“We must look carefully at a rice plant and listen to what it tells us. Knowing what it says, we are able to observe the feelings of the rice as we grow it. However, to “look at” or “scrutinise” rice does not mean to view rice as the object, to observe or think about rice. One should essentially put oneself in the place of the rice. In so doing, the self looking upon the rice plant vanishes. This is what it means to “see and not examine and in not examining to know”. Those who have not the slightest idea what I mean by this need only devote themselves to their rice plants.”
Masanobu Fukuoka is a farmer/philosopher who lives on the Island of Shikoku, in southern Japan. His farming technique requires no machines, no chemicals and very little weeding. He does not plow the soil or use prepared compost and yet the condition of the soil in his orchards and fields improve each year. His method creates no pollution and does not require fossil fuels. His method requires less labor than any other, yet the yields in his orchard and fields compare favorably with the most productive Japanese farms which use all the technical know-how of modern science.
“To the extent that people separate themselves from Nature, they spin further and further from the Center.”
via somossopa
