Ecology and Evolution

IN PRAISE OF MOTHER EARTH 

by Thich Nhat Hanh

Homage to you Refreshing Earth Bodhisattva

Mother of this world with its many species.

We want to turn to you with respect,

Beautiful green planet in the midst of the sky,

You who have given birth to countless species,

Produced so many wonders of life,

Loved in the ultimate sense of non-discrimination,

Embraced all species not barring a single one,

Loyal and reliable, tolerant and stable,

The mother who bears all species.

Countless bodhisattvas spring up

From your fresh green lap.

Mother you embrace and transform

Sweeping away the hatred of humans,

Creating new life day and night,

Helping the earth to bloom with the flowers of heaven.

You are open to thousands of other galaxies,

Sharing your joy with the trichiliocosm,

By seeing that your true nature is interdependence.

Conserving and protecting so that nothing is lost,

Not being, not nothing, not eternal, not annihilated,

Not the same, not different, not coming, not going.

Your love knows no limits,

Your virtues no shortcomings.

Your nature is the Four Immeasurable Minds

Like the four great oceans they never dry up.

Whenever spring returns you wear a new robe

Of red roses, the green willow, beautiful and fresh.

When summer comes the vegetation displays its bright colors,

Wholesome seeds, sweet fruits are to be found everywhere.

How brilliant are the colors of the autumn forest

Until winter comes and snowflakes fill the sky.

The afternoon tide chants like the roll of thunder

The morning sunrise paints an incomparable picture,

Making visible all the splendors of the universe.

You are the most beautiful flower of the Solar System,

The wisdom that lights up the ten directions,

The mind that is open to all places.

Mother, you are the Paradise of the Present,

Making possible the future for all species.

We come back and take refuge in you,

With nothing to run after, accepting the unfavorable as also favorable,

Seeing that you are always in us and

Seeing ourselves in you for all of time.

May we follow your good example,

And live every moment with true peace and joy.

Homage to the Refreshing Mother Earth Bodhisattva

Vedanta Ecology and Evolution

Lecture by Swami Mahayogananda

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Essay on Global Ecology and Vedanta by Pravrajika Vrajaprana

Part 1

Part 2

Mt. Kailash Tibets Sacred Mountain

To see the grandeur of a mountain one must keep one's distance; to understand its form one must move around it; to experience its moods one must see it at sunrise and at sunset. But to truly know it, one must journey the mountain with a Master, an Enlightened Being. Regarded as the spiritual center of the universe, Mt. Kailash is revered by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Bonpos alike. For Hindus it is on top of this wondrous peak that Lord Shiva resides in an eternal state of meditation, creating the sustaining force that holds the universe together. Tibetans have aptly named this mighty rock as "The Precious Jewel of The Snow". It is here that the great Tibetan mystic, saint, and poet Milerapa wrote a hundred thousand poems on Buddhism. For Jains, Mt. Kailash is the site where their first prophet achieved enlightenment. For the ancient religion of Bon, it is where their founder descended from the heavens.