The Buddha called "will" (cetanā, volition) "karma." (Most of the good things that happen to us in life are due to our karma, as are many but not all of the bad things).
But what can just one person do? One person can save the world, save a grove, a forest, nature, a species, a region. And more people coming together for a cause can do even more, taking their lead from that ONE person.
Sure, we say she's a "super heroine" now, but at the time, everyone said she was a "crazy hippie" for having uncapitalist ideals and principles. There is that scientific theory called the "butterfly effect," the idea that the smallest change can have a compounding effect, stacking, triggering a cascade much bigger than would ever seem possible by just one act, a kind of domino effect.
Julia, you did the impossible! How'd you do it? Easy. I just did something. Nature did the rest.
What can just one pretty, little, dumb, colorful, flighty, teensy-weensy butterfly do?
It isn't just the karmic (willful) action that has an immediate result. There is the inspiring of others, modeling change for them, blowing the whistle, speaking up for the unpopular but honest view of things. Greta Thunberg may not do much more than boycott school, hold a sign, garner attention, speak at rallies, or get herself in the media, and she still has done a great deal. She gets demonstrates, protests, investigates, sticks to her guns (e.g., against Israel), speaks out, gets arrested, talks to movers-and-shakers, addresses the U.N., and inspires millions to think and act. She does participate in direct actions herself, but more than that, she rallies demonstrators and attracts attention to important causes. What can I do? What can you do? What can we do?
How, for example, could a single piece of flimsy straw (like a pretty girl in a tree) ever break a robust camel (like a greedy corporation out to hump everyone and steal water from an arid place for itself) with a strong back for carrying bales and bales of hay?
Today is Earth Day, so how shall we honor our Mother [Earth]? We can start by calling her Bhumi, Tierra, or Gaia. Then it might help to honor the Goddess as giving so much to us, our very bodies. Sure there's a karmic reason and an invisible alignment/arrangement of particles that make these amazing vehicles we're powering, but it is earth (base materiality) as the "what" these bodies are or appear to be. Is there "spirit" (prana)? Yes! That wind-like thing, the ephemeral airs as explained in Yogic philosophy and detailed in a collection of sacred Buddhist texts referred to as the "Higher Doctrine" (Abhidhamma or the "Dharma in Ultimate Terms"), can be called a "spirit" (pneuma). That's what "holy spirit" in Abrahamic religions seems to be getting at.
We have hardware and software as modern analogies, but in the past the seers had dense mud and invisible air to make the same comparison of the yang (hard) and yin (soft) that is this "self." Self is a persistent illusion, hard to grasp and understand, but the Buddha went to great pains to explain it in two doctrines, one being the Five Aggregates and the other being (in response to the common question, "Well, what is there then?!") Dependent Origination. If one understood the latter, the question of "what is there?" would not confuse the asker to assume there has to be something solid and "real." In the Allegory of the Cave by Plato, there's "something" (shadows), but that doesn't make them real, that is, that doesn't make them what they appear to be.
So this body, this earth, made of soil and the Four Great Elements (mahabhuta, the dhatus, which strangely are not "things" even though they sound like the most fundamental things but rather are qualities/characteristics of materiality, and that material can be reduced to something translated by Ven. Dhammadipa as "particles of perception" or what the historical Buddha called kalapas).
So thank you, Mother! "Where to next, Columbus?" Crass sings. Why? Westerners are imperial menaces in the world...
Earth Day is an annual event on April 22nd to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated across the planet through earthday.org (formerly Earth Day Network) [1], including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries [1, 2, 3].
In 1969 at a UNESCO conference in San Francisco, the peace activist John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace, to first be observed on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere.
This day of Nature's equipoise was later sanctioned in a proclamation written by him and signed by [Burmese Theravada Buddhist] Secretary General U Thant at the United Nations.
A month later, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson proposed the idea to hold a nationwide environmental teach-in on April 22, 1970, and hired a young activist, Denis Hayes, to be the national coordinator.
The name "Earth Day" was coined by the advertising writer Julian Koenig [4]. Activist Hayes and his staff grew the event beyond the original idea for a teach-in to include the entire United States. More
The Solvang Ranch (280 Crosby St., Altadena, California) is a historic 3,100 square foot craftsman courtyard house built in 1915. Situated on nearly an acre, it has been meticulously restored by owners Rob Bruce and Greg Gill and is known for hosting community events, such as the Soul Force Project's Earth Day Celebration. More
Earth Day Celebration in Pasadena, Los Angeles? These are the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley, one of the most Buddhist places in the United States. Join us and the City of Pasadena as we celebrate Earth Day and the official release of the goats into the Arroyo ("gully," "wash," dry riverbed). This family-friendly event includes goat yoga, a goat petting zoo, educational experiences, and interactive booths from local sustainability organizations. Let's celebrate and find our Flow. How? Goat Yoga in the Arroyo. Enjoy a lighthearted outdoor yoga experience surrounded by playful goats, Nature's great grass eaters. This beginner-friendly yoga session blends movement, laughter, and connection with nature, offering a unique way to relax, recharge, and celebrate the arrival of the Arroyo Goats. More: OneArroyo.org
The City of Pasadena and the One Arroyo Foundation are set to host a distinctive Earth Day Celebration this Saturday, inviting the community to witness an innovative approach to landscape restoration and wildfire risk reduction. The highlight of the event will be the deployment of approximately 600 goats into the Arroyo Seco ("Dry Gully"), where they will embark on a targeted grazing mission across 100 acres to clear invasive vegetation. This natural method not only helps protect the beloved Arroyo but also offers a fascinating spectacle for attendees of all ages. More: pasadenanow.com/weekendr
NOTE: While we agree the environment and climate need saving, we oppose the nonsense capitalist pseudo-solutions that make it obvious that the reason "climate change" is promoted is to sneak in more of the same: Pollution credits, blaming consumers while exempting the corporations that are profiting from polluting, incentivizing bad (biased) science that finds results its looking for (the promote the mainstream narrative) and dismissing results that contradict it. Stop polluters -- national and multinational actors actively promoting toxins (pesticides), deforestation, unsustainable practices...
Democracy Now! speaks with Indigenous leaders at U.N. climate summit in Belém for climate negotiations, in greater numbers than ever before, taking center stage at COP30.
These Indigenous leaders are calling “to end the persecution of our land defenders,” says Diana Chávez, member of the Pastaza Kichwa Nation, with Pakkiru, an Indigenous organization based in Ecuador’s Amazon. “We’re fighting to keep our territories.”
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
HOST AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman. We’re broadcasting from Belém, Brazil, the gateway to the Amazon, where the U.N. climate summit is taking place.
“The answer is us.” That was the slogan as hundreds of Indigenous leaders from the Amazon and across the region gathered in the streets of Belém Monday (Nov. 17) outside the U.N. climate summit venue, where delegates from over 190 countries continue negotiations. These are some of the voices from the streets of Belém.
INDIGENOUS LEADER 1: [Translated] We are here fighting for our land, for our wildlife, for our birds that are facing extinction. We are here at this COP for results. We ask that Brazilian President Lula come and demarcate the land so that the illegal miners don’t enter our land and our river.
INDIGENOUS LEADER 2: [Translated] We are here claiming our rights, defending our forests, defending our animals, where we have survived all these years. We need to be recognized by the world as great guardians of the forest.
AMY GOODMAN: As Indigenous protests continue here in Belém, the government of Brazil has announced the creation of 10 new Indigenous territories in response to demands from protesters. There are more than 900 Indigenous delegates accredited here at [COP30], the highest number at any U.N. climate summit.
We’re joined now by Diana Chávez. She is a member of the Pastaza Kichwa Nation, head of international affairs and organizations for Pakkiru, which is based in Ecuador’s Amazon, arrived in Belém three weeks ago. Can you talk about where you’re from in Ecuador? More
Swedish, being what it is, misleads our pronunciation. Greta's surname is Toonberg, and singer Tov Lo is actually Too-vuh-loo. English is very flexible around the world.
Greta is the autistic, Swedish, blonde 16-year-old (now 21) getting arrested to protest climate change because the mainstream media (MSM) portrays her as a self-contradictory nut.
The MSM never mentions Greta's an ethical vegan (someone who avoids eating flesh and animal products to save the world and all the beings in it), which is the best thing one can personally do to save our world, preserve human health, and alleviate animal suffering.
Greta may show more angry emotions on her face than other nonautistic people in the spotlight. But she's right.
Yes, this Swedish climate activist is a citizen of the world. And she is being used and co-opted as a role model for worldwide environmental activism that often undermines her message and makes sure nothing fundamentally changes unless it profits the powers-that-be (Big Oil, transnational corporations, world capitalists eager to set up a pollution credit market to milk money out of degrading our environment while letting corporations off the hook for polluting the planet).
Thunberg has something to say but we'll almost never hear it. Instead, we get the twisted message that benefits the status quo. Go vegan. Eat plant-based for flavor, animal kindness, and human health and longevity. (Do it right or many of the benefits will not be realized; it's not just what we don't eat but what we take in in its place).
Greta grabs attention, rallies support for Gaia (W)
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Greta Thunberg, Plant Based News, April 23, 2019: CC Liu, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Two KFI 640 AM (an iHeart station, the largest talk radio station in the country) personalities rappelled down the 25 story Hilton Universal City (Los Angeles next to Hollywood) to bring attention to the unhoused situation in L.A. The succeeded in raising funds and not dying. The Just Feed 1 event continues Saturday, 9/8/24.
Beautiful Los Angeles -- with its Hollywood Land, Santa Monica, UCLA, USC, Caltech, beaches, mountains, woods, canyons, and rivers -- is the jewel of Southern California. It's big enough, with over ten million people in the county with about 4.8 million in the City of LA. One would never imagine how much homelessness and poverty exist here. It's a Tale of Two Cities.
Wait, I can help by rappelling down a building?
Well, what can I do about it? Nothing, you're just one person. When has ONE person ever done anything? Actually, even though we all believe that, the fact of the matter is that ONE person is the only person who has ever done anything. It begins with a will, motivation, or inspiration to help. Now just find a way. Just help one. How about this?
On September 27 and 28, 2024, at the Hilton Los Angeles Universal City Hotel someone is going to get ready to go Over the Edge to fight homelessness
and help kick-off the Just Help 1 challenge!
What if everyone in Los Angeles could just help one struggling neighbor?
As (Saint) Mother Teresa famously stated,
“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one.”
Although the homeless numbers in LA feel insurmountable when we consider the total, if we break the problem down to one individual helping one other individual, one family helping one other family, things change — exponentially.
one friend to make sure one less child suffers from food insecurity
one family to ensure that another family doesn’t have to spend
one more night in their car
one church to make sure one woman can find shelter in a safe community.
By joining us and rappelling 25 stories down from the roof of the
Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City Hotel on
September 27 and September 28, 2024,
you can help get one more person, family, or child off the street for good.
I never want to stop helping others and myself.
Registration is FREE! Just raise $1,000 or more by 6:00 am on the day of your rappel, and you will qualify for this thrilling way to bring
new hope to the City of Angels.
YOU CAN Just Help 1 — and possibly many more — find their way home.
Become a sponsor, make a donation, or register for the event and start fundraising today! Every dollar will be MATCHED to have DOUBLE the IMPACT! *Match is up to $600,000.
ABOUT: Union Rescue Mission (URM) has for over 133 years provided safe shelter, meals, long-term rehabilitation programs, education, counseling, medical services, and spiritual encouragement to assist those wanting to escape the cycle of homelessness forever. Unfortunately, URM's work is far from over.
Spiritual gets physical, intention becomes deed.
As the world is changing, so has the state of homelessness in the city. People need more than just four walls, a meal, and a bed. They need what
URM is uniquely equipped for:
HOPE that lasting change and a transformed life are possible.
But URM can't do it alone. URM needs partners like YOU to join the Just Help 1 challenge -- a fresh approach to this on-going crisis.
One needn't be a girl or a goddess to be a nurturer, a steward of Planet Earth, the Goddess Gaia (Bhumi, Tierra, Terra, Urth). Planet Wild is doing it by human power. As much as people think Buddhism is atheistic because it does not bow to some "creator God," it is actually nontheistic and polytheistic. There are many gods (devas), Gods (brahmas) and Great Brahma, and GOD (the impersonal/transpersonal Brahman) or "godhead" like the Vedic religion of old or modern Hinduism talk about. The celestial bodies are all deified (likely because ET visitors said they were from there or were rulers of those places visible in the night sky).
Countless worlds on 31 planes
In the Jataka (Rebirth) Tales of the Buddha, a kind of collection of Aesop Fables (with a strong moral to each story, which always seems to be the same moral -- what the person did in this life that person did in a previous life/lives), he recounts being reborn as the deity of the Moon (Soma) and Sun (Surya) multiple times, as were others close to him. Did he mean he was the ruler there, the embodiment, or a deity (deva) from there named after that world? It seems that when Dr. Steven Greer, MD of Disclosure Project, Sirius Disclosure, and Gaia TV, says that "Earth" is literally a female deity, he is onto something. He has some reason for believing it and saying so other than others having said so. If we can be reborn as devas (shining ones, light beings), and we can, we can theoretically be born into the role of Mother Earth, the Goddess Gaia, Bhumi, or Tierra, just as Sakka King of the Devas was reborn as the king of the World of the Thirty-Three and the Realm of the Four Great Sky Kings, the two worlds immediately above the human plane.
Saving animals like this cute baby sun bear? Yes! Here's one way to bring back our charismatic megafauna: Learn about "Planet Wild." What is PW?
Planet Wild is a nature protection organization, building a global community of people that care deeply about the planet and want to give back to nature and save the animals like the sun bear.
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