WHO POLLUTES THE WORLD?
Joshu Sasaki Roshi was invited to participate in a symposium sponsored by the American Institute of Buddhist Studies, entitled Maitreya on Turtle Island, held at the University of Santa Cruz in August, 1978. The subject of the symposium was the relevance of Buddhism to contemporary American Society. Here is the beginning of his talk:
"I have been asked to speak today about how the problems of our contemporary world relate to the Buddhist understanding of emptiness, or what I prefer to call zero. Now, whatever these problems may be, when you first look at me, are you thinking about pollution or ecology or emptiness? The first problem when you come upon someone you do not know is to meet and shake hands. All questions disappear in the moment of the encounter. Isn't it the same way when you meet your lover?
When you embrace your lover, do you think about pollution or even Enlightenment? Your lover probably would shove you away if you were thinking about something else while you embraced. You like to talk about the problems of the world, even though you've forgotten the fundamental union of the embrace of God..."