Could western civilization’s oldest ethical instructions have relevance to our newest environmental problems?

Could restoring respect for human beings be the key to restoring the health of the planet?

What we know, I think, is that over the years the ingenuity, the genius, the imagination of the organizations, social entrepreneurs, of engineers, of designers, of individuals has created a powerful arsenal of tools to address what ails us in the world. And the financial and technical means are in place to restore the needs of the biosphere and society. There’s no question about that.

It has been said by many that we cannot save this planet unless there’s widespread spiritual or religious awakening.

Could western civilization’s oldest ethical instructions have relevance to our newest environmental problems? Could restoring respect for human beings be the key to restoring the health of the planet?
This is The Golden Rule: Restoring the Earth by Restoring Human Dignity.

If human beings were truly respected, could the Earth be restored?

Paul Hawken: “In her work, which I recommend, The Great Transformation by Karen Armstrong, she details the origins of our religious traditions in what’s called the axial age period between 200 and 900 BCE. This is a time when much of the world turned away from violence and cruelty and barbarity. There was such an upwelling of philosophy, and insight, intellect in that period that is carried forth in the work of Socrates and Sophocles, and Lao Tzu, Confucius, Mencius, the Buddha, Rabbi Hillel and others.

But rather than religious institutions, these teachers were bringing forth social movements that addressed human suffering.

Later, they were called Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Monotheistic Judaism, democracy, and philosophical rationalism. But in their origin these were not theocratic systems, they did not require belief, they required practice, action. They were not trying to create doctrinaire institutions but compassionate society. They asked their students to question and challenge everything, to never take anything on faith. They urged people to change how they acted in the world, and all that relied on one common principle, the golden rule. Do not ever, ever, do anything to anything or anyone that you would not have done to yourself. Rabbi Hillel said, don’t do anything to your neighbor you wouldn’t do to yourself. That is the Torah, read it. All the rest is commentary. That’s it, if you get that, right?

These were not theocratic systems. They didn’t require belief, they required a change in behavior. Armstrong again, this is a quote, “The axial sages were not interested in providing their disciples with a little edifying uplift after which they could return with renewed vigor to their self centered lives.” Their objective was to create an entirely different kind of human being. Sages insisted that people abandon their egotism and greed, their violence and unkindness. And not only was it wrong to kill another human being, you must not even speak a hostile word about or towards that person, not even make an irritable gesture. Further you cannot combine your benevolence to your own people. Your concern must somehow extend to the entire world. If people behave with kindness and generosity to others they could save the world.

Axial sages lived in a time of war. Their goal was to understand the source of violence, not to combat it. Their practices guided the mind with very simple precepts that slowly and gradually changed the heart. Enlightened was not the goal, kindness, action and compassion were.
These teachings, these teachings are the source of charity in the world. They are the source of NGOs, of philanthropy, of institutes, of collectives, of alliances, of faith-based organizations. These teachings are the source of what it is that we are creating to this day.

Extract from podcast - www.bioneers.org

(Full transcript at http://www.bioneers.org/node/2792)

The impact that a non-vegetarian way of life has on the environment.

Vegetarianism & Sustainability -

Historical Istanbul Declaration of the Muslim 7 Year Action Plan on Climate Change

It was an astonishing moment in Istanbul on July 6, when 50 key Muslim scholars, as well as leaders, civil society members and representatives of all major Islamic governments made the unprecedented step of joining together to endorse a long term Muslim plan for action on climate change. The plan proposes investigating every level of Muslim activity from daily life to annual pilgrimages, from holy cities to the future training of Imams.

Specific proposals include: developing the major Muslim cities as green city models for other Islamic urban areas, developing an Islamic label for environmentally friendly goods and services and creating a best practice environmental guide for Islamic businesses. Such a thing has never happened before, and ARC’s major partner in this was the fabulously well-connected UK-based NGO Earthmates. http://www.arcworld.org/news.asp?pageID=334 and link http://www.arcworld.org/news.asp?pageID=337 to find the Economist article about it.

ARC’s response to the Papal Encyclical

In his encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, released on July 6th, Pope Benedict recognises the interconnectedness of our actions - if we mistreat the natural world we mistreat ourselves, because everything is bound to everything else. He links nature not only to the environment but to “human ecology”; all of our relationships speak of the moral tenor of society, we cannot distinguish one from the other. He urges the Church to assert her responsibility in the public sphere and defend the natural world, linking environmental stewardship to protecting mankind from self-destruction.

No longer is concern for the earth something that is only of interest to “greenies”, if you are a Catholic then you care about the world around you because it is fundamentally related to justice, peace and human development. This is an encyclical that firmly places care for the natural world at the heart of Catholic teaching and action. http://www.arcworld.org/news.asp?pageID=338

Eco-Sikh: Greener Habits for up to 24 million Sikhs

The symbol of Sikhism is a sword, which stands for the Sikh commitment to defend the weak, particularly widows and orphans. In 1999 the Sikhs came to the end of their 300 year Cycle of the Sword, and among many other initiatives they had in place a system of providing food to 30 million people a day through free kitchens in their gurdwaras, or temples.

The current 300 year cycle  is committed to protecting Nature, and its impact on the vulnerable environment over the next generations may be equally impressive. Link to the story on http://www.arcworld.org/news.asp?pageID=336 <http://www.arcworld.org/news.asp?pageID=336> , and also to ARC’s first ever field video, taken with a hand camera, to tell, in about 2 minutes about how the evening prayer in Sikkhism is a prayer dedicated to nature. And how nature is continually giving thanks to God.

UK Hindus plan for environmental action including a Hindu eco-label

“Food has always been at the heart of the Hindu way of life. Now with food, and especially the environmental cost of meat, right at the top of the global climate change agenda, Hindus feel they have something to say.” Link to http://www.arcworld.org/news.asp?pageID=340 to learn more about the first Hindu Nine Year Plan to protect the environment, which includes the idea of starting up a Hindu eco-label.

There are over 300 Hindu temples and organisations in the UK,” said Shaunaka Rishi Das, Director of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies which is coordinating this movement. “If they can work together to inspire their congregations to make changes, we can make a real contribution to the environmental goals of this country. This meeting was historical because the larger Hindu temples in the UK have agreed to work together as never before, which is very encouraging and a very good example.”

First ever Faith in Water workshop leads to new collaborations and stories

ARC, and our partners EMF and IRC, held a unique meeting in Salisbury, UK in early July, to discuss the very specific issue of how faith schools (about half of all schools in the world are founded by, managed by or connected to faiths) can contribute to helping the water and sanitation crisis. We brought together groups that rarely meet – viz representatives of the major religions’ schools programmes, representatives of major agencies working on water and sanitation issues, and inventors dedicated to finding practical solutions to water and sanitation issues.

I’ll write about this issue again later, when some of the papers and stories are available, but meanwhile here are some details, http://www.arcworld.org/news.asp?pageID=335 and here’s a moving article written by our project manager Elizabeth Idiumenah, after visiting the Nairobi slums to find out how one church is helping the inhabitants to improve their water and sanitation.
http://www.arcworld.org/news.asp?pageID=331

Invitation to a special Faith & Forest meeting near Ratzeburg, Germany

The Ecumenical Foundation for the Integrity of Creation and Sustainability, is holding a major meeting in Germany to discuss the relationship between religions and forests – historically, culturally, spiritually, economically and environmentally. Participants are coming from across Germany and the Baltic as well as ARC, the Church of Sweden and a delegation of Shinto priests engaged with forests. There are still a few places left for what will be a fascinating meeting in a beautiful location.

If you are interested in the relationship between faith and forests this will be a great event to attend. It takes place at the lakeside village of Bak near Ratzeburg and costs 350 euros for food, fees and accommodation. Contact Dr. Arnd Heling at Stiftung@schoepfungsbewahrung.org or +49 4541 805877.  Our support for this is part of ARC’s programme with the Shinto and the Church of Sweden to develop a Religious Forestry Standard.

A brochure can be downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/17snz4