Climate and Nature Emergency
A few weeks ago Nyima and I attended a meeting in a local village hall with about 30 other local people (almost all Welsh speakers). We gathered to watch a short film and discuss our reactions to it. The film is being rolled out with the express purpose of encouraging public discussion on the seriousness of the Climate and Nature Crisis that we hear about all the time. It focuses on the need for the Government to declare a national emergency on the scale of the response to the Second World War. The message is that the Climate and Nature Crisis is even more serious than the Coronavirus pandemic, which prompted a swifter and more decisive response from the Government.
The Government needs to be addressing the people directly with the measures that need to be taken immediately.
The film was well presented, succinct yet relatable, with short responses from a panel who exemplified the kind of discussion that needs to be taking place. There was a skilful balance between conveying the seriousness of the situation and offering realistic steps towards solutions, even at this late stage.
We then broke into groups to discuss our responses: what we found surprising, what effect the film had had on us, and what we thought we might do about it.
What surprised me most was learning that although 85% of British people support a stronger Government response to the Climate and Nature Crisis, only 75% of MPs either know or believe this. Of course, the statistic is unclear in its details, but what struck me was the significant mismatch between what the nation wants and needs, and the Government's perception of this. It suggests that we all have a part to play in making sure our MPs know just how important their constituents regard the Climate and Nature Crisis to be.
After the event I realised that much of the discussion had focused on the various things we, as a local community, could do, rather than on the real implications of the Government acting as though this truly were a national emergency. The more I reflected on this over the following days, the more I found myself questioning what that would actually mean in practice. Do I trust anyone to handle such a move competently? What would need to be in place for such a response to bring about significant change?
Nyima asked me what I thought about it all. Did I regard it simply as samsaric suffering that is ultimately illusion, and therefore something there was no need to get involved with?
I replied that if I truly believed that, then what need would there be for me to eat? Rather, I take the view that we have to choose our battles carefully. We cannot do everything. We cannot fight on all fronts at once. Each of us has to discover the best way to apply our own energies.
I have chosen to devote my life to the Dharma: to understanding it as deeply as I can, to living it as best I am able, and to passing on as much of the profound Dharma as possible to future generations, especially here in this country, and here in the place where His Holiness Khyentse Rinpoche instructed us to establish a sacred place for generations to come. It is the Dharma that leads each and every being to the peace that lies beyond life and death.
That is what I have chosen to do. Yet for me to do that, I also need people who are willing to hold society together; to care for the country, to protect it, and to raise the next generation in health and safety. In other words, I rely on others choosing to take on the many battles and causes that need attention, just as I hope they can rely on people like me to preserve and transmit the Dharma.
Karmically speaking, if our intentions are wholesome and we are doing something genuinely beneficial, then the results will also be positive. Beyond that, we cannot control what unfolds. What we can do is encourage what is positive and resist what is harmful in whatever ways lie within our power.
Perhaps this is a weaselly answer, but to me it feels both practical and hopeful. It reflects the vaster vision that gives meaning to taking Refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, and to aspiring to bring all beings to Awakening beyond birth and death.