Friday, June 17, 2016

Inner Green Awakening

The Buddha name means the awakened one; his awakening happened during his own climate crisis when he touched the earth to bear witness! Today’s problems requires a “Inner Green Awakening” so that we may find greater harmony with all things. 

The Buddha offered practical guidelines on how to respond with his teachings of the Noble Eight-fold Path. Let’s us build a new green mind-set. This blueprint provides clear instruction as to how to awaken and best respond. Change can be addressed using this profound wisdom with simple environment-friendly Eight-fold techniques. 

We are all interconnected as one when we maximize well being. 

Eight-fold Path basics are below in three groups; 

• FOUNDATION - 1) Virtue/Ethics Group: Skillful Speech, Action and Livelihood:

• WALLS - 2) Concentration Group: Skillful Energy, Mindfulness and Concentration 

• ROOF - 3) Wisdom Group- Skillful Understanding and Thought 

This mental home will protect us from the harsh weather elements caused by turmoil. 

1) FOUNDATION: Cultivating Virtue– Skillful Speech, Action and Livelihood are the ethical basis and support for developing this home. 

Our foundation becomes solid with right speech, actions and livelihood translating into virtuous practices and wholesome deeds. Ethical conduct happens when we treat all things and ourselves with compassion. We cultivate virtue when we care and respect for all things are one. 

Skillful Speech: We must speak the truth with heart and meaning so as to unite. Carefully listen so as to clarify the facts from fiction. Speak what is of benefit. 

Skillful Action: Show reverence for all things, we must protect and preserve all forms of living beings. We must end instead end whenever we can. 

Skillful Livelihood: Living in an eco-friendly way. Living simply so others can simply live- thus insuring future generations. Causing no harm with your life or creating future problems. 

2) WALLS: CONCENTRATION GROUP- Skillful Energy, Mindfulness and Concentration: All these factors work together. - Walls hold or cherish this place and create sacred space. 

Skillful Energy: Prevent, Preserve, Protect and Prosper. Prevent climate change, preserve our resources, protect ourselves and prosper from these deeds. 

Skillful Mindfulness: Remembering and observing what is happening now. It is non-judgmental, present moment awareness. So mindfulness is the new mental blueprint to securely build our sacred mental house. 

Skillful Concentration: Unifying your intention so you pay attention in the moment. Focus clearly to a wholesome mind-set increasing your mental power. This mental power will cultivate wisdom and understanding to penetrate into the problem of climate change. Getting the walls squared requires concentration. 

3) ROOF: WISDOM Group - Skillful Understanding and Thought: Interconnecting it all together. SEPARATION = SUFFERING 

Now that we have the foundation (virtues) and walls (concentration) what are we missing? We all need protection from our own inner climate change or roof protection. The roof encloses our inner home. Wisdom via skillful Understanding and Thought caps this structure within. It interconnects the walls and foundation together. 

Skillful Understanding: The Buddha laid down the teaching on “Dependent Co-arising” - nothing is independent in the world- “everything is interconnected”. For instance if your mindless your roof will leak and damage your walls and foundation. 

Skillful Thought: Friendliness, generosity, and compassion. These are roofing materials safeguarding our inner home. 

Call for Action 

To address change and dissatisfaction, we must skillfully think before we act. Virtuous thoughts will secure our Foundation through skillful speech, actions and livelihood. Our Walls of Concentration create skillful energy, mindfulness and focus. Our Roof brings it together through skillful understanding and thought. 

Remember you awaken within when you maximize well-being. 

• Show reverence with generous ways, right action and speech securing a firm foundation cultivating virtue; 

• Concentrate on harmonizing by holding or creating inner space creating the walls of loving kindness. Love for earth and ourselves as one with an attitude of gratitude. 

• Finally, Compassion balances our Wisdom by understanding our interconnection and also generous nature. 

We can respond to climate change with the tools to overcome GREED, HATRED AND DELUSION WITH NEED, LOVE AND VISION. 

Take the word EARTH and take the H from the end of it and put it to the front. It spells HEART. Now let us touch our hearts together to express ONE response to our INNER GREEN AWAKENING. TOUCH OUR EARTH WITH YOUR HEART on the Noble Eight-fold Path.