Nature Brings Peace and Harmony: Day 33

I delivered this lecture last Sunday, July 12, 2020.

            Thank you very much. Seicho-No-Ie believes that all religions emanate from the Great Universal Life that permeates the universe. In Christianity this Great Universal Life is called God. In Buddhism it is called the Tathagata of Light. Rev. Masaharu Taniguchi said that the Bodhisattva Who Reflects the Sounds of the World is the manifestation of the great compassion of the Tathagata of Light unhindered in all directions. In other words, the Bodhisattva Who Reflects the Sounds of the World is the manifestation of the Great Universal Life.

            The Prayer to Praise the Bodhisattva Who Reflects the Sounds of the World states:

This world manifests the power of the superb wisdom of the Bodhisattva Who Reflects the Sounds of the World. The term, “the Bodhisattva Who Reflects the Sounds of the World” is not a mere proper noun for one individual bodhisattva. It is great compassion, the power of superb wisdom, and the law of the mind that are omnipresent in the universe. Reflecting the sounds of the world means that great compassion as well as the principle of freely empathizing function that manifests in forms in accordance with the wishes of all living things to save them. This is what is meant when we say that the Bodhisattva changes into 33 different forms to save us. That the Bodhisattva manifests as the law of the mind, according to the minds of living things, is in itself great compassion. (Song In Praise of the Bodhisattva Who Reflects the Sounds of the World)

            The Bodhisattva Who Reflects the Sounds of the World appears before us in different forms and appearances in accordance with our minds. Sometimes it appears as a father, mother, or friend. At other times it may appear as an enemy or foe. Sometimes it appears as nature. Rev. Taniguchi states as follows:

The Bodhisattva Who Reflects the Sounds of the World appears in different forms and gives us lectures of salvation. The shapes of the mountains, the coming and going of the clouds, the sounds of the wind, the flow of the rivers—they are all the lessons of compassion of the Bodhisattva Who Reflects the Sounds of the World. Those who have ears in their mind should listen; those who have eyes in their mind should see. (Ibid.)

            We must learn from everything, not only from human beings but also from all incidents, circumstances, and nature. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “It has already been illustrated that every natural process is a version of a moral sentence. The moral law lies at the center of nature and radiates to the circumference. It is the pith and marrow of every substance, every relation, and every process. All things with which we deal preach to us. What is a farm but a mute gospel? The chaff and the wheat, weeds, and plants, blight, rain, insects, sun—it is a sacred emblem from the first furrow of spring to the last stack which the snow of winter overtakes in the fields. But the sailor, the shepherd, the miner, the merchant, in their several resorts, have each an experience precisely parallel and leading to the same conclusion because all organizations are radically alike.” (Selected Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson Vol. I)

            We are all a part of nature and are all alike because we all came from one Great Universal Life. Why is nature important in Seicho-No-Ie? Seicho-No-Ie follows the Seven Promulgation of Light. The first three promulgations are as follows:

1.          We resolve to transcend all religious and sectarian differences, worship Life, and live in accordance with the laws of Life.

2.         We believe that the laws governing the manifestation of Life constitute the path to infinite spiritual growth and that the Life within the individual is immortal.

3.         We study the creative laws of Life and publicize our findings so that mankind may tread the true path to infinite growth.

            The highlighted words are “life” and “life” not only includes human beings but ALL living beings. All livings beings cannot live without nature. We cannot live without nature. Nature is a part of our lives. Human beings are part of nature. We must coexist. Seicho-No-Ie has been educating its members and the public to change our attitude towards nature and change our treatment of nature. In Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi’s New Year’s message, which is also in the July newsletter, entitled, “Why do we need to change our lifestyles?” he wrote:

          Now, throughout the world, with traditional crops facing difficulty in growing due to the effects of climate change, fishing zones becoming less available, and droughts or heavy floods, wildfires and mudslides taking place more often, food shortages and water shortages are looming. In such circumstances, the world population has risen to 7.6 billion and will soon reach 9 billion. The gap between the economically “rich” and “poor” countries continues to widen. The widening gap between the rich and poor has various negative effects on society. One of them is that the majority who are put on the “poor side” would get increasingly indifferent to the wellbeing of society. There would be an increased tendency to curse society, disrupt order, and head towards destructive activities. This happens not only within one country but also between countries. We are witnessing this in the form of terrorism and the expansion of international conflicts.

            The exploitation of nature not only damages the environment but also to creates a gap between the poor and the rich and consequently disrupts the order of society and destroys nature. Please read this message in the July newsletter again. In the same newsletter, Mrs. Keiko Miura shared her eco-friendly lifestyle in the middle of the biggest city in the world, New York City. Her example shows us what is possible and shows what we can do to work in harmony with and help preserve nature.

            Learning from nature is important to changing the course of human life to create a better world. The world is seemingly moving in the wrong direction as human beings are destroying nature and climate change gets worse.

            The United Nations issued a stern warning in their July 6, 2020 report, “Preventing the Next Pandemic.” In this report, Ingar Andersen, Executive Director of UN Environment Programme, clearly writes that science shows that in the coming years, infectious diseases will shift from animals to human beings if wildlife exploitation and ecosystem destruction continue. This report talks about zoonosis which is an illness spread to human beings through animals.

            It is said that 60 percent of known infectious diseases in humans and 75 percent of all emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic. Ebola, SARS, the Zika virus, and bird flu all infected people by the way of animals. The report pointed out that the increase in zoonosis is caused by the demand for increased meat consumption, unsustainable agriculture, wildlife exploitation, and incessant increase in natural resource utilization. Currently, we have been fighting COVID-19 which is also zoonotic. COVID-19 has caused profound damages to human health, societies, and the economy throughout the world.

            As of July 10, 2020, COVID-19 has brought the death toll to over 565 thousand worldwide. In addition, two million people, mainly lower to middle income, die each year due to zoonotic diseases. To prevent a future pandemic, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “To prevent future outbreaks, countries need to conserve wild habitats, promote sustainable agriculture, strengthen food safety standards, monitor and regulate food markets, invest in technology to identify risks, and curb the illegal trade in wildlife.” (UN website)

            It is difficult to do something that we are no accustomed to, but we should all try to do our part to help protect nature. Seicho-No-Ie currently promotes PBS activities such as the Organic Vegetable Gardening Club, Bicycle Club, and Craft Club to do our part to help preserve nature and learn how to incorporate an eco-friendly lifestyle into our busy everyday life.

            Because of the pandemic and restriction of leaving home, like Keiko, my wife planted a mini vegetable garden. Every day after Shinsokan Meditation we walk around our neighborhood for an hour and return home at around 7 am. My wife then waters her mini garden. She is excited when she finds sprouts and buds on her vegetables and herb plants. She either brings shiso leaves, oregano, palely, or lemon thyme to our meals. Last Thursday, she started using oregano, sage, lemon thyme, and lemon balm to make natural yeast. I love basil paste, but since we don’t have basil in our garden, I used oregano to make a paste. It was not bad.

            My wife and I enjoy vegetables and herbs from our garden. We also enjoy our morning walks because it gives us a chance to spend quality time together and with nature. These are small steps towards decreasing meat consumption and working towards a sustainable lifestyle.

            As Seicho-No-Ie membership increases, the sustainable, nature-friendly lifestyle will increase. I admire Canada's endeavor to help decrease climate change. Canadian Prime minister Justin Trudeau announced on June 22, 2020, that their government would invest almost $100 million on Canada’s plant-based food industry. This is an example that countries can do to help the world.

            Seicho-No-Ie has invested money to build mega-solar panels in 3 different locations in Japan and also invested in geothermal power generation in Beppu Oita, Kyushu. These actions directly help manifest future world peace and contribute indirectly to decreasing the inequality of the distribution of wealth through decreased use of fossil fuels.

            When we are able to hold our Nature Blessing Festa in the future, we will have a mini-event to promote PBS at this center. Thank you very much.