Learning Buddhism from Our Natural Environment

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Learning Buddhism from Our Natural Environment

• Owen Shieh
• 2008 Florida Buddhist Summer Camp
• Orlando, Florida

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Quote from Dr. Albert Einstein
Buddhism has the characteristics of what would
be expected in a cosmic religion for the future
it transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and
theology it covers both the natural spiritual,
and it is based on a religious sense aspiring
from the experience of all things as a meaningful
unity.
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Quote from Dr. Albert Einstein
If there is any religion that would cope with
modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism.
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What is our natural environment?

• Photo by Owen Shieh. Please do not use or
  reproduce without permission.

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What is our natural environment?

• Photo by Owen Shieh. Please do not use or
  reproduce without permission.

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What is our natural environment?

• Photo by Owen Shieh. Please do not use or
  reproduce without permission.

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What is our natural environment?

• Photo by Owen Shieh. Please do not use or
  reproduce without permission.

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What is our natural environment?

• Photo by Owen Shieh. Please do not use or
  reproduce without permission.

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What is our natural environment?

• Photo by Owen Shieh. Please do not use or
  reproduce without permission.

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What is our natural environment?

• The earth.
• Land, atmosphere, ocean ? biosphere
• The universe.
• Planets, solar system, stars, galaxies, other
  solar systems, other planets, other life, other
  universes (?)
• The microscopic world.
• Bacteria, viruses, atoms, protons, neutrons,
  electrons

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A closer look at the biosphere

• Land, water, and air are linked together.
• Example 1 The Water Cycle
• Oceans ? evaporation ? clouds ? rain ? soil ?
  plants ? evaporation ? clouds ? rain ? soil ?
  rivers ? ocean
• Example 2 Requirements for life on earth
• Water, oxygen (with some exceptions), energy
  (such as nutrients)

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All sentient beings are connected.

• Where does the food you eat come from?
• How do you get water and electricity?
• Can you exist without help from others?
• How do you interact with other humans?
• How do you interact with pets?

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Quote from Dr. Albert Einstein
A human being is part of a whole, called by us
the Universe, a part limited in time and space.
He experiences himself, his thoughts and
feelings, as something separated from the rest
a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.
This delusion is a kind of prison for us,
restricting us to our personal desires and to
affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task
must be to free ourselves from this prison by
widening our circles of compassion to embrace all
living creatures and the whole of nature in its
beauty.
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The Concept of Impermanence

• Can you name 1 material thing that will last
  forever?
• Everything changes all the time.

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The Law of Causality

• All events and phenomena are linked to a
  particular cause.
• A particular cause does not produce an effect
  unless all the necessary conditions have come
  together.
• Seed ? soil, light, water, temperature, nutrients
  ? sprout ? more nutrients ? tree ? fruit
• There can be no fruit without a cause AND a set
  of necessary conditions

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The Law of Karma

• Means action in Sanskrit
• Universal law of nature that transcends our false
  illusion of a single life
• Good cause ? good effect
• Bad cause ? bad effect
• Individual vs. Group karma
• The web of cause and effect is extremely complex!

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Laws of Nature versus Karma

• Natural Phenomena
• A leaf hanging on a branch will not start moving
  until there is a wind.
• A leaf falling from a tree will continue falling
  until there is a wind to stop it or to blow it
  away.
• Karma
• Your habits and tendencies are a combination of
  everything you have done in the past, which is
  difficult to change unless you apply an outside
  force.

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Laws of Nature versus Karma

• Natural Phenomena
• The stronger the wind blows, the farther the leaf
  will travel.
• Karma
• The stronger your will to change your actions,
  the more your karma will change.

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Laws of Nature versus Karma

• Natural Phenomena
• While hiking, you accidentally kick a rock and
  you feel pain.
• How is you kicking the rock different from the
  rock hitting you?
• Each action has an equal and opposite reaction.
• Karma
• Each and every action you take will result in a
  consequence, good or bad.

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The Illusion of a Self

• Concept of no self in Buddhism means there is
  no absolute entity in an object
• Can you name a material object that lasts a short
  time?
• Can you name a material object that lasts a long
  time? But does it last forever?
• Everything is constantly changing
• What is water? Is it a solid, liquid, or gas?

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Life Cycle of a Hurricane

• Courtesy of NOAA

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Life Cycle of a Hurricane

• Courtesy of www.teachnet-lab.org/hornik/hurricanes
  /hurricanediagram.htm

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Life Cycle of a Hurricane

• Courtesy of NOAA

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Life Cycle of a Hurricane

• Courtesy of the University Corporation for
  Atmospheric Research

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What happens when the conditions are not perfect?

• Courtesy of NOAA

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What happens after a hurricane dies?

• Winds decrease.
• Circulation weakens.
• Clouds dissipate.
• Energy is transferred to the atmosphere outside
  of the tropics.
• Energy may propagate and transform into other
  types of weather systems around the world,
  determined by a combination of causes and
  conditions.

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Heart Sutra Form is not different from
emptiness, emptiness is not different from form.
Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.
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A hurricane has no self

• Are hurricanes given a name?
• The storm can be tracked using its cloud pattern,
  but is the storm the same at each moment?
• What is a hurricane made of?
• What is its absolute essence?
• What is the smallest part of a hurricane?

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Heart Sutra All dharmas (phenomena) are empty
in character neither arising nor ceasing,
neither impure nor pure, neither increasing nor
decreasing.
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The Duality of Nature

• Is a cup half-filled? Or half-empty?
• How fast am I moving right now?
• What time is it now? Are you sure?
• Which way is west?
• Which way is up?
• Does a hurricane really spin?
• Is water good or bad for you?
• Is mass a particle or a wave?
• All things are RELATIVE!

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Conservation of Mass and Energy

• Energy and mass cannot be created or destroyed.
• Total energy and total mass cannot increase or
  decrease.
• Can we run a car without fuel?
• If we made a machine that produces fuel, then put
  it on the car, can the car run forever?
• If you hold a fan on a sail boat, will you be
  able to push the sail boat with it?

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The Four Noble Truths

• The Nature of Suffering
• Death, disease, afflictions, lack of happiness
• The Origin of Suffering
• Ignorance, lack of understanding of reality
• Attachments to the impermanent
• False concept of self
• The Cessation of Suffering
• Letting go!
• The Noble Eightfold Path The Middle Way

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YODA and ANAKIN sit in Yoda 's room, deep in
thought. YODA Premonitions . . . premonitions
. . . Hmmmm . . . these visions you have . . .
ANAKIN They are of pain, suffering, death . .
. YODA Yourself you speak of, or someone you
know? ANAKIN Someone . . . YODA . . . close
to you? ANAKIN Yes.
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YODA Careful you must be when sensing the
future, Anakin. The fear of loss is a path to the
dark side. ANAKIN I won't let these visions
come true, Master Yoda. YODA Death is a
natural part of life. Rejoice for those around
you who transform into the Force. Mourn them, do
not. Miss them, do not. Attachment leads to
jealousy. The shadow of greed, that is. ANAKIN
What must I do, Master Yoda? YODA Train
yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.
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What is permanent and unchanging?

• Our Buddha Nature.
• It is possessed by every sentient being.
• We cannot describe it because all the adjectives
  we know are illusion.
• We can only explain what it is NOT.
• To understand it, we must practice meditation.
• Without meditation, our distracted mind cannot
  understand (like reading a message at the bottom
  of a swimming pool with waves on top).

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SummaryWhat can we learn from nature?

• All phenomena are connected.
• Everything we see, feel, hear, touch, taste, and
  think are impermanent.
• Everything changes according to cause and effect
  karma.
• All material things have no self, so therefore,
  we should not attach ourselves to worldly things.
• The only way to find out your true, permanent
  Buddha Nature is through meditation.
• We all observe nature differently. Pay attention
  to what you see around you!