The Amazonian rainforest is burning and the world stands by and watches. We have lost our reverence for nature since we do not live in unison with it. Thus we abide in indifferent ignorance with respect to the suffering of those beings caught in the blaze.
This lethargic ignorance makes us dull and insensitive. The result is that the effective measures required to extinguish the fire as quickly as possible and to save the plants and animals caught in it are not taken. Furthermore, the indigenous people of the rainforest have been permanently robbed of their living space and are experiencing terrible suffering.
The Amazonian rainforest is a unique nature paradise with the highest diversity of plants and animals the world over. As an essential CO2 store and so-called green lung of the earth, it has an enormous significance for the entire world climate. It produces 20 percent of our global oxygen. Consequently, the fire in this region is everything else than a regional issue.
The rainforest is the common good of mankind, who bears the responsibility for its preservation. We can only overcome this catastrophe when we deal with it as a problem shared by us all and act jointly. For this, we require an immediate turnaround in our thinking towards a new awareness of the equivalence of beings and all-encompassing compassion for all beings. May the rainforest be saved before it is irretrievably destroyed.
Zen-Master Zensho W. Kopp
Language
