Opening panel at the Botswana Dialogues; photo by Penny Urquhart
Day 1 of the Botho/Ubuntu Dialogue on Spirituality, Science and Humanity and already the connections between Ubuntu and climate change were emerging. Held at Botho University, Gaborone, from 17-19 August 2017, the event was not framed as a conversation on climate change. But the inter-connected nature of the climate crisis and the necessity for any effective response to be holistic had encouraged me to travel to Gaborone for the three-day annual dialogue organised by the US-based Mind & Life Institute, seeking some relevant nuggets of truth from this traditional African concept.
Sadly, and for the first time in its 32 years of existence, the Dalai Lama was not present at this Mind and Life Dialogue. His Holiness was unable to travel, suffering from extreme exhaustion. “My mind and spirit are very, very eager, but this 82-year old body is not” he said, in the video address in which his fatigue was evident.
President Ian Khama addresses the Botswana Dialogues; photo by Penny Urquhart
We did have a surprise visit from Seretse Khama Ian Khama, fourth President of Botswana since independence. I liked his acknowledgement of disappointment at the absence of the Dalai Lama, and I also liked his determination to bring the Dalai Lama to Botswana when his health and schedule allowed. Looking elegantly modern in a black shirt and red tie under a tailored grey jacket, he spoke of how the concept of Botho, the local version of Ubuntu, will be the cornerstone of Botswana’s new Vision 2036 development plan, currently being formulated. Thus, he said, “Your presence here is most timely and most welcome.” In forthright tones, he decried the racial, religious and ethnic intolerance so apparent in the world, saying that the ugly recent scenes in the USA (of the white supremacist march and vehicle terror attack in Charlottesville) “remind us that we still have a lot of work to do” to embody the spirit of Ubuntu, or human interdependence, into society and the polity.
In the lead-up to the conference, President Khama was not swayed by “significant pressures”, as one of the organisers stated, that sought to prevent Botswana from hosting the Dalai Lama. It is common cause that China is not happy, to put it mildly, about countries hosting the Buddhist spiritual leader; my own country, South Africa, disgracefully bowed to this pressure by refusing the Dalai Lama an entry visa on a number of occasions. But Ian Khama is made of sterner stuff. It seemed to me that his presence at the event, even in the absence of the eminent Tibetan, sent a strong signal that no-one should misconstrue the reasons for the Dalai Lama’s absence: he was and still is most welcome to visit Botswana. And Ian Khama had some biblical words of intent and non-capitulation for “those who seek to frustrate democracy”.
Mpho Tutu Van Furth and Thupten Jinpa up on the big screen; photo by Penny Urquhart
Various panellists spoke on the different framings and origins of Botho/Ubuntu, its use in different contexts and its current relevance. And a couple touched on the links with ecological issues and climate change. The Reverend Canon Mpho Tutu Van Furth noted that Ubuntu was a fitting concept to employ “as we lurch towards a future in which global warming makes our planet barely liveable”. I was thinking of its obvious resonance with ecology and the inter-connected social-ecological systems of our planet, when a number of speakers emphasised its appropriateness for describing the nature of reality. Thupten Jinpa, the principal English translator to the Dalai Lama since 1985, who holds a PhD in religious studies from Cambridge University and heads the Institute of Tibetan Classics, spoke eloquently of interdependence as a “fundamental philosophy of reality itself”, referring to sub-atomic physics in which particles can only be understood relationally.
Mandaza Kandemwa; photo by Penny Urquhart
The words of Mandaza Kandemwa, a Shona spirit medium from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, struck a chord with me. His work revolves around African spiritual traditions of healing and peace-making. And he had a mesmerising and energising effect on the audience. He questioned the ability of all of the scientific and technical knowledge that has been accumulated to bring peace and healing, and in line with Buddhist and other schools of thought, called for inner work to be done before one could have a peaceful impact. As he said, “How can we pray for world peace, this wounded Mother Earth, when there is war and conflict up here, in our minds?”
Spontaneous applause broke out when he said “This is a beautiful diverse gathering, but where are our other brothers and sisters? Where are the trees? Where are the birds? Where are the waters of the Earth? Where are the wild animals of the Earth in this conference? A conference like this should be held in Nature.”
I felt that he was gently berating us, in a way that rang true, as had Ian Khama’s words. People who seek peace on Earth, and those who want to limit the dangerous climate change we are hurtling towards, need to get their inner acts together. Time is short – certainly if you think of the closing window of opportunity to act decisively on climate change before things get really out of hand. We have some homework to do, some interior work. As Mandaza said, “people like Desmond Tutu and Credo Mutwa should be seeing the beauty of the work they have done, they should be enjoying the fruits of their labour through us”. But instead, he sees the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle when he looks at people in general, and no coherent picture. One of the reasons we are surrounded by violence and inhumanity – and climate change is certainly the result of violence done to the Earth – is, in his words, that “We are not yet seeing with the eyes of the heart, we are not yet hearing with the ears of the heart.” And part of the remedy for that is to cultivate inner harmony and balance, so that we can see and act holistically, and sow peace by being transmitters of Botho/Ubuntu. This is surely a key message for political leaders – but, as several speakers asked, how could those most polarising and seemingly hate-filled examples (Donald Trump was a recurring theme) be engaged though Botho/Ubuntu, when they are trying to take away any progress made on embedding values of collective care and justice for all in the polity?
Discussion over the next two days helped to clarify and concretise Botho/Ubuntu and its relevance and utility in the twenty-first century – more about that in another post. I will end today’s blog with these final words from Mandaza, which again triggered my climate change filter: “We are wasting very important time. How can Spirit send you to heal the world when you are heavily bleeding in here (gestures to head)?”