Reading Joyfully Together

Joyfully Together—The Art of Building a Harmonious Community (by Thich Nhat Hanh)

(The book consists of innovative practices inspired by Buddhist traditions)

Chapter One        The Power of the Sacred Forest

A Sangha is a community of people who walks the path of liberation together. The Sangha building practices are even more important than studying the sutras, practicing sitting meditation, listening to Dharma talks, or attending Dharma discussions. To build a Sangha, we need to know the art of Sangha building. Wanting to build a Sangha is not enough. We have to live and practice in a Sangha. The best way of building the Sangha is to turn ourselves into positive elements of the Sangha body by the way we walk, stand, sit or lie down in mindfulness. When others in the Sangha see our stability in this way, they will also become solid.

If the Sangha body is a forest, then each member is a tree with its own unique qualities, standing joyfully alongside the other trees. If you want the Sangha to be strong, you have to contribute your own energy to the Sangha. When the bell of mindfulness is invited—even if you are out in the garden or working in the kitchen—if you come back to your breathing, you are making the Sangha energy stronger. When the bell is invited to announce the meal, do not delay, thinking: The line is still very long. If I go and stand in the line, I will be wasting my time. Standing in line with the rest of the Sangha, you can practice mindful breathing and your presence is a very valuable contribution to the Sangha.

Sometimes a member disregards the Sangha agreement of, for example, not wearing colored socks. When you point it out to her, “Why don’t you do what the teacher told us to do?” she may be defensive and later wear colored socks even more often as a form of protest. Something small like this could suffocate the whole Sangha. In this situation, both parties are responsible to act in a way that our capacity of communication remains solid. If we stop communicating, then there is no help for us and the whole Sangha body suffers.

How can we love someone who is difficult to love? The best way is to look deeply to see her situation and the difficulties she has. When we can understand her difficulties, we can accept her and feel love for her. This is a practice that needs perseverance. Going back to the previous example, that sister might not have many clean socks left. All we need to do is to practice mindfulness diligently every day to recognize what is happening in our own mind. Then we will be able to establish communication with our brothers and sisters, and love them.

Skillful Means

We need to practice skillful means to help each other. When sweet medicine is needed, we can give sweet medicine. When bitter medicine is needed, we can give bitter medicine. When flexibility is needed, we can be flexible; when firmness is needed, we can be firm. Whatever method we use, it should always be practiced with compassion. But compassion does not mean that we just allow someone to continue to behave in an unwholesome way. We have to love without allowing our love to be misused. When we commit ourselves to Sangha building, we have to learn when to be gentle and when to be firm. Sometimes we have to act swiftly and not allow the situation to continue, because that is the only way we express our love.  

Loving with Equanimity

The capacity to be inclusive and embrace everyone in the Sangha body is the basic quality of Sangha building. The practice of loving kindness means developing patience and an open mind and heart. The mind does not take sides and treats everyone equally, like a real mother who loves all her children. To practice is to learn how to love without discrimination or attachment.

But we also ask how far our inclusiveness should go. The Buddha once asked a horse trainer how he trained horses. The horse trainer mentioned three methods: gentle methods, strong methods, and combination of gentle and strong methods. Then the Buddha asked, “If all three methods are not successful, then what do you do?” The horse trainer answered, “I have to kill the horse to keep the whole horse herd from being corrupted by that horse.” Then he asked the Buddha how he taught the monks and nuns. The Buddha replied, “I do exactly what you do.”

In Plum Village we have sometimes sent a monk or nun home, we also do this out of love. We organize a farewell tea meditation for them, buy their ticket home, give them pocket money, and offer them advice.

In Plum Village, the practice of Sangha building is seen as the most important practice in our program of training. If we want to be successful in practicing and teaching the Dharma in the future, we have to learn fully how to build a Sangha right now. Someone who does not have the capacity to build a Sangha will not be able to help the world. When we stand beautifully alongside the other trees, we begin to contribute to the Sangha body. We put all our heart into our studies and practice, and do not look for little comforts, expecting this person to love us or that person to be attentive to us, growing angry when we are not treated “equally” or given our fair share. These things are not important to those on the spiritual path. The truly important thing is that we learn to stand beautifully and joyfully together with the rest of the Sangha. If we do, then quite naturally we will grow quickly, making a positive contribution to the Sangha body. This contribution will, sooner or later, bring about a great deal of happiness in the world.

Chapter Two        Healing Our Isolation

In the Buddha’s day in the areas where he taught and practiced, it was the custom for other religious practitioners to meet regularly and stay together for one day in order to discuss the teachings and practice, and live as a spiritual family all day long. If we want to preserve this beautiful tradition, we should organize our Sangha so that everyone can be present to live together for an entire day in the spirit of a spiritual family. This day is important to nourish the growth of our practice. This day can also be observed by laypeople together with monastics in the monastery. It’s a peaceful and joyful family gathering. The children and teenagers enjoy coming and spending time together.

If there are tendencies in our brothers or sister that we find unskillful, we then look at ourselves to see if we too have those tendencies. We make the determination to practice to transform ourselves. Our own practice and transformation is the best way to help our brother and sister.

We may ask ourselves, “Do I have negative characteristics that prevent others from being close to me? How do I relate to the Sangha? Look deeply within.

In Buddhism, the six categories of unwholesome desires are fame, wealth, sex, power, too much eating, and excessive sleep. When we are caught in and controlled by unwholesome desires, we fail to see things clearly as they are, and others in the practice will find it difficult to talk to us. Letting go our unwholesome desires and our attachment to worldly life brings us harmony.

We condemn someone who corrects us: He does not care about me. But in fact, our friends care deeply for us, and out of care they will show us our mistakes. Our sisters and brothers are obliged to help each other in this way. But if we are not able to listen when someone is trying to help us, we are throwing away the mirrors that our friends has lend us. We all have the tendency to see unwholesome qualities in others without being able to admit that we ourselves have these same qualities. By cultivating humility, we can gradually integrate ourselves into the Sangha body.

Our words carry the vibrations of our emotions, and when we speak, others can feel our emotions. Practice mindfulness and transform it. It’s important to be open to guidance, advice and criticism in a Sangha. It’s both the responsibility of the person receiving the advice to practice listening with humility and acceptance, and for the one giving the advice to offer it at such a time in such a way that it can be easily accepted. We need to train ourselves to receive guidance and we also learn to offer guidance skillfully.

Being unwilling to share is also a kind of stealing. If we have more than enough, but do not share, that’s greed.

True love is a process of humility. There is no place for pride in true love.

Bow when we hear criticism, correction, and guidance, then reflect until peace arises. The Sangha is our mirror; our fellow practitioners are our mirror, and our family members are our mirror.  See deeply and surrender with love to see what happens.

Chapter 3        Creating Harmony & Happiness

All decision in a Buddhist community of practice have to be based on the sanghakarman procedure. Sanghakarman procedure has 3 forms, single announcement karman, double announcement karman, and quadruple announcement karman (for very important matters). Before the sanghakarma procedure, we take our time to listen to views of everyone concerned until a consensus is reached, then we can initiate the sanghakarman procedure.

Calling for a meeting of the Sangha to listen to everyone explain their ideas is a basic and necessary practice. Senior members have the duty to encourage less senior ones to express. Even when we don’t like certain decision, we trust Sangha eyes and Sangha ears, which generally make the best decisions. Take refuge in Sangha is not an aspiration. It’s a daily practice.

Chapter 4        The Seven Methods of Resolving Conflict

They are the last 7 of the 250 precepts a monk takes (348 precepts for nuns).

• All parties should be present in a meeting to share their suffering. To practice deep listening, just listen. The full presence of all parties is very important.
• All parties should remember and recount the details of the conflict. Possibly, a meeting needs to be convened to encourage the concerned people to remember everything that has happened in the past. In this way, whatever they have seen, heard, and thought about can be expressed to the community. This is a way to help everyone look deeply, self-examine, see his or her own responsibility in this conflict, and gain better understanding of both parties,
• It should be determined that neither party is mentally ill. :)
• The parties should confess their own unskillfulness. A meeting will be convened if concerned parties can speak about the unskillfulness and the lack of mindfulness that have led him or her to do or say causing the conflict. This is the practice of Beginning Anew. Always express regret first. Invite the other party to do the same.
• A committee is assembled to investigate the nature of the conflict, to understand the case in all its details.
• A majority vote is used to resolve the conflict. Go with the Sangha decision once it’s made. Trust the Sangha and let the case settle. The Buddha created the precepts to encourage everyone to make every effort to maintain harmony in the community.
• Respected senior members of the community are invited to declare a general amnesty. They may say, “We are all brothers and sisters of the same family. We have to forgive each other. We have to put down straw on the muddy path so that we can walk together. I propose a general amnesty.”

Chapter 5        Caring for Each Other

Combine the spirit of seniority with the spirit of democracy. Everyone has a contribution to make. At Plum Village, once the Sangha has made the decision, let Caretaking Council do its work. “Teach me and I shall forget; show me and I shall remember; let me do it and I shall understand.”

When people criticize the monks for drinking a little too much tea, I (Thich Nhan Hanh) smiled. If the monks drink tea mindfully and practice building brotherhood, it is sometimes more effective than long hours of sitting meditation or reciting the sutras without looking at each other.

There is no more beautiful task than spending one’s time in this work of love, discovering the talents of everyone in the Sangha.

The Dharmacharya Council

Teaching the Dharma is something that requires one’s whole being. Every step and every breath becomes a Dharma talk.

Weekly Meetings

• Enjoy tea and being together
• List of agenda before the discussion
• Speak only with calm and loving kindness
• The decisions made are much less important than the effect of nourishing our sense of brotherhood and sisterhood

Meditation Before Meetings

We vow to go through this meeting in a spirit of togetherness as we review all ideas and consolidate them to reach a harmonious understanding or consensus. We vow to use the methods of loving speech and deep listening in order to bring about the success of this meeting as an offering to the Three Jewels. We vow not to hesitate to share our ideas and insights but also vow not to say anything when the feeling of irritation is present in us. We are resolutely determined not to allow tension to build up in this meeting. If any one of us senses the start of tension, we will stop immediately and practice Beginning Anew right away so as to reestablish an atmosphere of togetherness and harmony.

To speak out is your duty as a member of the Sangha. Please be brave and contribute to the happiness of the Sangha by expressing your idea.

When the Sangha has a matter to resolve, it should rely on the Sangha Eyes to look for solution, never on the eyes of one individual alone.

Practicing with the Triangle

Triangle: One person is upset by another person. Instead of talking to that person directly, complains to the 3rd person. The triangle is a tiny shoot that sprout from the seed of division and unhappiness. Everyone has the duty to uproot the triangle before it grows.

The Second Body

The second body system is a Sangha building practice at Plum Village. In a large Sangha, it isn’t possible to be close to everyone, so we are each given a “second body” to take special care of. A Dharma sister may be our second body. Always look after her when she is ill or low-spirited. The second body system can be a wonderful way to stay connected to the whole Sangha by taking care of just one member of the Sangha.

The Mentor System

A mentor reports to the Dharmacharya Council every month about the progress of his mentee so that the dharmacharya will know what teachings are needed in the Sangha.

Shining Light

We sincerely invite dharma sisters and brothers to shine light on us. They not only point out our shortcomings but tell us first what we have excelled in. Then they offer us concrete practices to maintain and increase our good qualities while transforming what is unwholesome. If there is any anger or irritation in us, it is better not to speak. We vow that every word spoken will be from a place of love within us.

Watering Flowers

Practice watering the flowers of your loved ones and your brothers and sisters in the Sangha. They may need your words of appreciation and encouragement. The practice of watering flower is an expression of our gratitude. When we are grateful, we will no longer suffer so much.

Beginning Anew

Start again… :)

Bring Our Teachers Inside

When we take mindful steps, our teacher is in us.

Chapter 6        Nourishing Our Families

Dedicate a room as the breathing room. When parents quarrel again, as a kid, you can invite them or one of them to go to the breathing room with you. The most precious gift parents can offer their children is their own happiness. We can transform the negative habit energies we have received from our father and mother and not hand them to our children in the future. This is the deepest way of sharing our gratitude to our ancestors.

Practice: Write love letters to those in our family, especially those difficult ones.

It’s a great offering that we can make to ourselves, our beloved ones and our ancestors to do the work of reconciliation with our blood family. We reconcile with our mother and father inside of us, and we can also discover a skillful way to reconcile with our mother and father outside of us. It is never too late to bring peace and healing into our blood family.

Speak with the language of love. Only then loved ones will come to share their sufferings with us. Listen deeply. Only then we can understand them. Only then we can say we love them. Before that we thought we loved them, but our love wasn’t based on understanding. The more we love, the more they feel stifled.  To love without knowing how to love wounds the person we love.

Ask questions: Do you think I understand you? Do I understand your suffering, your difficulties, and your deepest wishes? If I do not, please help me to understand because if I do not yet understand, I will continue to make you suffer in the name of love.

Choosing Life

Nature Walk

Walking through nature guided by someone who is attuned to nature’s whisper is a treasure. I am at a retreat in nature with a group of 16 including our guides. We draw attention to the small bird’s nest under the exposed tree root near the creek bank, the unknown droppings on a broken branch, the dried silk cocoon hidden in fallen leaves, the grain-shell pile near the entrance of a busy ant farm, the startled birds’ calling, and the occasional crow’s cry. They are all nature’s calls to us, “Attention, please.” How much unknown we take for granted at each moment! Only such a tiny iceberg we notice in life that we can only live in awe with a lifelong wonder of why and how... 

I am sitting on the deck of a small cabin on an open wild land, facing the slowly setting sun on a hot day. As the rays are moving through tree branches from left to right, instead of appreciating the wonder of nature, I feel empty in the heart and bored of sitting there without anything to “accomplish.” It’s a solo day walking in nature with only water for 24 hours. As the evening is approaching, hunger and irritation come into play. But hunger seems trivial as compared to the boredom that drains me. Sadly, I am not curious about the sunset, the tall golden grass and the grasshoppers, the frogs’ chorus in the pond, or the lizards doing pushups. I wish all those things could ignite me. I feel so alone. Earlier, as I crossed a little creek, I prayed that I would not encounter any snakes; as I walked across the woods, I feared of stepping on poison oaks; as I wandered through the tall grass, I was worried about ticks jumping on me and injecting me with lyme disease. But I am tired, tired of fear, for I do not want to live this life with fear. Boredom, fatigue, and fear make me long for freedom, life, and light more. 

Leaning against a madrone tree, I thought I would tell it my life story, but nothing comes out except tears. My shoes, shirt, jacket, and my body are all gifts. What did I do to deserve all these gifts? What is my truest story? I had spent five years writing about “who am I” story when I longed to find that true self. But as the old self constantly shatters and the new self forms and re-forms, the self becomes fluid and elusive, its shape and velocity forever changing… And it ripples.

The wild land opens wide in front of me as I stand alone on the hill covered with tall golden grass. The grass makes a soft bed under me as I lie down. I feel being held gently and firmly from beneath, and a great sense of relaxation come through my body. No more worries about ticks. The tall grass turns into tall “trees” for my eyes are close to the soil—the source. A familiar hay smell from the grass enters my nostrils. How much I enjoyed climbing to the top of the hay pile as a five-year-old! I close my eyes and fall asleep… I am home, again.

Dancing the Inner Child Out

I am at a dance camp. The large open pavilion by the lake is enchanted by music and free dancing spirit. Body finds its natural rhythm and pulses along with the collective heartbeat. I turn; I swirl; I jump; I walk away; I come close; I gaze; I close my eyes; I open my arms; I lift my foot… Faster; slower. If we truly dance, there is no separation from the soul self, from each other, from the under, or from the above… Dancing among radiant smiles, gentle gazes, and soft touches, I see the inner child in each of us reaching out to each other. Age disappears into the void. 

How wonderful to be naked in the sun by the lake like an innocent baby in its birthday suit! With my feet touching the cool warm water, I feel refreshed and alive, but still, I need to learn to swim. 

“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to me, everyday we are born, everyday we are free.” We sing in a large white tent, together. “The way to do is to be."

Choosing Life

As life and death dance in pair within us, each moment we go between sleeping and awakening, life and death. “Don’t go back to sleep,” as Rumi urged thousands of years ago. When we live soullessly, life is drained from us and we try to hold on to life by draining life from those who are in contact with us. When we come to life, we rasiate life back.

I am still preparing, wandering, and wondering, but I do know that I am grateful for all the beauty that I am able to see. Living a soul-oriented life is my biggest service to the world. 

(p.s. My understanding of soul is drawn from Bill Plotkin's Soulcraft)

In the Play -- Chinglish

In April, I acted in a play called Chinglish, written by playwright David Henry Hwang, directed by Annie Lareau, produced by Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra (CATS) in Nevada City, CA. It was the first time that I acted in a play and my memory rewound to year 2011, which ended with a small act of kindness from a stranger. 

In 2011, several days before the New Year, I rewarded myself a trip to New York City. I had just done my 20 minutes long solo performance based on my personal story at Monday Night Marsh in San Francisco. At a hostel in Brooklyn, I wandered online and discovered a free meditation event on Tuesdays near the Lincoln Center. Despite the fact that I’d never meditated before then and it was raining and getting dark and I was hungry, I found myself sitting in a circle with strangers. When the meditation was over, it was still raining. A man from the group offered me a ride to the Metro station.  His driver was waiting for him in a full-size black car outside the building. After hearing my performing journey in the car, he said he could introduce me to his friend, Playwright David Henry Hwang, whose new play Chinglish was just out on Broadway. We exchanged cards. At the Metro station, he got out in the rain and walked to my side to open the door for me. After we said good-bye, I looked down at his card in my hand: Eric Schneiderman, Attorney General of the State of New York. Though I never met David Henry Hwang, acting in this play of his gave me some sense of completion of that day in New York City.

On March 15, I arrived in Nevada City. A fellow actor and I stayed at the Artistic Director of CATS, Lisa Moon's sister-in-law's beautiful log home in the woods. The second night there I was alone. Instead of sleeping inside, I set up the tent, lay under the million bright stars, and listened to gentle wild sounds. It was a little chilly in my thin sleeping bag. In my half-awake sleep, I reflected why I was there. I felt pulled in two directions. One was to further delve into self-expression and self-discovery through acting and performing; the other was to learn and to grow in a community that fosters ecological awakening and deep service.  How much I long to pulse along with the Mystery. 

Nevada City itself is a magical city with old mining history, lush nature, Yuba River, art, kindred and healing spirit, and more. It's a good place to forget time. During the seven weeks, what impressed me the most was the generous spirit in CATS community. Meanwhile, more layers in me surfaced--gratitude and kindness, and also shame, insecurity, fear of scarcity, self-righteousness, feeling the wrinkles on my face... 

  Act 1 Scene 3 in Chinglish, CATS 2016 
(From left to right: David Rosprim; Laurence Hughes; Xiaojuan Shu; Hock Tjoa; Kathy Hsieh)

Using acting as a channel to invite inherent human nature to come out for a full run, and to practice being present. I had two roles in the play, one was a Chinese Interpreter Qian, the other Prosecutor Li. Though neither characters demanded exploration of full human emotions, as Interpreter Qian, I enjoyed playing with interpreting not only words, but the emotions of others, in addition to the character's own personality. Parts of me that were dormant would reveal themselves at unexpected times. 

By: David Wong (CATS 2016)
(Xiaojuan Shu; Kai Lin)

By: David Wong (CATS 2016)
(Xiaojuan Shu; Kai Lin)

Each show was different. The audience, the energy, and the mood changed every time. At times, I noticed myself just uttering the words without being fully present on the stage; at other times, I could look into the darkness and feel the space, and time slowed down and space expanded. The audience, the actors, and the space were co-creating something live.

Though at times I felt alone by distancing myself from wining and dining for pleasure without thinking much about the food sources, I found comfort in solitude. I found great pleasure in long walks, instead of driving, from the woods to the theatre in downtown Nevada City, and around the canal nearby. During my first two hours long walk to the theatre, I enjoyed thoroughly the exhilarating freedom without relying on a car. The only thing that mattered was to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Though I questioned myself several times if I was on the right road since it kept unfolding endlessly... Alas! I arrived at last!

What also helped me ground myself were the reading of The One-Straw Revolution, recap of Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom, and listening to the intriguing interviews on On Being by Krista Tippett. 

Every one’s selfless contribution to this production of Chinglish truly won my heart. The Artistic Director Lisa Moon and the Executive Director Jeannie Wood, along with other numerous volunteers, worked tirelessly to bring a taste of Asian culture to a population consisting of less than 1% Asians; the director Annie Lareau gave us gentle yet spot-on suggestions, encouraging each actor to dive deeper into individual characters; our female lead Kathy Hsieh embraced each of us warmly each time before we went on the stage, and the male lead Laurence Hughes often eased us with his humor. The cast and crew mingled at several casual dinners, sharing food and laughter. What moved me the most was that so many worked enthusiastically and selflessly behind the scene to make the production possible. 

Breaking down the set on the final day (CATS 2016)                                  

I couldn’t have thought that the most memorable fun would be the last day when everyone joined to dismantle the set together, the cast, the crew, and the CATS members and friends, no more distinctions between roles. Three actresses all grabbed power tools to unscrew nails. Most of the set materials were put in different piles to be reused and shared with other theatres. Though we did two shows on our last day, we were in such a high spirit that we worked until 2 in the morning. 

The enlivened kindred spirit of CATS community led me to reexamining my hesitant acceptance of my own little role in contributing to the larger whole. In the past, I found it hard to truly accept that I am not special. It greatly humbled me after watching many working diligently behind the scene for Chinglish. There was no distinction between small and big roles, all important, no one dispensable. I happened to come across this poem:

Love by Czeslaw Milosz

Love means to learn to look at yourself
The way one looks at distant things
For you are only one thing among many.
And whoever sees that way heals his heart,
Without knowing it, from various ills.
A bird and a tree say to him: Friend.

Then he wants to use himself and things
So that they stand in the glow of ripeness.
It doesn't matter whether he knows what he serves:
Who serves best doesn't always understand.

CATS produces one play a year for the community. This year is its 22nd year and Chinglish is their 22nd show in Nevada City. Every year, the process of planning, casting, promoting, building the set, rehearsing, performing, and breaking down the set repeats. But as years go by, the community grows larger and stronger. It reminded me of what Martin Prechtel said in an Interview:"We all want to make something that’s going to live beyond us, but that thing shouldn’t be a house, or some other physical object. It should be a village that can continue to maintain itself. That sort of constant renewal is the only permanence we should wish to attain."

We are a family (CATS 2016)
(From left to right: Rachel Tsay; Xiaojuan Shu; Kathy Hsieh; Cecilia Chan; Laurence Hughes; David Rosprim)

Act 1 Scene 3 in Chinglish (CATS 2016) -- Video

Act 2 Scene 2 in Chinglish (CATS 2016) -- Video

Thanks to Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra (CATS), Nevada City, CA 2016

The Giver of Food, The Giver of Life

When I was a child, I often saw Mother giving food and/or small changes, along with good wishes, to every beggar that came to our door. She said it was an auspicious sign that someone in need came to our door. She also never failed to feed the stray dogs and cats that came by in our village. Growing up, I was never a big fan of her superstition. 

When Mother sold vegetables she grew at the market to support my brother and me going to school, she always gave away small gifts, such as a handful of chives or garlic, to strangers who passed by, no matter if they were interested in buying her vegetables or not. Gradually, more and more people became her loyal customers. I was never a big fan of her marketing strategy.

Every time when I visit home, Mother makes way more than what I can eat for each meal. Once she knows the date of my arrival, she begins to think about all the food that she could possibly make for me months ahead of time, including saving some seasonal ingredients in the freezer. I often feel overwhelmed by her enthusiasm in feeding me. 
 
This morning as I was reading the words, "The giver of the food is the giver of life," I paused. The image of Mother instantly came to my mind. Mother has always been a food giver. Sure, I could judge her for being superstitious, practical, or too motherly, but how could I explain her pure joy in giving, the glow on her face, and the way she laughed when she handed a stranger a handful of chives? Maybe I shouldn't have blamed my parents for all my self-centeredness; maybe I have got the generosity genes if I care enough to cultivate them; maybe I should be a bit more "superstitious," "practical," and "motherly" myself. :)

"Therefore, one who desires well-being in this world and beyond should specially endeavor to give food... Food is indeed the preserver of life and food is the source of procreation." -- Maha Ashwamedhika

Quotes From "The One-Straw Revolution" by Masanobu Fukuoka

The One-Straw Revolution had been on my reading list for a while after seeing Nipun list it as one of his favorite books. It's an introduction to natural farming, but it's way beyond farming when he talks about farming. Its impact on me is profound and needs more time to truly settle in. For now, some quotes from the book are enough for me to ponder.

There is no wiser course in farming than the path of wholesome soil improvement.

Growing vegetables like wild plants. The important thing is knowing the right time to plant. 

To the extent that people separate themselves from nature, they spin out further and further from the center. At the same time, a centripetal effect asserts itself and the desire to return to nature arises. But if people merely become caught up in reacting, moving to the left or to the right, depending on conditions, the result is only more activity. The non-moving point of origin, which lies outside the realm of relativity, is passed over, unnoticed. 


I believe that even "returning-to-nature" and anti-pollution activities, no matter how commendable, are not moving toward a genuine solution if they are carried out solely in reaction to the overdevelopment of the present age.

To the extent that the consciousness of everyone is not fundamentally transformed, pollution will not cease.

When a decision is made to cope with the symptoms of a problem, it is generally assumed that the corrective measures will solve the problem itself. They seldom do. Human measures and countermeasures proceed from limited scientific truth and judgment. A true solution can never come about in this way.

My modest solutions, such as spreading straw and growing clover, create no pollution. They are effective because they eliminate the source of the problem. Until the modern faith in big technological solutions can be overturned, pollution will only get worse.

It would be well if people stopped troubling themselves about discovering the true meaning of life. We can never know the answers to great spiritual questions, but it's all right not to understand. We have been born and are living on the earth to face directly the reality of living.

Living is no more than the result of being born. Whatever it is people eat to live, whatever people think they must eat to live, is nothing more than something they have thought up. The world exists in such a way that if people will set aside their human will and be guided instead by nature, there is no reason to expect to starve. 

Just live here and now. This is the true basis of human life. 

Broad, transcendent natural farming:

It proceeds from the conviction that if the individual temporarily abandons human will and so allows himself to be guided by nature, nature responds by providing everything. Pure natural farming is the no-stroke school. It goes nowhere and seeks no victory. Putting "doing nothing" into practice is the one thing the farmer should strive to accomplish.

Something born from human pride and quest for pleasure cannot be considered true culture. True culture is born with nature, and is simple, humble, and pure. Lacking true culture, humanity will perish.

Food is life, and life must not step away from nature.

Four main classifications of diet:

Lax diet (Self-indulgent, empty eating); Standard nutritionally diet (materialist, scientific eating); diet of principle; natural diet.

Natural diet: Following the will of heaven. Discarding all human knowledge. The diet of non-discrimination. Nature is in constant transition, changing from moment to moment. People cannot grasp nature's true appearance. The face of nature is unknown. Trying to capture the unknowable in theories and formalized doctrines is like trying to catch the wind in a butterfly net.

When you no longer want to eat something tasty, you can taste the real flavor of whatever you are eating. It is easy to lay out the simple foods of a natural diet on the dining table, but those who can truly enjoy such a feast are few.

Unless people become natural people, there can be neither natural farming nor natural food.

Why is it impossible to know nature? That which is convinced to be nature is only the idea of nature arising in each person's mind. The ones who see true nature are infants. They see without thinking, straight and clear. 

An object seen in isolation from the whole is not the real thing.

When he abandons discriminating knowledge, non-discriminating knowledge of itself arises within him. If he does not try to think about knowing, if he does not care about understanding, the time will come when he will understand.

What is smart? What is foolish?

"Foolishness comes out looking smart. Are you trying to become a foolish-type smart guy?"

Before I knew it, I was angry with myself for repeating the same words over and over again, words which could never match the wisdom of remaining silent.

"If you did nothing at all, the world could not keep running. What would the world be without development?"

"Why do you have to develop? If economic growth rises from 5% to 10%, is happiness going to double? What’s wrong with a growth rate of 0%? Isn't this a rather stable kind of economics? Could there be anything better than living simply and taking it easy?"

People find something out, learning how it works, and put nature to use, thinking this will be for the good of humankind. The result of all this, up to now, is that the planet has become polluted, people have become confused and we have invited in the chaos of modern time. 

The more people do, the more society develops, the more problems arise... Originally there was no reason to progress, and nothing that had to be done. We have come to the point at which there is no other way than to bring about a "movement" not to bring anything about.

"Where are you from?" I asked.

"Over there."

"How did you get here?"

"I walked."

"What did you come here for?"

"I don't know."

Most of those who came here are in no hurry to reveal their names or the story of their past. They do not make the purpose very clear either.

Born without knowing the reason only to close one's eyes and depart for the infinite unknown--the human being is indeed a tragic creature.

Human beings usually see life and death in a rather short perspective. The joy of life does not depart in death. You are dying and being reborn each day, and yet will live on for many generations after death.

A four-year-old girl asks her mother,

"Why was I born into this world? To go to nursery school?"

Originally, human beings had no purpose. Now dreaming up some purpose or other, they struggle away trying to find the meaning of life. It is a one-man wrestling match. There is no purpose one has to think about or go out in search of.

"It's a one-straw revolution!"

Stepping out of the hut into the afternoon sunlight, I paused for a moment and gazed at the surrounding orchard trees laden with ripening fruit, and at the chickens scratching in the weeds and clover. I then began my familiar descent to the fields.

The recent short interview by Birju Pandya with Jon Jandai deeply resonates with The One-Straw Revolution too.

Q: How do you think about what some call the major global crises currently in the world (eg, inequality, climate change, etc)? 
JJ: This is a time of the last straw on the camels back. Multiple collapses of systems may be coming soon. First environmental, which we are already seeing. Second is economy. People are not asking ‘where does money come from?’ only ‘where do I get more money?’ There are 2 places money may be coming from:
1-Processing of natural resources of the earth; 
2-Processing of cheap labor, or human resources.