Special for This Month (August 2004)
Mandala Taught by Forest [12, Children of Mother Earth]

森が教えてくれたマンダラ [12, 地球母の子どもたち]

This page includes English and Japanese. (Your computer might not recognize the Japanese parts)

Most of these symbols are compounded fundamental characters related to each total shape:
（木）{ ,plant}:  tree (木),
{ ,}: grass (草)
{ heart,):  flower (花),
{ twine,}: vine kind of plant like ivy (蔦など)
{ the zigzag shape (of the leaf), }: fern (シダ)
{ ,move}: reptiles; creep (with #gd) (爬虫類)
{ ,, air} （wings opened bird shape): bird (鳥)
{ ,, }:  insect　(虫)
{ sheet, main part of 'insect'}: butterfly (蝶)
{ relation, water, air}: amphibian (両生類)
{ one,cell} (one cell living thing ): bacteria including some kind of fungi (細菌)
{ ,{move, life} animal}: mammal (哺乳動物)
human, person (人)
and (conjunction) (そして)
{ the same level, life}: sibling/siblings (兄弟姉妹)
preposition mark to show that the following words modifies the front word (前置符)
{ (generation)-before, life, plural )}: children (子どもたち)
{before,female in this case, }: mother (母)
*Above two c-cs were changed like them later from the original pictograph.
{ globe,the, that}: the earth (地球)

- Children of Mother Earth -

Forest:
It’s been a long time! I’m glad you look fine.

Yoshiko:
I realized your greatness and power afresh!
Last year I cleaned up the weeds around our house from
the roots as much as I could, but already tall grasses
more than last year cover the house.
Some parts of boards are mossy by rains;
maple sprouts are growing all over, even inside of the gutters.
The roots of ivies and blackberries and also
tunnels dug by wild rats are again filling up in the
underground of the yard.
The rats have turned our basement boiler room into their hotel….

F:
It’s natural because this house was vacant for ten months.
By the way, you are getting much better to use a hoe and a shovel.
Instead of your own power, you are using the energy of earth quite well.

Y:
Thank you. Now I can use them without much tiredness,
learning through your instruction to contact with earth
and to catch a peaceful feeling.
Things don’t look changed between yesterday and today,
but nature certainly accumulates little changes all the time.
I got very impressed by this nature power that turns
human ordered things into chaos.

F:
It is you humans that resist and disturb natural laws,
aren’t you?
Following your way, I have used the word, “I” for me,
but actually I feel more appropriate with “We” to express myself.
Among “Us”, as you know, there are maples, cedars,
cottonwoods, walnuts, ferns, buttercups, morning glories,
squirrels, rats, bats, raccoons, eagles, songbirds, mosses,
lichens, huge amount of bacteria, and more living things.

They all live by each particular way harmonizing with
the rhythm of the earth, relating to each other;
and the totality is “Me/Us.”
Very different personalities get along or stick a balance
with others; or eat others or are eaten by others.
Then I always change as their totality.
If you want to live here, you too should be a member of us,
always being careful to get along with other lives here,
don’t you think so?
Recent years, traffic in the neighboring road are more
and more increasing. It became noisier and the air became dirtier.
The large leaf maples spread their children around that boundary
to protect this entire forest from that suffering by the quick growth
of their large leaves. Don’t you feel it?

Y:
Indeed, we’ve been very selfish!
We are lacking of thoughts for you, the Forest willing to
sustain its creatures; also for each creature’s individual work;
and without becoming a part of the forest,
we’ve wished you being beautiful eternally.

F:
The ancient natives around here were a part of the Forest.
They felt that flowers, grasses and trees were their sisters,
and squirrels, deer and eagles were their brothers,
believing that all lives were children of mother earth.
Then when they think something important,
they usually use “we” for the subject of a sentence,
but not “I,” as “we did/ what should we do?”
widening the viewpoint to get sustainable visions,
not to focus on an individual benefit.
“We” included a variety of personalities, they knew,
and yet everybody recognized that they were children
of mother earth; having the custom to listen to her
since each childhood. Because of this base,
they could be in one large family.

Mother earth is also breathing and alive,
getting energy from the sun, contacting with other universe, too.
Being with her breathing rhythm, her children could be in peace.
Each one tried to live with his/her best,
enjoying harmonizing with other lives and personalities.
Then they peacefully returned into mother earth.

Before such family, new people appeared in great strength;
they were the ones, who didn’t mind to buy/sell Mother Earth,
and to chop off their brothers and sisters in the forest.
The native people couldn’t understand them;
being worried very much.
But they finally obeyed and moved out from this forest
endlessly spread at the time, leaving a speech to the newcomers:
“Sometime in the future, you must listen to the breath
of mother earth. You must hear our spiritual voices
through mountains, grasslands and streams,
which have lived with us for thousands of years,
even if all our people would be extinguished.
Because you also are the children of mother earth,
and are our siblings.” *

However, how many people listen to the breathing
of mother earth?
As I told you before, contacting with earth is an easy thing;
also you can get everlasting peaceful feeling by that way.
But now humans seem to have forgotten it,
seeking transient joy of fulfillment and pleasure with speed.
When contacting with earth, linking with other personalities;
also forgetting about yourself, your heart can be in peace.
Why don’t humans try it?
Why don’t they get their viewpoint out
from each small individual pocket?
Why they continue fighting against their own brothers?

Y:
Hmm, You are usually so calm,
even so you look impatient today…

F:
Yes, we have to appeal it to anyone who listens to us,
before it’s too late.
Once you said that the system of a language could make
its user’s thinking way;
English grammar supports individualism
through the logical rule with the clear subject
centering a human as I/you/he/she, didn’t you?
Can’t Earth Language (EL) sift the English user’s thinking way?

Y:
Recently I read a book to tell that ancient English
before the era of aggression and invasion needed not always
a subject in a sentence. **
Logical grammar through the objective viewpoint was
developed between different cultures,
and is more developed in the global society, I guess.
They are fussy about the right of individual speech now.
I thought that logical and objective thoughts are important
in EL, too.
Then the EL system is also available to describe in that way.
Also I planned that skipping a subject in a sentence was
possible among close relations….
But not in that negative way, EL might be able to simplify
expressions in more positive way by clearing its common
standard viewpoint! Besides users might be able to share “our” ideas,
instead of “my” ideas, like the Native American people.

F:
Yes, the communication way to connect four corners of
the earth must be simple.
I knew what the common viewpoint means:
It’s the point from the status as children of mother earth.

Y:
That’s right. Every people of the earth is a child of mother earth.
Watching Mother, our environment from that point,
they can exchange expressions simply and happily.

For example, you can express a sentence like
“The surface of the sea rose” or “The sky becomes clean”
as only a predicate verb using three to four EL symbols.
It’s based on the idea that the sea and the sky are common
for us as parts of mother earth.

Also EL has the unique verb system; and things/happenings
can be a subject of a sentence, without the passive voice
for the verb in many cases.
So directly focusing on a thing/phenomenon/event, standing on its side,
we watch and talk with each sense, imagining what each
individual can do for mother earth.

F:
Hmm, The branches and roots of EL also seem to grow
little by little steadily.
But it will be the time to spread wider from now on.

Watch Ivies and Blackberries carefully;
they might be good examples for EL spreading to follow.
Besides extending roots and branches,
they feed birds to carry their seeds far away.
          
written by Yoshiko McFarland  (August 1st, '04)

Reference:
*　“how can one sell the air - Chief Seattle’s Vision-“
Author: Chief Seattle,
Editors: Eli Gifford and   R. Michael Cook,
1992, Native Voices The Book
Publishing Company  ISBN 0-913990-48-5

  (I read this book under this walnut tree. 
  Sometimes rain of pieces of young walnut fruit came down on my body. It was by squirrels.)

**　『英語にも主語はなかった』　金谷武洋著、
講談社選書メチエ２８８、２００４年１月

地球母の子どもたち

Ｆ(森）：
ひさしぶりだね！元気そうでよかった。

Ｙ(佳子)：
すごいなぁ、あなたの力に参りました。

去年家の周りの雑草を根こそぎ抜きまくったのに、
去年以上に草が家を覆い包んでる・・
雨がよくかかるところは苔むして腐るし、
樋の中にまで楓がいっぱい芽を伸ばしてる・・
庭の地面の下には、蔦や黒イチゴの根が復活して這いまわり、
それが届いてないところは野ネズミが掘ったトンネルだらけ。
地下のボイラールームはネズミのホテル。

Ｆ：
当然だろ？１０ヶ月も空家だったんだから。
でもなんだね、鍬やシャベルの使い方がうまくなったね。
自分の力で振りあげるんじゃなく、地球の力をうまく借りてさ。

Ｙ：
地球とつながる幸せ感をあなたに教わったお蔭です。(笑)
それにしても自然は、ヒトが秩序付けたものをカオスに戻すのね、
昨日と今日では違わないように見えても、積み重ねて確実に。

Ｆ：
自然の秩序に抵抗して乱すのは、きみら人間のほうだろ？

きみらの言い方にしたがって、「わたし」といういいかたをしてきたがね、
森が自分を呼ぶときには、ほんとうは「われら」というべきかもしれないな。

｢わたし｣の中には楓や杉やコトンウッドもおれば、
羊歯やキンポウゲや白朝顔、それにリスやネズミ、ラクーン、
鷲に小鳥にコウモリもいるし、苔や地衣類や細菌もいる。
それぞれ個性的に地球のリズムに合わせ、
絡み合いながら暮らす総合として｢わたし｣は生きてる。
中で個と個がぶつかって、折り合いをつけたり、
食べたり食べられたりしながら、総合の｢わたし｣は常に変る。

そこで暮らしたければ、きみもまた森の中のいのちの個性の一つとして、
「常に」他の命と折り合いをつけながら暮らすのが当然だろ？

近年は、隣接する道路の交通量が急に増えて騒々しいし、空気も汚くなった。
大葉楓は、人害から森全体を護ろうと
道路ぎわに増え急ごうとした。そう感じないかい？

Ｙ：
そうか、わたしたちはとても身勝手なのね。
森全体が生きのびようとする意志と、それにつながる
いろんな命の個性に思いをはせず、
自分は森にならないで、森に美しく生きつづけていてほしいと願ってる・・

Ｆ：
昔この辺りに住んだ先住民は、森とひとつになっていたよ。
草木・花々を姉妹、リスや鹿や鷲を兄弟と感じ、
母なる地球に住むものみな家族と信じてね。

だから、彼らは、「わたし」という個人的な主語を使って
考えることをあまりしなかった。
たいがいは、「われらはどうした、われらはどうあるべき」
というひろく永い視点で考えた。
「われら」のなかには、いろんな個性がいるのだけれど、
母親である地球に耳澄ます習慣のなかで、
みんなが家族としてつながってたんだ。*

地球もまた、ゆっくりと息をしている。
太陽からエネルギーをもらい、宇宙ともつながりながらね。
その呼吸といっしょにいるとき、地球の子どもたちはみんな安らかだ。
互いに食べたり食べられたりする運命のいのち同士も、
精一杯生き、自分とは異なる個性を発揮する兄弟姉妹の
美しさを存分に楽しみながら、やがて安心して母のもとへ帰っていった。

そんな彼らの前に、母なる大地を売買し、
兄弟姉妹を切り刻む新しい民が大挙して押しよせてきた。
先住民たちは悩みに悩んだ。

そしてこういい残して、当時は遠くまでつづいていたこの森から追われて去っていった。
「今は母を母と思わないあなた方でも、また、たとえわれらが死に絶えても、
あなた方もまたわれらの兄弟、いつかはきっと母の息を聴く日があるはず、
何千年もわれらとともに暮らした森や小川が、
あなた方にわれらの魂の声をきっと届けてくれるだろう」

ところがどうだ？
今地球の息に耳澄ます人間がどれだけいるかな？

前にも言ったが、母なる地球とつながるのはたやすいことだ。
しかも永遠に通じる幸せ感にさえ浸れる。
だのに、ヒトは一時的な達成感やスピードのある
快感ばかり求めて、これを忘れている。
地球のこどもならば、地球とつながり、他の個性ともからんで「わたし」を忘れられるときにこそ
心が安らぐのに、いつまで待ってもそれぞれの
｢個｣の懐から出ようとしない。兄弟争いが絶えない。

Ｙ：
んーむ、いつも落ち着いた森のあなたさえ、焦りを感じてる・・

Ｆ：
そりゃそうさ、手遅れになる前に耳を貸すものには訴える。

きみ、いつか言ってたね、
必ず主語を述べて文中の論理的な関係を明確にし、
人間中心に構成する英語文のしくみが、わたしが、きみがという個人中心の発想を支えているって。
地球語がこの一方向性をなんとかできないの？

Ｙ：
競争と侵略の時代に入る以前の古英語では、
主語なしの文もよくあったって、最近読んだけれど**、
異文化間で間違いなく伝えようとして
客観的な視点の文法が発達し、グローバル社会がまたそれに輪をかけたんでしょうね。
今は発言の所有権にまでうるさくなって。

自分の考えを論理的・客観的に捉えることは地球語でも大切だと考えて、
英語に劣らずそれがかなうよう仕組んだのだけれど・・
そして、互いにわかり合う間では主語省略も可能としたんだけれど・・

そうか、そんな消極的な簡略法でなく、
もっと積極的に表現の簡素化ができるかもしれないな。
地球語の共通の基礎視点をはっきりさせれば、
先住民の｢われら｣的な発想でシンプルにイメージと理解をひろげられるかもしれない！

Ｆ：
ん、隅々まで響き合う社会の伝達はシンプルでなくては。
わかったぞ、共通の基礎視点。
「地球母のこども」という立場から母を見守る視点だ。

Ｙ：
そう！どの地球民もみな「地球母のこども」だもんね。
その心で環境を見守るには、その立場の表現がシンプルに楽しく伝わらなくちゃ。

たとえば｢海水面が上昇した｣「空がきれいになる」
などの文章が、地球語では３～４文字を使うだけの
１述語動詞のみの文章で表現できるわ。
地球母体の一部の海や空を語ってね。

地球語には独特の動詞のしくみがあって、ヒトだけでなく、
自然やものごとも文章の主体として、その立場から表現しやすいようにできてるの、
動詞を特に受身にしなくてもね。

これを活用しようとするとき、
事実や地球母の側に立って観察や考えが進むと思うの。
その中で､わたしやあなたという個性になにができるかは、それからそれぞれ考える。

Ｆ：
んー、地球語も、枝や根が少しずつ着々と育つようだね。
だがこれからは、もっとひろがる番だな。

蔦や黒イチゴを観察してひろがり方を見習うといい。
根を伸ばすだけじゃなく、実を小鳥に食わせて種を遠くにも蒔いておるよ。

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