The Third and Fourth Kind of Nutriments

                                               &

                      Sister True Dedication’s Commentary

        from "Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet" by T N Hanh

 

Consciousness is the third type of Nutriment and Thay says we can

call it by two names, collective consciousness and individual consciousness. The two types inter-are. Individual consciousness reflects the collective.  We consume both every day and they are very real!

Thay says our thoughts, feelings and states of mind are a kind of food entering our body and mind. We need to be mindful and not ruminate over sadness or suffering, or our consciousness can become unwholesome food. We can use appropriate attention to different kinds of thoughts. Mindfully we choose thoughts we know will nourish us and help us grow.

Thay gives the example of seeing a friend carried away by his/her thinking and their face expresses anxiety and sadness.  We perceive he/she is drowning in pain and sorrow.  That is inappropriate attention, so we help our friend pull themselves out of unwholesome consciousness food.

Negative energy can also exist in the collective counsciousness.  We have many examples of that in our country right now. Thay says that when fear and anger become collective, it can be very dangerous, as we have also seen in our country recently. We can easily be swept away by the negative collective energy.  It is very important we choose environments where we will be influenced by healthy, clear collective consciousness.  (our sanghas). Thay goes on to say a whole country can lock itself into one notion, one idea, one feeling.  Or two halfs of a country can do so with different notions.  The mass medias, the military-industrial complex, and other elements can become like prison for us, so that we continue to think in the same ways, to see in the same way and act in the same way.

 

Only you can help yourself get out of that prison of collective consciousness, by your own deep looking and insights.  You allow the Buddha in you to manifest and express the light of truth.  Even if you are in the minority, you can express the truth and be part of the transformation of the whole situation.

 

“ Eating with Non-Violence”

 

   The fourth kind of nutriment is food, and what

 we eat is very important. Thay writes,  “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are.  Tell me where you eat, and I will tell you who you are.” The Buddha said we should eat  in such a way as to keep our compassion alive.  

Thay tells us that UNICEF reports 7 milllion children die each year from hunger and malnutrition.  Thay says they are own sons and daughters and if we overeat, it is like we are eating them!!!Quote on page 180

He notes we must be mindful if we want to be aware of what is going on.  Thay notes that it takes a hundred times more water to produce a pound of meat that it does to produce a pound of grain!

 

Thay recommends ugent action at both the individual and collective levels.  Not eating meat is a powerful way to help our planet survive. If we eat vegetarian, we can preserve water, reduce pollultlion, prevent deforestation and protect wildlife from extinction.  He notes, if we stop consuming, they will stop producing.

 

We become determined to consume non-violently out of awareness, mindfulness and compassion.  It is a way of showing love and gratitude to the Earth.  Thay says, “our daily life has to express our awakening. “

 

We can be happy with a vegetarian diet, and we should do it without judgment. We are to stay tolerant, and don’t impose our ideas on others. But, we need 50% of humanity to volunteer to create balance and eat in a non-violent way.  If our society would practice mindful consumption we could heal ourselves, heal our society and also heal the planet.

 

However we need to be gentle and follow the verse remining monastics to train in the interations with the world to be as gentle as a bee visiting a flower.  Finally Thay suggests that businesspeople and politicians need to contemplate gentleness because we have destroyed the Earth, destroyed the flowers, the water and mountains with our greed.  We should take only what we need, and leave the beauties and flowers of the Earth intact.

 

The teaching of the 4 nutriments helps us understand how not to destroy ourselves, our community or our planet, and how to nourish and protect ourselves and the environment.

 

               LEARNING THE ART OF NOURISHING AND HEALING:                        

                     SISTER TRUE DEDICATION.

Sister TD says we need to look clearly with courage and honestly at the way we consume and its effects on ourselves and the planet. She poses three questions: Is the pace of our growth economy sustainable?  
Am I the master of my attention? What’s the true cost of a cheap 

T-shirt, a glass of liquor or a pound of beef?  Answering these questions may help us wake up and transform our habits. We need to claim our freedom, be open, tolerant and creative to find ways to fuel our bodies and minds. The world does not need more fanatics. If our habits are very hard to change they are probably transmitted to us through generations and held in place by society, culture and context.  We can learn a lot about ourselves and our ancestors if we align our choices with our values.

She then offers us the text of the Mindfulness Training on Nourishment and Healing, recommends we read it slowly ,and reflect on the ways in which it speaks to our lives and challenges us.  She closes with this question, “What insights, questions, or reactions does this training bring up for you today?