A Buddhist Recycling Story

Here is a story of how a disciple of the Buddha called Ananda taught a King a lesson on the importance of mindful sharing - not only with one's personal wealth, but also of the wealth of the Earth's resources. This is also the classic Buddhist story of "recycling" our blessings in life, of treasuring whatever we have.

Once upon a time in ancient India, there lived a selfish King and his generous Queen. One day, they received news of the Buddha having arrived at one of their kingdom's villages. As the Queen very much wished to seek the advice of the Buddha, she invited Him and His followers to visit the palace.

After spending an entire day listening to the Buddha's wonderful teachings, the Queen felt that she should offer the Buddha's following a worthy gift as a token of her great appreciation. Accepting the offer, the Buddha asked Ananda to receive the Queen's gift, which was a big bag of gold. As joyous and giving as she was, she had much confidence that the wise disciples of the Buddha would put it to good use. However, when the King heard about his wife's gift, he became very suspicious of how it would be handled. Thinking that Ananda must have tricked the Queen into giving him so much gold, he called for Ananda to question him. The King asked, "What are you going to do with so much money?" Ananda replied, "I will go to the market and buy all the cloth that we can carry."

"But what'll you do with all the cloth?" "We'll sew five hundred suits of clothes."
"But what'll you do with the new clothes?" "We'll give them to the many villagers dressed in rags."
"But what'll you do with their old clothes?" "We'll make them into new quilts."
"But what'll you do with the old quilts?" "We'll make them into new pillows."
"But what'll you do with the old pillows?" "We'll make them into new rugs."
"But what'll you do with the old rugs?" "We'll make them into new doormats."
"But what'll you do with the old doormats?" "We'll make them into new brooms."
"But what'll you do with the old brooms?"

"Well, Your Highness, we will take them apart and use them for plastering the walls of our houses - to strengthen them. Praise to the Queen! All these blessings for so many are made possible only with the generosity of Her Highness. In this way, Your Highness, everything that comes to each of us, no matter how great or small it is, should be used thoughtfully and thoroughly with great care and purpose. Nothing is really ours to own forever, since everything we have in the Universe are like temporary gifts lent for our use. Therefore, whenever possible, these gifts should be shared. May all be mindful of this in the passage of life. And may all treasure and share their blessings with each other." Hearing these thought-provoking words, the King bowed in repentance and reverence, thereby resolving to be a more giving and caring King. - Shen Shi'an (retold)

Why I chose environmental practice instead of environmental activism

Why I chose environmental practice instead of environmental activism

By James Kniskern

It started innocently enough. I began reading about the average American family using more resources than any other family in the world. I was intrigued. I had heard that even poor Americans were richer in material wealth than a large percentage of the world population.

I had visited a website that describes how many earth's worth of resources would be required if ALL of the populations of the world lived as the average American did. I took the quiz and found that we would need 3.5 earths of resources to support ALL of the population of the planet if everyone lived as I did. That was an eye opener. Some friends around me did better, some much worse!

Environmental action has always been of interest to me. Even when the U.S. Government banned DDT due to the loss of eagles, and other birds, I thought it was a good thing.

My voice was silent at that time due to my age. I watched from the sidelines as those labeled "Tree Huggers", "Hippies", and with a sneer of the right wing, "environmentalists" stood in the way of logging, land development, watershed destruction, dam building, and parking lot construction. I remained quiet, but respectful of those souls who acted on what they believed, even to the detriment of American jobs. I mean, saving snail darter fish, and spotted owls can't be more important that putting a few thousand people to work, can it? Yes it can, and it does actually make for a better life for all Americans, even if a few have hardships for a period of time.

During the last few years, as I moved around the world, noticed traffic affects on forests, urban sprawl heating up cities, wildfires raging in the west (some in Arizona while I was there,) ice sheets shrinking, glaciers receding, warm weather during the winters, hurricanes killing more and causing billions in damage, I had to take stock in what could the underlying answer be to all of this? Human use of resources and lack of putting things back where we found them, I think.

So I began to learn how I could make a difference.

I also took it upon myself to try to do things that would make it less hypocritical for me to speak on. I advocate for doing lots of small stepts in my environmental changes, because I've take many small steps myself. I can and do make a difference by making these lifestyle choices. Will it make a difference in the long run if I'm the only one that makes these changes? No. But here is the rub: Since I've made these changes, I know how easy it is, and can lead the way for others to make similar choices.

I don't want to force people to use greywater, or composting toilets, or sawdust toilets, or become vegetarians, or plant vegetable gardens, or anything else. But if the world doesn't begin to change its ways, we really are mortgaging our descendants futures.

More garden work

I started working in the garden early. It was a beautiful bright, sun-shiny day! Mary enjoyed the sun too!

I cleaned out the last of the compost from the right-most bin, and put down 24 inches of grass, leaves, and chopped up pieces of old bush back in. That got it ready for starting the new compost cycle. The plant material becomes the biological sponge, that will keep anything from leaching into the ground water over the next 2 years. We'll add to the right pile for the next year, then let it rest for then next year. The old left bin is full, and has now been "retired" for the next year. Next April, we will have a huge bin of compost ready to put on the gardens.

After we took Samuel to his dad's house, we noticed that Mary was too hungry to go to church, so we went back home for lunch. We had a lovely meal together on the back patio, enjoying the sun. After lunch we went to Clement's Hardware. We needed fencing materials for Mary's potato beds, as well as something for the thornless blackberries to grow on. We wound up getting some 6 foot steel posts, and stringing wire on them to support the blackberries.

So we spent the beautiful afternoon preparing potato beds, building the blackberry supports and generally working in the gardens. I put the clothesline back up straight after it had been blown down 2 weeks ago. It was a wonderful afternoon.

Miriam stayed over at Tori's place last night, but Tori was so tired, she fell asleep early. Miriam enjoyed her sister time, and we got to see Tori when she dropped Miriam back home. Tori seems to be doing extremely well.

Samuel had a camp out with scouts Friday night, and didn't get much sleep, since there were some very loud scouts that wouldn't let the rest get to sleep. I hope he had a good time!

We got another load of manure to fertilize the gardens, but that was around dinner time, so I haven't had a chance to do any spreading with it. Later, I guess.

It has been so nice outside, I had the scooter out after dinner. I'm planning on riding it to work tomorrow!

Mary got wood chips for me!

Yes, another neighbor had a couple of trees taken down, and Mary called to ask me if I wanted wood chips. I said yes. So, I got home from work, and the driveway was filled with freshly ground wood chips. 101 wheelbarrow loads later, and the chips were nicely stacked, ok, piled up in the back fence area. We have plenty of chips for paths, mulching and such now.

I'm kinda tired after all that work, but it is well worth it, in so many ways. Exercise for me, and free organic material for the gardens.

Mary ordered our trees and grapes and kiwi vines today. I have to get the trellises built for the vines.

Our edible landscaping is going well.

Volunteering: Habitat For Humanity

Today Mary and I volunteered to work at a local Habitat for Humanity house. We got there at 8 am this morning. We were to be on the painting crew.

First we met the other volunteers, and had our assignments. First off Mary and I were on cleanup of the outside of the house, as the Wednesday crew was dealing with snow, and didn't get it tidied up. So we worked for about 40 minutes picking up bits and pieces, and then scattering straw on the muddy bits.
Mary then found the "tool shed" that needed neatening up. She spent the next while doing that, while I went on doing this and that.
I wound up doing lots of little things, prepping for painting. Caulking doors and windows. Then I grabbed the big roller, and painted the kitchen/dining room/living room ceiling. That was fun. By then it was lunch time, and we had a nice lunch, all the while talking with the other volunteers.
After lunch, we were painting the trim and doors. We had plenty to do, and worked the rest of the afternoon on that. Both Mary and I were about wiped out, and left a little early. We didn't want to over do it.
So it was a productive and worthwhile day.

Environmental Small Steps - continue

I had sent my Environmental Small Steps to the Quakers, and had it published in their March newsletter. That was cool. I also had a Friend ask me to forward it on to her, so that the local Sierra Club could publish it also. That would make a much wider audience that has been able to see the small things that we've done here.

We don't hand wash our laundry, and we don't cut back to the point where we are causing hardships to ourselves, but we have made many steps to making the world a better place. Now if we could just get more people to realize that these steps are easy and sometimes fun to make... But that will come. I'm sure that not everyone will take the environmental steps, but more and more people will. As the cost of fuels goes up, conservation will happen, but it will have to get to a point where it hurts the wallet not to conserve. That is the key to the whole thing, I believe, make it sexy to conserve. When that happens, America and the rest of the world will go along. Until that day, I'm satisfied to make each day a little lighter on our Mother.

A challenge accepted:

It must be difficult being a 14 year-old girl.

Miriam refused to do the dishes. Mary asked her to do them, but it was a nice day on Friday, the "first nice day", said Miriam. Miriam wanted to go outside and go to a friend's house, but had kept on telling us that she would get the dishes done. The problem was that Miriam would be going to her Dad's house in less than 2 hours, and if she didn't get the dishes done, Mary and I would be stuck doing the dishes, again. She balked. She screamed, cried, and protested.
Mary calmly explained the facts: If she didn't get the dishes done, there would be consequences. Mary said that if the dishes weren't done by the time Miriam was to leave for her Dad's house, then we would clean her room for her, and she wouldn't like what happens if we clean her room.

That was a huge consequence. Mary and I thought that we could clean up Miriam's room in a couple of hours, no big deal.

So Miriam kept on protesting, saying that she needed 5 minutes to get a hold of herself, and continued to cry. Mary called Miriam's step-mother, Shannon, and explained the situation, and they agreed that Miriam could stay here longer to get the dishes done.

After the deadline of 6 pm, which is when Miriam should have left for the other household, Mary and I began the arduous task of cleaning the girl's bedroom. Miriam did not stay in the house, and went outside to "get a hold of herself." Long story short, by 9 pm, dishes still weren't done, and we drove Miriam over to her Dad's house.

Mary and I continued to clean the room. It turned into a weekend project. We found 12 boxes of books, more clothes than 4 girls need, and trash strewn about the room. Miriam had also stashes of candy and food hidden in her room, and that provides a health hazard. I took it upon myself to get her laundry cleaned. 9 loads of laundry. Mary and I finished up about 3:30 Sunday. It was not the easiest thing to do, since we had to figure out places to put all of the stuff. We took out several bags of paper for recycling, and many more trash bags. Other items are stored either in the crawlspace or the attic.

What Miriam is going to have to deal with tonight when she comes home is a "shopping" trip. Mary has folded and sorted all of the clothes taken out of Miriam's room. She will be allowed to choose 10 tops, 10 bottoms, 10 bras/camisoles, 10 pairs of socks, 10 panties, 4 sweaters/sweatshirts, 2 dresses, 1 heavy coat, 1 jacket, concert shirt, PE uniforms, and 2 swimsuits. There will be additional shopping if she handles the first section well: She will be able to pick more, 10 tops, 5 bottoms, and another swimsuit and dress to be earned back by keeping the first batch neat. This will allow Miriam to learn to keep her room clean, without all of the clutter that was stopping her before.
So Miriam has the opportunity to earn some of her clothes back, as well as adding a few of the "most precious" items that have been removed. Since Mary and I don't know what those items are, Miriam will be able to earn a few items back every 2 weeks that she keeps her room clean. But if she leaves the house with "gear adrift" as they say in the Navy, she will lose that gear, and not get to earn it back.
Mary and I will not allow the kind of mess that her room became to happen again. Neither of us has the time or energy to clean that room again like we did this time. So if there is clutter, messiness and "gear adrift" on the floor, then it will go away, and Miriam won't have to worry about having too much stuff.

So I'm sure this particular parenting adventure will be the subject of many books in Miriam's writing future. If nothing else, she will have ample things to talk with her psychiatrist about when she is in her 30's.