Sustainability has been a passion for us since the Zen Monastery Peace Center began. Key awareness phrases such as “leave not a trace,” “not to lead a harmful life,” and “not to take that which is not given” are interwoven throughout our days. When meditation is over, we leave our sitting place pristine, as if we had never been there. We take only the amount of food we know we can comfortably eat so that we don’t waste any of what so many have given so much to make available to us. This is the attitude of mind that we attempt to bring to every aspect of our lives.

At a recent conference on environmental education and global awareness, Bioneers, many excellent speakers made the point that if human beings don’t change our relationship with planet earth, we will cease to exist.  We heard statistics on global warming, deforestation, extinction of species, water pollution, as well as great solutions such as alternative energy, water conservation and organic farming. In the midst of horror stories and dire predictions, one speaker in particular caught our attention. He said that information about the little things one can do to make a difference (recycling, composting, changing the type of light bulbs we use, buying organic) are readily available. But perhaps the most profound, essential approach would be to make cookies and take them to your neighbor.

In other words, sustainability is a process. It is a “how” not a “what.” We could use all the solar, wind, and water power generating systems on the planet. We could compost, recycle, pedal to work, and drink only organic shade-grown coffee. But if we did it with the attitude of mind that this makes us “the good, right-person,” or if it causes us to hate people who are not doing “the right thing,” or if we do it because we feel guilty if we don’t—well, we would actually have the world we have right now. And this is not sustainable.

The attitude of mind we bring to sustainability must be the attitude of mind that we bring to all aspects of ending suffering. Sustainability is the compassion that sees all life as interconnected, essential, valuable and beyond “you and me.”

Sustainability comes from center. Conscious, compassionate awareness is the only thing that is sustainable. It is inclusive. It is kind.  It is respectful.  From conscious, compassionate awareness, we don’t focus on what’s wrong and not enough. From oneness, we want to make choices that support and sustain all of us—from the tiny spider crawling across my desk, to the thousand-year-old redwood trees, to people in far-away places we will never visit, to the neighbor that I haven’t made the time to meet.

In this issue, read more about sustainability at the Zen Monastery Peace Center in 2006.

New charge controller.
We will increase the power our solar system generates by 15% - 25% by installing a new device that more efficiently manages the energy harvested from our solar panels. 

Cost = $500

New water pumping system
Currently we are required to run our generator to pump water, even when our battery bank is full of power, because our pump requires more energy than our power system can produce at one time.  We will replace our current well pump with a high-efficiency pump designed for use with alternative energy systems. The pump will be wired to six new solar panels, allowing us to pump water whenever the sun shines.  Replacing the pump and adding the solar panels will drastically reduce our consumption of fossil fuel, and this change will pay for itself in a short time.

Cost = $2000 for the pump, electrical gizmos and wire
           $2400 for the solar panels.

Wind generator
The addition of wind power will complement our existing solar power. In the summer we have a lot of sun, and in the winter we have a lot of wind. One wind generator at its maximum capacity will generate 1/5th of the power of our entire solar system at its maximum capacity. In other words, if we had five wind generators they would generate the same amount of power as our current system, whenever the wind blew. We are eager to wake up to full batteries instead of empty ones after a stormy night.

Cost = $1000 for the turbine, the tower, and the wire to hook one wind generator up.

Six new solar panels will power a high-efficiency water pump.

Wind generators: adding one at the Monastery would complement our solar power.

Preheated water
There are often times when our batteries cannot accept all of the power being generated by our solar panels. We are adding two hot water tanks to our system to utilize this extra power, which otherwise would be lost. Whenever we have extra power, we will use it to heat water for the kitchen and bathrooms, ending the need to heat it with propane. 

Cost = $500, for two tanks, and a few dollars for wire.

New offices
We are creating a new office on the Monastery property that will be completely powered by our alternative energy system and will have high-speed internet access. This will allow us to move from our current offices in town, saving countless gallons of gasoline, wear and tear on vehicles and monks, office rent, and many working hours wasted on the drive back and forth.

New meditation hall
The largest project on our horizon is the construction of a new meditation hall on the hill above the main Monastery compound. We will make every effort to have the hall be a model of sustainable building, with conscious attention applied to every aspect of its impact on the planet. We plan to break ground early this spring in preparation for our month-long building retreat. Please join us for all or part of the retreat.