which perhaps might be more accurately called climate destabilization or climate disorientation.

As William Edelglass astutely argued recently:

“Buddhism offers a vast tradition of philosophical and moral reflection. But traditions endure only to the degree to which they address the experience and concerns of each new generation. Our contemporary concerns include justice and inequality, navigating difference in multicultural societies, climate change, and the pervasiveness of information technology. Discerning how to speak, act, and think skillfully in our contemporary context requires us to engage with these concerns. As Buddhists, we should not be afraid of drawing on Western thought when it can help with this engagement.”

Indeed, as Bhikkhu Bodhi says:

Above all, we have to turn away from a social system driven by greed, by the quest for limitless profits, by competition, exploitation, and violence against other people and the natural world, social systems that allow a few to flourish while millions, even billions, live on the edge of survival. Instead, we need to envision new collective systems of global integration that give priority to cooperation and collaboration, to living in harmony with each other and with nature, systems that will enable all people to flourish economically, socially, and spiritually.

Can we do this before it is too late?

Buddhist leaders: sign to raise awareness of the psychological, spiritual, and moral effects of climate change

 

:: link

Buddhist Action Month 2019: Climate Action – Personal Action

Buddhist Action Month 2019

Climate Action – Personal Action

:: link to download your own copy

BAM Handbook Ideas, Tips, Inspiration

Ver. 2

Contents

2019 Theme .....................................................................................................................................................

3 A Buddhist Approach .......................................................................................................................................

4 Some more about Buddhist Action Month.......................................................................................................

5 Who are the Network of Buddhist Organisations UK (NBO).............................................................................

6 What Can I Do? ................................................................................................................................................

7 Suggestions for BAM Activities ......................................................................................................................

15 Appendix 1: The Language of Climate Change ...............................................................................................

18Appendix 2: Letter to the Earth......................................................................................................................

21 Appendix 3 : Resources for our times ............................................................................................................

23 Appendix 4: Other Groups .............................................................................................................................

26 Appendix 5: Verses for inspiration .................................................................................................................

27 Acknowledgments .........................................................................................................................................31

2

2019 Theme

The Network of Buddhist Organisations has chosen the theme Climate Action – Personal Action for Buddhist Action Month 2019.

In the last 50 years the average global temperature has risen at the fastest rate in recorded history.1

This rising temperature has fuelled the extreme weather patterns and events that we are becoming more familiar with. Climate change has created droughts that lead to forest fires, and floods that wipe out homes and habitats and lives.

As the temperature in the oceans increases tropical storms gather more energy and create more destruction.2

“Climate change is devastating people's lives all over the world. With drought, storms,floods, crop damage and sea-level rise, millions are fleeing their homes. And it's the world’spoorest who are hardest hit.

The UN Refugee Agency says climate change adds to many of today’s conflicts — fromDarfur to Somalia to Iraq and Syria.”3

According to a recent study burning fossil fuels is now the “most significant threat tochildren’s health”4

The first teaching of the Buddha was the Four Noble Truths. How can we form a Noble response to climate change?

Supported by the teachings of the Buddha and our teachers through the ages we begin to inhabit the good qualities the Buddha described: generosity, ethics, wisdom, compassion and so on.

Supported by experts in climate change and environmental work, we can bring these qualities to actions that make a difference.

We can educate others, change our individual habits and take collective action.

1 https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/ 21/02/2019
2 https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-warming-101 21/02/2019
3 https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate-change 21/02/2019
4 Perera F, Pollution from Fossil-Fuel Combustion is the Leading Environmental Threat to

Global Pediatric Health and Equity: Solutions Exist, Int J Environ Res Public Healthhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29295510

3

A Buddhist Approach

What is a Buddhist approach to responding to the climate crisis?

In February 2019 members of different Buddhist groups came together at an NBO facilitated event in London. Shared values that emerged from conversations at that event include:

•   Compassion for self, others and planet, love of humanity

•   Having responsibility for our actions and their consequences

•   Truthfulness, non-greed and non-harmfulness

•   Responsivity not reactivity

•   Wanting to hold space for reflection rather than rushing in

•   Becoming aware of our underling motives to act

•   Aiming to avoid polarisation: the middle way

Trees for Life rewilding project wins global conservation competition

 

Scotland’s only entry in a leading global conservation competition has won funding of more than £20,000 to address biodiversity loss and deforestation in the Highlands, including through the planting of 50,000 native trees and the creation of habitats that will offer a lifeline to endangered and rare wildlife.

Trees for Life’s Rewilding the Highlands initiative has won the Alpine category of the 2016 European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) Conservation Vote, securing more than 7,000 votes and widespread social media support in a tightly contested international online vote that was held between 8-22 March.

The success will allow Trees for Life to establish one of the UK’s most inspiring examples of rewilding. This will involve ambitious habitat creation to support wildlife including pine marten, red squirrel, golden eagle and Scottish wildcat, the planting of 50,000 native trees, and also the annual growing of 10,000 rare montane tree species, at Trees for Life’s Dundreggan Conservation Estate in Glenmoriston to the west of Loch Ness.

Dogen ~ Dharmavidya

Eihei Dogen (1200-1253) was the founder of the Soto Shu, a Japanese school of Zen based on a Chinese tradition. He was an important philosopher and his major work was called the Shobogenzo.

Dogen was an illegitimate son of a high official, Minamoto Michitomo. His mother died when he was seven years old.

He ordained as a Tendai monk. The Tendai Shu taught that all beings are intrinsically endowed with Dharma Nature. Dogen became preoccupied with the question, if this is so, why do Buddhas need to teach?  

Not finding an answer, he went to study Rinzai Zen under the master Myozen who was the successor of Eisai, the founder of Rinzai Shu in Japan.

In 1223, Myozen and Dogen travelled together to China seeking further teachings. In those days this was a hazardous journey.