The Oneness Of Humanity!

I am deeply saddened by the extreme suffering of those who have been affected by the bush fires around the country. It is always in these times of adversity that communities bond together and people offer their generosity and compassion.

I think this quote from His Holiness puts into perspective how we can change our perspective on the interconnectedness we share, not just in these times of tragedy but also in our everyday lives. We have to consider that our actions and circumstances may affect others without our knowing and we should be considerate and mindful of our actions, this is "universal responsibility".

" As human beings, we are all the same. So there is no need to build some kind of artificial barrier between us. At least my own experience is that if you have this kind of attitude, there is no barrier. Whatever I feel, I can express; I can call you 'my old friend'. There is nothing to hide, and no need to say things in a way that is not straightforward. So this gives me a kind of space in my mind, with the result that I do not have to be suspicious of others all the time. And this really gives me inner satisfaction, and inner peace.

So I call this feeling a 'genuine realization of the oneness of the whole of humanity'. We are all members of one human family. I think that this understanding is very important, especially now that the world is becoming smaller and smaller. In ancient times, even in a small village, people were able to exist more or less independently. There was not so much need for others' co-operation. These days, the economic structure has completely changed, so that modern economies, relying on industry, are totally different. We are heavily dependent on one another, and also as a result of mass communication, the barriers of the past are greatly reduced. Today, because of the complexity of interdependence, every crisis on this planet is essentially related with every other, like a chain reaction. Consequently it is worthwhile taking every crisis as a global one. Here barriers such as 'this nation' or 'that nation', 'this continent', or 'that continent' are simply obstacles. Therefore today, for the future of the human race, it is more important than ever before that we develop a genuine sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. I usually call this a sense of 'universal responsibility'. "

--from Dzogchen: The Heart Essence of the Great Perfection by the Dalai Lama, translated by Thupten Jinpa and Richard Barron, Foreword by Sogyal Rinpoche, edited by Patrick Gaffney, published by Snow Lion Publications

Go Organic!

Not difficult to believe that a recent UN report said that organic communal farming could easily solve the current world food shortages.
It says, " Organic farming can often lead to polarised views, with some viewing it as a saviour and others as a niche product or something of a luxury... this report suggests it could make a serious contribution to tackling poverty and food insecurity. "

And what about the suggestion that in these times of "economic crisis" the alternative could be a system of community-based credit exchange which had its roots during the Great Depression.
" The medium of exchange could be anything, as long as everyone who uses it trusts that everyone else will recognise its value. "

If we could build organic communities based around communal farming and alternative monetary systems we'd probably be living a Marxist ideal or something near enough but surely the time is coming for a lifestyle revolution on a grand scale which makes living without corporate greed a workable reality, an organic process.

Should we need money for food and consumer items then let's trade!

Room For Change!

" There is often a big disparity between the way we perceive things and the way things really are.
For instance, when we see an object we think, 'Oh, this is the very same object which I saw two days ago.'
This is a very crude way of talking about reality. What is actually happening here is a kind of a conflation between an image or a concept of an entity and the actual reality of the moment. In reality, the object or entity that we are perceiving has already gone through a lot of stages.
It is dynamic, it is transient, it is momentary, so the object that we are perceiving now is not the same as the one we perceived a day ago or two days ago, but we have the impression that we are perceiving the very same thing because what we are doing is conflating our concept of that object and the actual object.
By grasping for permanence, we cause things to appear to us differently than how they actually exist. "

" It is vital to leave a lot of room for change in one's relations to another person. Change comes about in times of transition, allowing love actually to ripen and expand. Then one is able to really know the other one--to see that person with their faults and weaknesses and going through change, a human being like oneself. Only at this stage can there be true love. "

-The Dalai Lama

-from Impermanence: Embracing Change by David Hodge and Hi-Jin Kang Hodge, published by Snow Lion Publications