global warming

one of our most esteemed colleagues has a widely read blog ( http://sujato.wordpress.com/ )
where lately he discusses global warming at length. Sensei brought it to my attention. The community responding to his blog is quite chatty, intellectual, well educated, wordy. Unlike Great Determination where the focus is more on implementing the practice with our immediate experience. If this sounds judgmental I apologize, we are just notably different which I find interesting, not a bad thing. In fact I am so glad we are different, it is refreshing to have variety in perspectives.

I too am concerned about many things in the news, I read about the environment, people (including animals), science, technology, medicine but most of the time I keep sensei's discussions of Dhamma in mind and shed that light on what I take in. One of the most repeated lessons we work with is be here now. This is not callous, not indifferent, rather it is responsible. I am responsible for my well being which affects those I come into contact with and those they come into contact with and so on. By not becoming focused on the negative I am open to the positive and by cultivating an attitude of gratitude I encourage marvelous experiences to manifest every day and then cultivate awareness of them and celebrate the wonders presenting to my appreciation moment by moment.

This is our response to things like global warming, cruelty, injustice, exploitation, indifference. Perhaps you are familiar with Aikido, where no resistance is offered rather the motion or force presented is facilitated but with a different intention, trajectory and outcome than it originated with. Much the same is the way Sensei guides us in responding to our perceptions with Dhamma. If someone is consistently acting with aggression, unkindness, hostility it is time to practice compassion meditation; if there is a need, a lack, a wish it is time to practice gratitude; if there is sadness, fear, worry it is time to practice acceptance. The way Sensei leads us at Great Determination Sangha to implement the Dhamma is utterly practical.

With global warming and other big picture items it is time to practice trust.  Lately she likes to say, "We are all winners in the end." This is the realization of oneness, we are one and we are now and all is what it is.