Alive… yet befuddled within the dreamscape of duality… we look around and seem to see ‘the world, just as it is’…. but this is not how it actually is.
Similarly we do not see others as they are… but as we interpret them, looking through a glass darkly…
As Shakespeare’s words suggest and the clarity of the teachings we’ve received explains…we imagine that we see clearly and so we validate our limited and biased view… and then believe our imaginings to be inherently true…
Big oops!
With this view our connection with ‘other’ beings is not a given… but depends upon our current estimation of their value – positive or negative or neutral – as ‘items’ in my world.
And looking from within this ego-centric bubble, the ecosystem…upon which all life depends… can easily be taken for granted… and its fragile and interdependent nature, ignored…
This self-referential view leads to actions which seem to benefit me and ‘mine’ – whether family, ‘tribe’, or country and make perfect sense…from my perspective…
But these activities arise from the ignorance of assuming that we exist as self-existing, independent entities…and we are blind to the judgment and grasping and which naturally follow from that mistake.
That as sentient beings our behaviour is conditioned… driven by karma and afflictive emotions… is not widely known… neither is how, within duality, karma operates …
How although the immediate consequences of an action might seem self-evidently beneficial… further unintended consequences arise later for us, often in a seemingly unconnected way.
We are very fortunate to have a chance…with study and practice… to see more clearly how it is.
As we wash the sleep out of our eyes with refreshing dharma water, we begin to free ourselves from habitual reliance on dualistic consciousness as our operating system…
Then the water, cool clean and clear… drunk straight from the well-spring of emptiness, can bring an end to the sufferings of samsara…evoking a kindly equanimity – which is not cut-off and insensitive to the sufferings in samsara but receptive and responsive in ways which are fitting.
Although unconstrained by relative evaluations, it’s not a case of ‘anything goes’… connectivity arising from openness is precise, for the other…and free of the five poisons
We know that human beings and many other species need sufficient cool clear, clean water…to survive
And we humans need the other species to survive as part of the interdependent eco-system of the world…
Yet the current imbalances of priority in the world mean that access to this shared resource is diminishing and assumed ‘ownership’ will result in many men fighting and killing each other over this…
The successful intervention of the historical Buddha in arguing that to spill any blood over an argument about water-rights would be a tragic waste…would these days, fall on deaf ears … ‘Karma?..be damned!
If you don’t agree with me, speak like, look like, think like I think you should…well then you’re wrong.
Worst case scenario: ‘I’ll kill you. Job done! Good, one less piece of worthless shit’… or whatever I imagine you to be!
When reservoirs are built often people are displaced, sometimes in vast numbers, and have to move elsewhere often unsupported…animal habitats are destroyed…
With big hydroelectric dams the silt release can be devastating for those creatures living in the water and along the banks…the opening scenes of the film Water had a big impact on my appreciation of this …
The water kept upstream deprives those downstream…. and the sheer weight of the deep water corralled in one place has a negative impact on the underlying geology…creating stresses then leaks and sometimes collapse…with further devastation …eh!
Water is used to cool atomic power stations…one can see the looming issues there with ‘ownership’ by those upstream as water levels fall in rivers… and data banks use an increasingly vast amount of water in servicing the use of AI.
What can we do… !?
Well, if we’d like to do something we will find some ways to have an impact.
Our prayers make a difference…the Prayer for Happiness in the World (you’ll find within the Repelling all troubles text/search engine SB website) will speak to some.
You’ll also find James 2023 writing ‘Dharma-Ecology’ by searching there.
Maybe some of us can think of ways to use less use less water…
Less frequent showers, baths, car-washing, clothes washing…re-using grey water…
The average one-person household uses 161 litres of water…I’m happy using about 60 litres, less than half of that…and people don’t actually cross the street to avoid the smell : )
When young I spent around a year travelling on a shoe-string in the U.S Canada and Mexico in a second-hand VW bus (not the luxury of a camper van). Water for washing, washing up and cooking had to be carried from a tap…usually some distance away.. in a plastic Jerry can… and showers were a rarity …especially in the NWT in winter! I had the luxury of cool clean water…only a short distance away..but did learn how little one really needed to use.
We can also save water indirectly by the ways in which we use the internet.
An internet search prior to AI used some resources for sure… but the search was limited in scope.
However with the advent of AI the whole web ‘lights up’ in each search or activity.
This uses vastly more of energy… and also a vast amount of water – in the cooling of the data centres.
These are often being placed in areas of deprivation where the impact on, and acquiescence of, residents is not a major constraint or consideration.
There are search engines/browsers… such as Vivaldi, Orion, Waterfox, and Pale Moon which are non-AI and Duck Duck Go allow you search using a non-AI reature…also, a big one given the way dependency on Chat GPT and other AI features has developed ….we can try to limit engagement.
There are intelligent ways to reforest land which has been denuded of it’s natural vegetation…such as the project with which Pedro is directly engaged with in Brazil… and we could put some spare money, if we have any, in that or similar directions…in a move towards respecting the ecosphere upon which life depends and restoring its natural vitality….
You’ll think of something that resonates with you…
I started writing this post before the recent devastating floods and fires in the world again highlighted the impact of global warming, and the need to reduce our impact in that direction.. and hope something in this may be useful to you…
Whatever we do may seem like a drop in the ocean…but oceans are made of drops…and our hearts connection opens with our contributions…
As James reminded me recently in a different context that ‘we can only do what we can….the small is infinite’
This song Cool Clear Water was sung by Joni Mitchell with Hank Williams …I came across it recently and thought it beautiful and moving… maybe you’ll enjoy it too. It’s also sung here by Marty Robbins for a different flavoured cup of tea : )
