Is Gardening Evil?

[Marblehead]

Okay. So I was just outside looking at my gardens and I saw a couple weeds that had grown taller than the flowers and now they are dead. The weeds, that is.

 

I do, however, have flower stalks on two of my day lilly plants! What a nice surprise that was for me! (I grew them from seed last year.)

 

Now it is time for me to go out back to the pond area and kill some algae.

 

Peace & Love!

[That Guy]

May those weeds R.I.P ;__;

[Marblehead]

May those weeds R.I.P ;__;

 

Thanks. Hehehe. I'm sure they will.

 

Peace & Love!

[Andrei]

I dream to have a space of love like this

[Marblehead]

I dream to have a space of love like this

 

Hi Steam,

 

Yes, that is idealism.

 

Regretfully, there are too many people on the planet for everyone to live like that or in places like that.

 

In the large cities around the world people live in the nature that has been created by man, not by the wu wei nature of the universe.

 

But still, I would agree that even the city dwellers of this planet can live that way internally. We can still have our 'space of love'.

 

Peace & Love!

[goldisheavy]

I don't mean the whole activity, but you can't have an overgrown garden that really looks nice, so you have to cut the trees, bushes, kill weeds etc.

 

So this poor tree or bush has been cultivating for a whole year, gathering that energy, growing it branches, strengthening them and then that guy comes along and snip snap all their hard work undone just like that! And as long as they're in my garden, they'll never really grow beyond what they are now, for when they do that guy comes along and puts them back in their place.

 

And weeds, there they are, just trying to survive and theres that guy, just killing them so the garden can look pretty. It would be like theres a group photo, but you're not good looking enough for the camera man so he takes you out (for good!).

 

So if you're killing, injuring and oppressing plants just for the sake of having a good looking garden, is that wrong?

 

It all depends on how you see it. If you think you are above plants and animals, you are evil. If you think you're no different from bugs which routinely damage plants for their own satisfaction, then it's not evil. If you think you're part of nature, you're not evil. If you think you stand external to nature while you manipulate the nature in your garden, you are evil.

 

This is a very simplistic way to explain things, but your question is very simplistic. You ask like a 3-year old and I answer to you as if you were a 3-year old.

[That Guy]

It all depends on how you see it. If you think you are above plants and animals, you are evil. If you think you're no different from bugs which routinely damage plants for their own satisfaction, then it's not evil. If you think you're part of nature, you're not evil. If you think you stand external to nature while you manipulate the nature in your garden, you are evil.

 

This is a very simplistic way to explain things, but your question is very simplistic. You ask like a 3-year old and I answer to you as if you were a 3-year old.

Heres the difference, bugs damage plants for survival, not because they want things to look pretty. Simple.

 

You like to jump in and indirectly insult, but I don't care because well... lets just say I skip your posts these days. Your fantasy interpretations and stories just aren't for me. Good luck

[Samuel]

If we take our cue from nature, there's nothing wrong with gardening. Leaf Cutter Ants garden, they farm fungus in their nests, by feeding them grass, and keeping away moulds that would kill them, and then the Ants eat the fungus. In this case, the ant is the gardener, (Marblehead in this case... sorry ), the fungus being his flowers and the moulds being the weeds. The only problems begin when we look at the fact that the ants need to farm these fungi in order to survive, it is their main source of food.

 

Don't pick the daisies!

 

Sam

[Marblehead]

If we take our cue from nature, there's nothing wrong with gardening. Leaf Cutter Ants garden, they farm fungus in their nests, by feeding them grass, and keeping away moulds that would kill them, and then the Ants eat the fungus. In this case, the ant is the gardener, (Marblehead in this case... sorry ), the fungus being his flowers and the moulds being the weeds. The only problems begin when we look at the fact that the ants need to farm these fungi in order to survive, it is their main source of food.

 

Don't pick the daisies!

 

Sam

 

Hehehe. No daisies this year. (Actually they don't do well down here bacause of the summer sun and heat. But I did have some for a couple years until they got too raggidy to keep any longer so I killed them.)

 

Granted that I don't need them (the flowers) for survival but they sure do add to my state of peace of mind.

 

I have some day lillies growing this year that I started last year from seed. Four of the plants have little baby buds on them already and I am so anxious to see what flowers they produce. (There are about a million varieties of day lillies.)

 

But you are right in what you spoke of. Vegetation is the first level of the food chain for all animals on this planet. We all are totally dependant on vegetation.

 

And the flowers are not only for me but for the passers-by as well. I have been told on many occasions by people I never knew before that they really enjoy passing my property so they can see the lovely flowers. (Sometimes when I am working out front in the outermost garden people will stop their vehicle and give me a compliment.)

 

Okay, back to the weeds.

 

Peace & Love!

[Samuel]

Hehehe. No daisies this year. (Actually they don't do well down here bacause of the summer sun and heat. But I did have some for a couple years until they got too raggidy to keep any longer so I killed them.)

 

Granted that I don't need them (the flowers) for survival but they sure do add to my state of peace of mind.

 

I have some day lillies growing this year that I started last year from seed. Four of the plants have little baby buds on them already and I am so anxious to see what flowers they produce. (There are about a million varieties of day lillies.)

 

But you are right in what you spoke of. Vegetation is the first level of the food chain for all animals on this planet. We all are totally dependant on vegetation.

 

And the flowers are not only for me but for the passers-by as well. I have been told on many occasions by people I never knew before that they really enjoy passing my property so they can see the lovely flowers. (Sometimes when I am working out front in the outermost garden people will stop their vehicle and give me a compliment.)

 

Okay, back to the weeds.

 

Peace & Love!

 

 

Sorry, that was meant to be "Don't eat the daisies" Which I'm sure is from a very old film, I just don't remember which one. Since you say that you don't need them for survival, it then becomes a question of which is more important, in the grand scale of things, the life of a weed, or a man's peace of mind, which is a whole debate into which I dare not involve myself. Sufficed to say, I hope your garden blooms beautifully and you receive many more compliments. When you remove weeds from your garden, do you throw them out, or compost them? If you throw them out, perhaps composting would be better, in that way, you might turn the death of one organism directly into the life of another, negative into positive, if you will.

 

Much love folks.

 

Sam

[Marblehead]

When you remove weeds from your garden, do you throw them out, or compost them? If you throw them out, perhaps composting would be better, in that way, you might turn the death of one organism directly into the life of another, negative into positive, if you will.

 

Much love folks.

 

Sam

 

That is an excellent question to a gardener. If the weeds have not already grown to adulthood and started their propogation I generally cultivate them into the ground (the soil here is very poor and sandy). If they are into adulthood I will pull and trash them. I also use the waste caught in my pond filters to enrich the soil. I rarely buy commercial fertilizer except for root starter liquid fertilizer when I put in potted, store bought plants like the pansies (they are too hard to grow from seed). So nearly all the algae that I kill ends up giving life to the plants in my garden plus the fish waste is excellent fertilizer and 100% biodegradable.

 

Peace & Love!

[Pietro]

I don't mean the whole activity, but you can't have an overgrown garden that really looks nice, so you have to cut the trees, bushes, kill weeds etc.

 

So this poor tree or bush has been cultivating for a whole year, gathering that energy, growing it branches, strengthening them and then that guy comes along and snip snap all their hard work undone just like that! And as long as they're in my garden, they'll never really grow beyond what they are now, for when they do that guy comes along and puts them back in their place.

 

And weeds, there they are, just trying to survive and theres that guy, just killing them so the garden can look pretty. It would be like theres a group photo, but you're not good looking enough for the camera man so he takes you out (for good!).

 

So if you're killing, injuring and oppressing plants just for the sake of having a good looking garden, is that wrong?

 

Look into permaculture and look into the books of masanobu fukuoka. Especially the one straw revoltuion. You will find a person who was able to feed himeself and make a living while non gardening. The book can be downloaded from gigapedia, I think

[That Guy]

Very interesting Pietro, from what wikipedia says it sounds like a very technical approach to farming. I'd like to grow some food in the future myself and this method would suit my conscious better. And i did find the book online free, will read it sometime, thanks

[Andrei]

 

But still, I would agree that even the city dwellers of this planet can live that way internally. We can still have our 'space of love'.

 

 

Agree with you and, yes I do have my own space of plants love in my tiny apartment. I have a dracaena (dragon plant or lucky bamboo as is named), a plumeria and two ti plants, two cactuses, and this year I want to do some balcony gardening (carrots, cucumber, potatoes, beans) . Last year I had begonias on my balcony but I want to experiment with legumes.

 

But I still dream having a garden to cultivate it like a Chinese flowers garden...

 

[Iyoiyo]

Evil doesn't exist

[voidisyinyang]

 

I dream to have a space of love like this

 

Thanks for this space of love doc -- awesome!!!!!

 

Yeah I've spent the last 6 months clearing buckthorn on my parents' 10 acres. I'm going to plant a new hybrid American Chestnut in its place so in three years there'll be perennial food for the deer, turkey --- and humans! haha.

 

Oak mesic ten acres -- FARM GARDEN is the future!! There's tons of amazing "farm garden" vids on youtube. enjoy.

[Marblehead]

... and this year I want to do some balcony gardening (carrots, cucumber, potatoes, beans) . Last year I had begonias on my balcony but I want to experiment with legumes.

 

But I still dream having a garden to cultivate it like a Chinese flowers garden...

 

 

That sounds like it should be fun as well as challenging. Best wishes to you with it.

 

Yes, keep dreaming. Who knows what one day you may be able to cause the realization.

 

I have been told a couple times that my gardens look Chinese or Japanese.

 

Peace & Love!

[Marblehead]

Evil doesn't exist

 

Hehehe. Well, of course it doesn't. But we humans, with our dualistic brains, like to categorize things and concepts.

 

Peace & Love!

[That Guy]

Evil doesn't exist

I'm just curious about what you'd call someone or something that likes to do things just to make others suffer? No reason other than to enjoy the suffering of others

And what would you call someone who likes to help others without having anything to gain from it?

[Marblehead]

Excellent questions That Guy. I will not speak for the moment as they were not directed to me or to the public.

 

Peace & Love!

[thelerner]

To those who are enlightened or near it, Evil does not exist. That's because they live in the now, where things are ..as they are.

 

To the common man ofcourse there is evil, pick up a newspaper, look at all the unnecessary pain in the world, the pointless devastation's and nastiness where people, animals and the environment suffer.

 

 

 

my 2 cents

 

Michael

[That Guy]

To those who are enlightened or near it, Evil does not exist. That's because they live in the now, where things are ..as they are.

 

To the common man ofcourse there is evil, pick up a newspaper, look at all the unnecessary pain in the world, the pointless devastation's and nastiness where people, animals and the environment suffer.

 

 

 

my 2 cents

 

Michael

Could the enlightened be wrong? I mean maybe they've just conditioned their mind and thats great for them, but doesn't mean they re right does it?

[RyanO]

I'm just curious about what you'd call someone or something that likes to do things just to make others suffer? No reason other than to enjoy the suffering of others

And what would you call someone who likes to help others without having anything to gain from it?

 

Fundamentally, evil implies a dualistic metaphysic. Therefore using that language on a fundamental, albeit not colloquial, level, suggests one subscribes to this perspective.

 

From a non-dualistic perspective, I think 'imbalanced' is a better word to more accurately describe what is going on in your example. Imbalance of polarized forces. But this word doesn't have the same weight we usually associate with both 'evil' and cruelty, so sometimes at the expense of clarity it is useful to use 'evil' for convenience.

[Pietro]

Taoist Lineage Master Bruce Frantzis speaks of being uncool

;-)

[Iyoiyo]

I'm just curious about what you'd call someone or something that likes to do things just to make others suffer? No reason other than to enjoy the suffering of others

And what would you call someone who likes to help others without having anything to gain from it?

 

I venture that nobody likes to do things just to make others suffer. It might look that way, but there are other reasons.