We seem to thrive
on doing things big. Simple, small things that could be done to satisfy our needs
never seem to be enough. The Buddha word and way of shunning greed is only
spoken about and make good at forums, conferences and workshops. In real life,
we feed the greed and move on to create ‘projects’ that not only generate unwarranted
amounts of waste, emit CO2 and other pollutants that threaten our own existence.
The long term is not usually on our planning horizon. Nature and environments
untouched are seen as virgin resources with potential for present or future
exploitation.
Climate and other
scientists tell us that we have now gone beyond the threshold or limits of
tolerance and the question is indeed, if we care. The caring now must be for
our children and theirs, yet to be born.
This column written
and published in November 2011 was about such thoughts and I repost it once
again for your critical evaluation.
The year 2012 is cited
as a threshold or a point-of- no-return year by climate scientists in their
recommendations on how we could effectively manage catastrophic outcomes that
could arise from global warming and climate change. They cite the huge
increases we have seen of CO2 emissions in the recent past, to be taking us to
such a point-of-no-return. The collective of global leaders are yet to respond
with solid commitments that are called for to prevent such catastrophe.
While a call is made on our leaders, there is
so much each of us as individuals could do to ensure that there is real change
happening in the area of managing ‘waste’ within our own domains of influence
and power. ‘Waste’ is indeed the phenomenon that causes the effect for creating
this situation and there is immense potency in the ‘power of one’ in addressing
and seeking solutions.
Do we think twice when
we take on lavish schemes for economic growth that are far remote from meeting our
basic needs or have the ability to serve all alike? Do we think twice about
spending lavishly on weddings, tamashas or on other luxurious social events
that are wasteful? Should we not end our wasteful ways such as abuse of toxic
substances, abuse of power, bribery and corruption in our midst and focus on
more refined and basic lifestyles of living within our means, akin to our
religious teaching?
A journey
‘Waste’ is no doubt a
concept that is at the core of human existence. Yet, we pay only very little
attention to what it really means to us as humans. Observing the extravagance,
the superficial glitter and wasteful ways practised in our midst, I thought of taking
you along on a somewhat odd journey today. My aim is for us together gain a better
understanding of the concept of ‘waste’ focussing on what it could mean to us
as individual citizens on this, our planet earth and as collectives of people
living on it, as nations or tribes.
‘Waste’ is tied up as
an integral element with production processes of almost all human activities.
The most intimate of such experience we encounter as humans is the passing of
urine and faeces at times our bodies deem it necessary. Almost a mindless
activity to us most, that could be thought of as both a process and an outcome,
in the ultimate definition of the concept of waste.
It is not often we spare
a moment to think deeply about why we are asked to analyse samples of our
excreta when medical science wants to determine the state of the health or the
functioning of our bodies. When we do, we realise that it is because that such
analysis could tell medical practitioners a whole lot about the happenings
within each of our bodies. That then is ‘waste’ telling a story of what we are
and what we could become.
Our ways
Simply extending that
to planet earth, civilisations within it and our ways of living, the ‘waste’ we
generate as beings living on this; yet the only planet we have to live in,
should tell us a whole lot about what we are and what we could become. In fact
it already does, with the waste we have generated as CO2 reaching alarming
proportions now, causing the crisis we know today as global warming and climate
change.
The way different
civilisations look at and understand the concept of waste also makes
interesting study. In the Western cultural tradition, waste is thought of as an
inevitable by product of human action, much like a remnant or to be dumped
useless entity. In that tradition, there is little differentiation between the
cause for generating ‘waste’ and ‘waste’ itself. Based on the assumption that
all resources on planet earth are created to meet the needs of humans, and that
human greed and craving for choice are natural phenomenon that drive the urge
for humans to seek ‘growth and/or development’ in acquiring material wealth, ‘waste’
is considered an essential outcome that need be ‘minimised and/or managed’.
Money in waste
Popular dictionary
definitions of ‘waste’ refer to “an act or instance of
using or expending something carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose"
and add as synonyms; to squander, dissipate, consume, destroy and misspend. Here the focus of the
reference is mainly on the utilisation of finite and non-renewable resources.
We often hear
statements like “there is money in waste” or “reducing waste leads to enhancing
productivity” and that triggers responses from those who take on turning
‘waste’, into money making enterprise. We hear engineers trained in the western
tradition discuss ‘process waste’ and ‘use waste’ on a
presumption of resource scarcity. There are yet others who paradoxically argue ‘waste’
to be a by-product of scarcity. The
tripod of ‘reduce- reuse – recycle’ has been touted as the way to managing
waste and that in the main, become our focus with not much attention paid to
the concept of ‘waste’ beyond that.
At the core
Within the context of
the Buddhist tradition, ‘waste’ is dealt with by minimising the need for generating
it within the very core of our lifestyles. ‘Waste’ is also defined as deterioration
(Kshaya) or obsessing one’s mind in meaningless thought (Anusaya). It calls for practice of modesty and a way of
living defined as a balanced approach of the middle path. Called the ‘Rightful Ways’
or the Noble Eightfold Path, the actions of right view, right intention, right
speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and
right concentration all combine to enable the human mind to eliminate the need
for creation of waste through the creation of an advance life style. The Noble Eightfold Paths are pillared on the realisation of the
Four Noble Truths of Dukka (Suffering), origin of dukka, cessation of dukka and
the path to cessation of dukka and together form the very essence of the
Buddhist thought process. It is indeed
a practical guideline to ethical and mental development with the goal of
freeing the individual from attachments and delusions; finally leading to
understanding the truth about all things.
Rapid action
This is much akin to
what I read as an interpretation of Sir Arthur C Clarke’s Third Law as “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from nature
(‘magic’ was the original)” and the rationale behind the philosophy of Zero Waste
and strategy it adopts in harmony with ways of the natural world.
Although we have done many things to
reduce, recycle and reuse our waste to a certain extent for some time now, our
journey on elimination of waste as individuals and nations must begin now. That
for us is no longer an option but a must do. That is because scientific finding
and observation of phenomena tell us that we are now on a rapid collusion
course with nature and could soon surpass a point-of-no-return.
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