Buddhist leaders tackled water and sanitation in an online forum Saturday, the sixth of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), under the theme, “Buddhist Perspectives: Ensure Access to Water and Sanitation.”
The forum was hosted by the Bay Area Buddhist Association, an alliance of Buddhist organizations representing Soto Zen, Jodo Shinshu, and Nichiren Buddhism. The group hopes Buddhist leaders and laypeople of all stripes join them in addressing great challenges facing the world today, including education, hunger, climate change, clean water, affordable energy and other pressing problems. The association, which was founded in 2020, took the mantle declared at a 2018 World Buddhist conference in Japan supporting the UN’s goals.
Keynote speaker Rev. Patti Nakai, recently retired minister from the Buddhist Temple of Chicago, warned of being “sucked into a jiriki (self-power) shell, where we only think about ourselves and our family, not about others.” Concern for others lacking basic necessities such as clean water and sanitation is an expression of Tariki (Power beyond self), Great Compassion extending beyond our ego.
According to the United Nations, water and sanitation are essential to sustainable development for the world’s poorest countries. Recent decades of overexploitation, pollution, and climate change led to severe water problems across the world.
Today, 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water, and more than 4.2 billion people lack safely managed sanitation, according to the U.N. Climate change exacerbated the problem, contributing to disasters such as floods and drought. Moreover, 80 per cent of the world’s wastewater flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused, while 70 per cent of the world’s natural wetlands have been lost, including major declines of freshwater species.
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem, impairing access for billions of people to safely managed drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services –services desperately needed to prevent the virus from spreading.
According to a U.N statement: “Now more than ever the world needs to transform the way it manages its water resources and delivers water and sanitation services for billions of people. Urgent action is needed to overcome this global crisis, as it is affecting all countries around the world, socially, economically and environmentally.”
Rev. Nakai pointed out in Jodo Shinshu Buddhist teachings, water frequently appears as a metaphor, for example the ocean symbolizing the infinite nature of the universe, while rivers symbolize ignorance and blind passions.
Hearing the calling voice of Amida Buddha means, in concrete terms, means hearing the voices of our ancestors imploring us to protect the environment, she said. It also means hearing future voices, of children pleading for us to tackle these urgent problems now.
Citing several urgent and pressing water challenges, Rev. Nakai spoke about water emergencies caused by the war in Palestine, the fire in Lahaina, Hawaii, and contaminated water in Flint, Michigan.
Rev. Nakai recommended practical ways to take action, such as joining or supporting environmental justice groups, voting for elected representative concerned with the environment, and personally changing how we use and re-use water. At her house, she has a “gray water” system, which collects rainwater and washing machine runoff, which is used to flush the toilet. Otherwise, she said, “So much re-useable water goes down the drain.”
Rev. Taiga Ito from the Soto Zen Buddhism International Center, San Mateo, California, explained water conservation practices integral to monastery life and the Zen tradition. He talked about oryoki, three bowls of varying sizes that fit together in one bowl used for eating, drinking and begging. To clean the bowls, a mere cup of water is used to clean them with a small spatula-like utensil, then wiped with a small cloth. These simple, yet efficient movements, brought to mind the Japanese tea ceremony.
“In a world of limited resources,” Rev. Ito said, “we need to make the most of what we have.”
-Rev. Ken Yamada, editor at Higashi Honganji Shinshu Center of America