From Grace:

I support in principle such initiative in endorsing the Earth Charter. Let's spend sometime studying it further what would be the best course of action for a Buddhist group like Huayen, which would truly reflect the core principles and the vision of the world in the lens of Huayen?

Let's not lose sight of the "globe warming" which is happening right now at this very moment on the other side of the globe, where a conflict in Iran is accelerating. What the Earth Charter has to say about this conflict? The world may not be able to reverse the damage the humanity has caused in light of the climate change/globe warming, the world can stop this conflict, can we or can we not?

Let's not divert the attention...

Grace

From: Dr. Tony Prince

My idea, or my hope, was just to get people talking about these things.

As I said, I feel that these issues are very important and that they should be of particular concern to Huayen practitioners. Fa Zang was well aware of the so-called 'butterfly effect' more than a thousand years ago, and the Huayen teachings constantly emphasize the interconnectedness of all things. Huayen also insists ("wu'ai" 無礙) on the illusory nature of the barriers that the deluded mind is always erecting between individuals, nations and cultures, between humans and other sentient beings, and between the animate and inanimate worlds. This is a point of view that the world stands in desperate need of now, at this precarious beginning of the 21st century.

Unfortunately the Huayen Community is still relatively small, so it's difficult to think of any effective actions that we might take as a group, but at least we could start thinking and talking about what might be done. The Dhammapada says that everything starts with the mind ("Manopubbangama dhamma..."), so I thought that it might be a good idea to just bring the Earth Charter up for discussion sometimes in your Huazang discussion groups, and try to work out how the teachings of the Sutra might be applied to our current social, political and economic problems on a global scale -- to the sort of issues referred to in the charter. (And surely it should be easy for followers of Huayen, more than any other kind of Buddhism, to look at things from this kind of global or universal perspective!) Perhaps that might inspire people to come up with further ideas.

Tony

I was pleased to see in a recent issue of "普光世紀" that Ven. Haiyun has dedicated this year's Sangha Conference to the theme of peace and harmony in the world (世界和諧) and that he has spoken of the need to create a world that will be free of the
threat of military force (非武時代、非武世界).
These are encouraging signs. It seems to me that the military threat in
particular is the biggest single problem facing the world at the
moment. It's
not just a matter of the death and destruction that all these weapons
can
cause: there is also the vast amount of money that is continually being
wasted
on their development and sale throughout the world, money that would be
freed for more constructive and beneficial purposes if only the
armaments industry
could somehow be abolished. Of course this problem is also addressed in
the
Earth Charter (paragraph 16), as you know.

Grace is quite right to be concerned about the under-representation of members
from the undeveloped world in the Earth Charter organization, although it's
probably inevitable at this stage. I suspect that the main reason is simply
that people in the wealthier countries have more time and freedom to devote to
issues of global ethics, whereas those in poorer countries are too preoccupied
with their own daily struggle for survival and (with luck) a modest degree of
prosperity to be able to worry about what might be happening in other parts of
the world. Hopefully the gap will be gradually narrowed in future (a process the
Earth Charter is meant to encourage), and in the meantime more effort could
perhaps be made to draw the Charter to the attention of people in the sort of
countries that Grace is talking about.

I must say that I find her other objection quite strange though.
I can understand that people might object to some specific items in the Earth
Charter, or to the phrasing of certain sentences, and I don't suppose that the
document has necessarily reached its final form yet. But the purpose of the
Charter as a whole is precisely to try and define those values that apply (or
should apply) to all human beings, simply because they are human beings,
regardless of what country they are living in. Is Grace really claiming that it
is only people in Western countries who should be treated with respect or have
the right to live in a healthy environment? Are women in poorer countries to be
raped and bashed because only women in richer nations are allowed to claim the
right to be free from this kind of violence? Do we have to be living in a
developed economy in order to be granted the right to receive an adequate
education or to express our opinions freely and peacefully?
In truth, if the human race is to have any hope of doing better in this century
than it did in the last one, we have to get rid of the kind of divisive group
thinking that pits nation against nation and culture against culture, and learn
to think instead on the individual and universal level. What is it that makes
us human? What sort of society can best provide for our physical and
intellectual needs and allow us to develop our spiritual potential? What are
our responsibilities to one another and to the other sentient beings that we
share the planet with? If we can work out the answers to questions like these,
we will be well on our way towards the "四海一家"
and "世界大同"
that Ven. Hai Yun speaks of in the same article. The Earth Charter may not be
perfect -- how could it be? -- but it is certainly a step in the right
direction and I think we should make the best use of it that we can.

Yours in the Dharma,
Tony

處世而不住

With regard to Iran, the Earth Charter, like the Buddhadharma, is more concerned with principles than specific cases, but the general Buddhist position is perfectly clear: aggressive warfare can never be justified under any circumstances, and threatening to attack a country that is not threatening to attack you is a sign of insanity. The principles listed under section 16 of the Earth Charter would also, if put into effect, make military invasion and the kind of brutal civil conflict we see in Iraq and Israel impossible. But at least Washington and Tehran are talking to one another at the moment (29/5/07), however reluctantly, so let's hope....

Tony

There is a posting in the Chinese version of this website:

北美生命體驗營----和上對幹部所提”地球憲章”所作開示

Huayen Buddhist Community-NA Ven. Hai-Yun's Lecture Regarding the Earth Charter.

The English translation of this lecture has been posted under the news
and announcement section on the home page of this website.

Huayen Buddhist Community-NA Ven. Hai-Yun's Lecture Regarding the Earth Charter (Updated 07-31-2007)

Please see this posting under

Enlighteneing words from Ven. Haiyun.

Please also check out this article (translated into English) posted under

Enlighteneing words from Ven. Haiyun.