One of the things that attracted me to Thich Nhat Hanh was his embodiment of what he called “engaged Buddhism.” While Buddhist monastic life and retreats have their crucial place, our day-to-day actions and their kamma are what show whether we are developing sila—the moral and ethical awakening this is every bit as important as concentration and insight.

In this light, I want to speak about the growing environmental tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico. I’m sure we’ve all been staggered by the sheer scale of the disaster, as every two to three days the ruptured BP oil well spews out the same amount of oil as the entire Alaskan Exxon Valdez oil spill! And yet, BP and others keep downplaying the extent of the catastrophe:

I’ve just made a highly informative post on the oil spill at Goodheart’s Extreme Science (link below). I hope you will take a look, because it offers ways we can help and urge officials to take effective actions that have not been implemented yet. Specially, this post argues that we need to enlist the aid of nature herself in the form of oil-eating microbes.

These amazing little beings have already proven themselves hugely effective at other oil spills, as is explained in a very important video I’ve embedded in the post. Please take a look at:

The BP Oil Disaster—Send in the Microbes!

So often we may feel helpful in the face of huge problems, but here’s a case were we can urge officials and the government to expand their efforts and consider all technologies in battling the oil. The embedded video in the post demonstrates how effective these amazing little beings have been in helping with past oil spills.

No doubt most readers of this blog are already sending their prayers and spiritual energies to the Gulf and every being there. When things feel overwhelming it’s so important that we not underestimate what prayers and directed loving-kindness meditation can do to bring a healing. The people of the Gulf, and the countless beings, great and small, affected by this catastrophe need our help in every way.

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