How doing nothing is the best way to save the environment

From time to time,
we hear about many green movements
calling for environment protection,
amidst the worsening global warming.

While I fully rejoice with all these great efforts to
prevent further pollution on Earth;
I also notice that
no matter
how many celebrities are invited to speak in public,
how many international summits are held,
how many passionate pledges are made,
these movements have hardly generated sufficient impact so far...
(pardon my prejudice, but I need to say this to make the point below)

Simply because:

At one moment, we read on the newspaper
about how traveling by air wastes so much fossil fuels,
the next moment,
we rush online to catch the "irresistable"  offer by
budget airlines advertised just on the next page.

At one moment, we learn on a TV documentary
about how the meat industry
has become the biggest pollution contributor;
the next moment, we are already planning for
a weekend buffet with family and friends,
when a credit card dining offer advert flashes on the TV screen.

At one moment, we gathered that 90% of what we purchase
ends up in the trash after 12 months;
the next moment, we dashes into a telecom retail
to ask for a new mobile phone
when there is a "zero-dollar" mobile phone plan.

Like a snail easily slides back two inches
after making a big effort to climb up just an inch;
environmental protection effort to-date is still considered sluggish.
Strictly speaking, the best way to protect the environment is
to do nothing at all.

It sounds controversial.
But the above proposal is based on a basic dharma teaching
which explains that
all matters in the universe arise from
our ever-spinning restless mind.
(一切法由心想生)

In other words,
pollutions arise because our mind
have been thinking too much about our own self-interests.

Hence the natural solution to reduce pollution would be
to think less and to do less of our own self-interests.

When we do nothing about
finding the cheapest way to travel long distance for holiday,
we save fossil fuel and create less CO2.

When we do nothing about
searching for the best buffet deal in town,
we reduces the demand for flesh and waste less resources on Earth.

When we do nothing about
pursuing the latest model of mobile phone,
we prevent metals and plastic from being incinerated.

Many of us have been focusing too much on the surface of
the environmental issue and
forget that the root of the problem actually
comes from our endless demand for luxuries and short term pleasure.

Once a Zen Master mentioned:
what we truly need isn't that much
but what we want are always overwhelming.
(须要的不多，想要的很多)

This may draw some debate,
but seriously,
gratefulness and contentedness are the only
antidotes to the deteriorating Earth surface.

When one is grateful and contented with one's good life,
there is no need to do anything to save the environment.
We feel there is thing to do because we know we have done some damage.
-- but when damage is done, it's usually too late to fix.




With metta,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com

{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}