God Please Save Your Planet...from us.

Chapter Nine- East of Islam

Meanwhile, beyond Europe and the Middle East, an entirely different set of paradigms had been at play throughout the previous millennia.

In South East Asia, the Mauray Empire was established back in the third century B.C.E. It controlled most of the subcontinent of what is now known as India. In this area of the world polytheistic ideas proliferated. A pantheon, like that of the Greeks back in Europe, told of mighty super beings with terrible weapons of mass destruction dominating the minds of that ancient culture. The stories are vivid, and terrifying. These tales were recorded in a book known as the Rigveda.

In the 1940's of our previous twentieth century, the perfecter of the atomic bomb quoted the Rigveda, as he realized the destructive power he had just unleashed on our modern world. At that moment Julius Robert Oppenheimer realized that humans were capable of ending all life on earth.

Why would a scientist be interested in this ancient Hindu text? More importantly why should we? To put it simply, because we all need to be saved from our current global crisis, and this ancient tale may hold clues to understanding the source of our problem. There is not enough time to go into every detail here, but you can do your own research into this topic.

The Hindu religion is probably most well known for the concept of reincarnation. The general premise of this belief is that, at death our choices in life lead to a rebirth, either better or worse than our current existence. This is a never ending cycle (a wheel, if you like). What makes it most disturbing is, for most people, amnesia prevents recollection of the previous life. One man sought to escape this eternal labyrinth of death, and rebirth.

Siddhartha Guatama lived in the sixth century before Christ. He saw the way humans treated one another in his part of the world, and he wanted to be different. So, he left his family (that is his wife and children), and went on a quest for answers. Eventually, he achieved what he called enlightenment. He taught his followers how to access a higher plane of existence beyond the cycle of reincarnation. He called it Nirvana. It means "blowing out" or extinguished (as in the case of blowing out a candle).

His ideas were not adopted in India in his lifetime. In fact, it was not until the rule of the Mauryan king Ashoka that his ideas, known as Buddhism were adopted. His teachings did however take root to the north, in China.

Upon achieving enlightenment Siddhartha became known as the Buddha (meaning enlightened one). Unlike any religion prior, Buddhism was more of a philosophy for living, than a religious order. It stressed peace, rather than war. It tackled tough issues like suffering. It encouraged balance and peace with all things. Animals and plants were placed on equality with humans. This quest for inner peace, free from conflict, has proved to be very appealing to many in our modern western culture.

Buddhism seeks to achieve this state of being, without appealing to a personal, or almighty deity. In one sense, it is a form of atheism. Imagine humans could discover the selfish internal nature of humanity and learn to resist it through various techniques. That is the premise of Buddhism. It even features a wheel that is reminiscent of the wheel, where all roads meet back in Rome.

So, the question is: Why has the Buddhist model not been adopted by everyone? Understanding the answer to this question is key to understanding why we are struggling to convince the larger populations of our planet to stop ruining the earth. Contrary to popular belief, national government leaders, and the media are not the real problem.

Warfare dominated this area of the world throughout the centuries. The Great Wall of China is evidence of this. Men like Genghis Khan sought conquest rather than peace (or peace through conquest, if you like).

Today, China is no more peaceful than any other country in the world. In addition, it is one of the largest contributors to global pollution. Buddhism may have noble goals, but it lacks the means to achieve the goal of tranquility for humanity.

If you are an environmentalist, it is important for you to carefully consider what's on the next page, because it will explore a dilemma that you may not want to accept. Unfortunately, it is crucial to our future. Ironically, the answer is found in the past, on a tiny island in the middle of the pacific ocean.