From SHUMEI MAGAZINE, Vol. 251. MAY/JUNE 2004

A Goal of Shumei Activities:
Bringing the Spiritual and Material Into Balance
Alan Imai

Sensei Alan Imai is Associate Director of Shinji Shumeikai of America. The following is a speech Alan Sensei gave at Monthly Sampai at the Pasadena National Center on April 11, 2004.

There are three charts that accompany this article.

Chart 1, Chart 2, Chart 3

The philosophy and goal of Shumei is the merging of Jyorei, arts and beauty, and Natural Agriculture.

In the modern world, one will find an imbalance between materialism and spirituality. For example, if one were to put materialism on one side of a scale and spirituality on the other side, the scales would definitely tip rather far to the materialism side. People are primarily interested in the acquisition of money, material items, and status. This has led to a tendency to be selfish, with a consequent emphasis on the short term. As a result of this overriding focus on materialism, we have created for ourselves environmental and social problems in our countries.

In the field of medical science, again because the scales have weighed too heavily toward the material side, we find that the medical field has focused primarily on the human body as a physical machine and has mostly ignored the spiritual side. In other words, there has been little focus on the effects that our emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies have on our health.

The foregoing applies as well to agriculture, which has for the most part become “big business” focused primarily on making money.

So, one can see that perhaps the core problem in our modern society has been an over–emphasis on the material, and little or no focus on the spiritual.

The goal of Shumei is to bring into balance the spiritual and material. There are two ways in which to bring these two into balance. One way would be to give up the material altogether, but Meishusama did not advocate the denial of the acquisition of the material. So, it seems obvious, that what we need to do is to focus on the spiritual in order to bring the two sides of the scale into balance. That is what Shumei proposes to do through the promotion of Jyorei, Natural Agriculture, and art and beauty.

For example, when one experiences pain or sickness, allopathic medicine prescribes drugs to stop the symptoms. This is a short term solution. The drugs stop the symptoms and the pain, but they have side effects as well. When sickness occurs in the body it is a sign that there are toxins in our physical and spiritual bodies. This is the real cause of sickness, and the sickness and pain itself is a process of purification. What is important is that we focus on purifying our spiritual body in order to overcome the pain or disease we are experiencing.

This also applies to agriculture. Nature is perfect as it is. When we observe the mountains and forests we see beautiful flowers and trees which have grown without man’s interference or help. Materialism has influenced agriculture. Because we want to grow more food and to grow it bigger, man has resorted to the use of fertilizer. In these modern times we use chemical fertilizers which end up adversely affecting the land, the environment and our physical bodies. The overuse of these chemical fertilizers causes many side effects in the land and poisons the soil, just as the use of medicine causes side effects to the human body. This causes the land to purify itself, just as the human body does, and the result of this land purification is increased insect damage and problems with weeds. As a consequence, the farmer uses chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides to control these problems. This in turn causes the poison of chemical pesticides and herbicides to be introduced into the soil, which exacerbates this vicious cycle. The introduction of the organic agriculture movement was believed to be a solution to this problem. Instead of using chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, organic counterparts of these were developed to combat the problems of poor soil, insects and weeds. But organic agriculture is becoming a big business as well, and the focus has been on making money. As long as the guidelines are met for organic farming, the farmer is free to use whatever methods he chooses as long as they meet the organic standard. The original spirit of the organic movement, such as care for the environment, human health, and quality of life is becoming lost in the big business of organic farming. If we do not change our perception, the organic movement will also not be enough. Sadly, the only difference between organic and conventional farming is whether organic materials or chemicals are being employed. Instead, we have to change our core awareness of agriculture, which means that we must include and focus upon the spiritual component so that Natural Agriculture does not become merely another method of growing food.

The message that we are sending the world with the promotion of art and beauty, Jyorei, and Natural Agriculture is a new lifestyle. Shumei is working in partnership with museums and environmental organizations, and participates in interfaith activities, in order to improve people’s lifestyles and to ultimately bring spirituality and materialism into balance.  As these two sides come into balance, we will find that short–term happiness is important, but at the same time we will strive for long–term happiness. Personal happiness must be balanced with world peace. In the past, some Shumei members have sought world peace, but at the cost of neglecting their own families and personal life. This not the way, there has to be balance. Oneness is also important, as well as each individual and the beauty of each individual. Again, balance is important. Spiritual growth is important, but again not at the expense of totally denying material wealth. As things stand in the world now, economics usually overrides environmental concerns. This has to come into balance. Globalization cannot be denied, but this also has to be balanced with localization. Material and spiritual happiness have to come together. When we have balanced these qualities, we will find that we reside in a peaceful world where the arts and sports flourish, and we will have a world of truth, virtue and beauty—a world of health, prosperity, and harmony.


The Shumei Holistic Life Center

We have decided not to refer to the farm that we own in Santa Cruz, California as a farm, since Natural Agriculture implies something different from farming as it has been know in the past. So, we have a tentative name for it, which is the Shumei Holistic Life Center. We are also open to other suggestions for a name. This name reflects the Natural Agriculture method as well as being inclusive of our other ideals of Jyorei and the appreciation of art and beauty.

The core message of all of this is a new lifestyle, which implies the cultivation of both the soil and the soul. The farmer, the soil and the seeds are the keys to farming. It is necessary that we have pure soil, pure seeds and a pure soul. The farmer and the consumer have to come together in order for this to work, and therefore, consumer education is very important. Along with consumer education is an emphasis on the formation of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) to which the consumer will belong.

The theory behind CSA is that people will join this group, and commit to giving the farmer a certain amount of money for the food that they will receive from the farmer. The farmer, in turn, then has money to buy seeds, and it also enables the farmer to continue to have money to live on when he has a poor growing season. Food prices, in this system, are locked in for the consumer. He is not at the whim of the market. If the market suddenly goes up, the consumer will still be paying the same price as was set at the beginning of the season. We will also introduce our Natural Agricultural products to local farmers’ markets.

Right now in North America in the Shumei Natural Agriculture Network, we have four farms: one is being worked by Kenji Ban in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York; a wheat farm in Canada; Junzo Uyeno’s farm at the Hollywood Center; and a farm at the Crestone Center. We work together with these other Natural Agriculture farms in the exchanging of information and people. The exchange of people works well for us in the winter when the personnel in the Catskill Mountains and Canada are not farming. So, in the off–season they can come to California to help us. Also, some products, especially processed products, can be shared. For instance, wheat is a product from Canada that other Centers can buy, and it is easily shared.

Local to the Shumei Holistic Life Center is the San Francisco Center, and members in San Jose and Santa Cruz. In these cities we would like to set up a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group and consumer development. There are also many farmers’ markets and local restaurants to which we could introduce Natural Agriculture products.
 
We already have small CSA groups in the Hollywood and Pasadena areas. We can share the produce among Santa Cruz, Hollywood, and Pasadena, and if the food is processed it can even be shipped to the Shumei Centers on the East coast.

These are just examples of how Natural Agriculture can be expanded into the world. If you also consider the practice of Jyorei and activities associated with the appreciation of art and beauty, then many other activities are possible.

UC Santa Cruz is only 15 minutes away from the farm. We can develop a program for college students to get credit for studying Natural Agriculture, and we can plan and design environmental events. There is also the possibility of developing and supporting international Natural Agriculture farms and specialists. These specialists would be leaders for the Natural Way of Life. The creation of apprenticeships, and having the specialists and farmers teach the apprentices, would be an extension of this idea.

It is important that we set up consumer events, and educational programs, such as camping activities, family events, workshops, and also some juvenile delinquent programs. We could invite young people who are termed “juvenile delinquents” to the farm, have them work with nature, and educate and allow them to experience the connection between themselves and their environment. We could also invite families and the general public to visit the farm, as well as sponsor a Shumei philosophy lecture series, and invite school children.

If we focus on the local community, such as Santa Cruz, we can support cultural events, have an open farm, sampling parties, and food festivals that are joined to the “slow food movement.*” All of the above mentioned events and programs are ones we would like to develop with this farm.

In these modern times, many people are not willing or able to cook at home anymore, so in order to reach out to as many people as possible we would like to organize a “Bread and Salad Club.” Natural Agriculture wheat from Canada will be used to bake the bread and then we will make a packaged salad from the many Natural Agriculture vegetables we have grown. This Bread and Salad Club, which will be supported by the Shumei Holistic Life Center, will be an easy way to introduce Natural Agriculture to many people because all they have to do is buy and consume the bread and salad.

And now we come to the question as to what we here in Southern California can do to help. There are many things on the list: There is a Shumei Natural Agriculture Network of Farms, as was mentioned earlier, including Junzo’s Hollywood farm and our California farm. We can join the Bread and Salad Club. We have wheat and flour from Canada, and we are looking for bakeries to bake bread from this wheat for us. We can also introduce our vegetables to the local farmers’ markets, so that we as consumers can buy these vegetables. We can also become members of the Community Supported Agriculture group. We are encouraged to visit the farms in order to help the farmer, understand what is happening and participate in events. We also want to introduce our Natural Agriculture vegetables to the local grocers, educate them as to what vegetables are available, and inform the consumers who buy produce from their stores. We would also like to introduce our produce to local restaurants. Again, we need to explain to them what is available and introduce the possibility of having a special Natural Agriculture menu, and then support the restaurant by eating there. We can also grow our own vegetables in our own home garden. It is also important to be aware of what is happening at both the local and national government levels. All of these are things that we can do as consumers to help promote Natural Agriculture.

* The “slow food” movement began in Italy in opposition to “fast food.” It focuses on the appreciation, reintroduction, and promotion of traditional food.