The concept of Mind: Life and Thinking

Why are you happy? Why are you not? All the happiness and unhappiness come from the mind..READ IT........IF YOU THINK.....................


My concept name is “strong mind” which is really very important for थे real life. By this concept I will show how a person can be freed from sufferings, and live a better life. This idea is totally based on Buddhism ethics, and examples are taken from real world.


We all know that no one can escape death as well as no one can live a life without facing problems. Everything we are doing, we are doing it against a problem. If I ask you how many problems are in the world? I think it is not possible to get answer. But let’s now come to some common problems of the world. Where we don’t see problems? Like every people have problems all the same every country has problems. What are the problems we commonly know? If we try to find out some problems, it will be easier to find out I think. For example: family problem, worries, superstitious belief, facing realities, neighborliness, manners and custom, suicide, how to face death, suicide, diseases. I think it is better not to tell more. As I know very well that the list of problem will be increasing time to time. But why am I telling about the problems? I want to make it clear that the mind is related to problems, and feelings or emotion comes from problems.



Why we are facing lots of problems in this world? Do we know that we are creating our problems by ourselves? Why we are saying that we are not happy. Why can not we enjoy the whole day? There are lots of questions which are arising in our own mind everyday. I think the entire problem comes from our own mind.

That’s why I think we have to say that we must face the problem. It is universally true for the world. It is not possible to live in this world without facing some kind of problems. In a sentence, I will say that the problem is our life. We should not avoid all the problems; I am not saying that we don’t have the ability to face the problem rightly. By making the mind strong we can solve all the problems. In our daily life, when we are facing some difficult situation, we say that we don’t want to live. I think it is the negative way of thinking the situation. This negative way of thinking comes from fear. These problems bring unhappiness to our own mind. I think, fear is negative feelings of our own mind. When people are in negative feelings, their mind can not work properly. When mind can not work properly, it comes to us as a fear. Fear is also related to happiness and unhappiness. Because of the degree of fear, the functions of mind can not work properly. So, this difficulty of problem comes to us as a fear which makes our mind unhappy.


According to k.sri. Dhammanda – “fear is the child of selfishness or ignorance”. In his book “why worry “he said that “fear imprisons the mind, it is father of superstition which flourishes in the garden of ignorance” k.sri. Dhammanda indicates that “fear as selfishness or ignorance” why? I told it before that when people are in fear, the function of the mind can not work properly. A fearful mind seeks security very quickly. As, mind is tortured by the thoughts, so, the performance of the mind reduces sharply, and works like an ignorant person. We all know that an ignorant person always does wrong, and live in superstitious world. I want to say that fear is the main bar to cultivate a strong mind. Fear destroys the mind. In the real life, we see that many people don’t get success because of fear. They can achieve something, but due to fear they say that if I can’t, what will happen? This destroys their sound mind. This is the problem for most people: they take the situation wrongly.



Fear is also connected to the affection of the mind which has also relation with the strong mind. Before going to affection, I think it is important to tell what the things that create affection are: I think they are: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin.


Desire or craving comes from eyes, ears, skin, nose, tongue. Desires are arising from the forms the eyes see; from the sounds the ears hear; from the fragrances the nose smells; from tastes pleasant to the tongue; from things that are agreeable to the sense of touch. Form these five doors to desire comes the body’s love of comfort. For example we love someone seriously. But she or he doesn’t. What happens to our mind? You love him or her--- it is like a desire to you. As a result, it gives you suffering because of not getting him or her. That’s why I am not saying that we will not love each other. But what we will do for overcoming the desire. I think following things are important: these eightfold noble path is taken from “the teaching of Buddha”.


The eightfold noble path:

right view
right thought
right speech
right behavior
right livelihood
right effort
right mindfulness
right concentration


Right view means to understand the law of cause of effect

Right thought means the resolution not to cherish desires, not to be greedy, not to be angry, and not to do any harmful deed.

Right speech means the avoidance of lying words, idle worlds, abusive words, and double tongues.

Right behavior means not to destroy any life, not to steal, or not to commit adultery.

Right livelihood means to avoid any life that would bring shame to a man.

Right effort means to try to do ones best diligently toward the right direction.

Right mindfulness means to maintain a pure and thoughtful mind.

Right concentration means to keep the mind right and tranquil for its concentration, seeking to realize the minds pure essence.







I think if we follow these eightfold noble path, we can live a better life by building the mind with these elements. I will request my reader to try to understand these eightfold noble path correctly. Now we can to go to the true nature of life. What is the true nature of life? I think something we can not avoid like problems. So, problem is one of the natures of the environment. We can not avoid the environment as well as the problem. If we judge the problem according to these eightfold noble path, I think anybody can face the problem rightly, and they can free themselves from suffering very soon. In my own point of view I think we have to face problem bravely, and we have to win the problem. I can give a great example. We all know about Dr. Rabindranath Tagore, a well known poet explains in his payers how to face the difficulties.

“Let me not pray to be sheltered from danger,
But to be fearless in facing them

Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain,
But for the heart to conquer it.


Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved,
But hope for the patience to win my freedom.”

What is the meaning of these lines? Dr. Rabindranath Tagore wants to face the problem bravely. He said that he wants face his danger fearlessly. He wants to win his pain. He even said that he don’t want to save anxious fear which is really craving. He wants win this craving by his patience.






Now come to the philosophy of Spinoza. Spinoza said that “we don’t have absolute command over emotions” it is totally depending on our will. Without some practice and zeal, we can not control our emotion. Spinoza even said that the determination of will depend on our own power. This power of mind is defined solely by the understanding. For example: I have a goal, and for this I know that I have to face lots of problem. I will try to understand the problem, and ask myself why this is happening. If I don’t get answer, I will not lose my confidence. I will not be frustrated. I will face the problems bravely. However, if I fail, I will start again.




I think emotion is the main bar to cultivate the strong mind. For this reason I think we should know more about emotion. In my point of view, I think, Emotion is a feeling. Mind produces emotion by the elements of the environment. What are the elements of the environment? Man is one of the elements of the environment. Everybody in the environment is being attracted by the elements of the environment. By being attracted, the emotion produces two kinds of emotion. One is positive emotion, and another is negative emotion. At the same time an emotion has degree. This degree of emotion is being changed by the environment. Now let’s come to positive emotion. What is positive emotion? Positive emotion means when a person has the ability to judge something according to the environment, and they have fully control over them. They can use their emotion by understanding the environment. If you want to possess a strong mind, you should keep in mind that you can not avoid the environment. In this environment, various degrees of emotion are present. A strong mind holder always thinks about the present not the future. The best use of the mind is the present time. If you can concentrate on every work in present time, it will be very useful for your future and past. Why am I saying this? We can give an example: we can see that some people are very worried about their present. As a result, they can not think properly. On the other hand, some people are so strong in mind that they don’t even think what will happen in near future. They understand their present only. They want to enjoy their present. They are not worry about their past or future. Why I am saying this? I think these kinds of people are doing rights things, as we can only control the present. If we want to be a strong mind holder, it is important to understand the present. A past experience can be useful, if we understand the present properly. For example: If we do a wrong task for first time, I think we will not do it for second time. If we understand the present properly, at the same time we can understand the future and past. What K.sri. Dhammananda think about the time?


According to K.sri. Dhammananda:







When you are feeling sad, my dearie
Go and cheer some other soul
When you are feeling weak and weary
Smile, and lend a hand to all;


Then the morrow will drawn happier,
And the sun will brighter shine;
And the day will seem far fairer
Than if you were prone to pine


When you are feeling angry, dearie,
Speak one word of love of peace
To the one who made you angry,
And your anger will cease;


Love is always like the sun shine,
It will ever bring you cheer;
It will burn your heart and mind;
It will make you sick and weary;
Love can heal the sick and blind.


So may be you be sun of love
To shine a loft of sky of life;
From sphere to sphere thought to move,
And dispel darkness, hate and strife!







In my previous paragraph I have told about the relation of emotion with the time (present, past and future. I focus on present time.

If we observe K.sri. Dhammananda’s song of cheer, he makes a relation with other people. Why? I think we are interrelated one to the other. Like, we have a family. We are living all together. So, my happiness is not only related to me. My happiness is also related to the others. That’s why, K.sri. Dhammananda said that when you are feeling sad, go to make someone happy. Love the others people. In my own point of view, it is necessary to know how to laugh in a difficult situation. K.sri. Dhammananda even shows us time factor in his song of cheer. He told about the present time, and the present time is the only time to build the mind. He talked about the happiness. Now question comes what is the relation with the strong mind? In my own point of view I think he showed us a path in which we can face the problem rightly, and to make our life so strong. If we can face the problem bravely, we can make a happy life. For example: everyday we are facing some kind of unexpected things, if we can tackle the expected things by understanding their nature and degree of emotion. Then, it will be easier to us make our mind so stronger.


In my final part I would like to tell more about the mind. What is a useful mind? A useful mind means when the mind is concentrated in right thoughts with right efforts and understanding the effort it can produce the immense.


According to K.sri. Dhammananda “mind training is essential thing to do if we want to live happily in this world. If the world is wicked, our mind is responsible for that; we can not change the world into a better place unless we ourselves change our mind”


Now come to others things which are important to make life strong. I think to build a strong mind following things are important.

Honesty
Patience
Sacrifice
Don’t take decision when you are in mood
Humility
Speak gently
Understanding Universal truth
Avoid from killing , stealing , lusting, lying , desire, anger, ignorance , evil companion


In the conclusion I hope that people understand the emotion, and they will use this emotion for good deeds. I also hope that by understanding this concept they will make a better life.

I have done this writings under my honourable teacher Marherita Pascucci who was a visiting faculty of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh


Promotosh Barua

9th semester, School of Business
University of liberal arts Bangladesh

Future Food Security of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a country with many problems. What is the futute serious problem coming?.............READ IT..... IF YOU WANT TO KNOW

Introduction:

Though Bangladesh is a small country, it has many problems. Every year, Bangladesh is facing lots of problems. The most important problem of Bangladesh is over population. Because of over population, many new problems are coming in near future. As for reason, Food security will be an important major issue in near future. Food is one of the basic needs of human being. We need enough food for our survival. In Bangladesh, rice is considered as a staple food. As the population size of Bangladesh is very large, food production is also be taken at large scale. “The growing population of the country puts serious pressure on land, water, forest and other natural resources.”[1] Day by day population size is getting bigger, and the natural resources are being used quickly. So, per capita natural resource allocation is diminishing speedily. A study of World Bank and BCAS reported that the population of Bangladesh will be 170 million within 2020.[2] Try to imagine the picture, at present the natural resources of Bangladesh are being exploited seriously, and the environment degradation is spreading seriously because of growing population. “A growing population means smaller allocation of resources resulting low productivity of food and goods, less drinking water, less sweet water for agriculture and industrial activities, and hygiene may become less and less healthy due to increasing contamination by human uses”[3] if environmental problems are increasing in this way. What will be the real picture of Bangladesh? People of Bangladesh need to realize it. On the other hand, rest of the land is using for intensive cropping. Due to high pressure on natural resources, many natural resources are right now under threat. If Bangladesh can not protect the important natural resources like Land and Water, in near future Bangladesh will face a massive epidemic hunger.

Important natural resources that we need to produce food:

Land:

Land is one of the important elements of food production. “The total land area of Bangladesh is about 14.4 million ha. Of this, about 59 percent is cultivable land, 14 percent is forest area, and 27 percent is not available for cultivation.”[4] “Eighty percent of country is occupied by flood plain land, Eight percent by terrace land (the Madhupur and Barind tracts), and Twelve percent by hills.”[5] “Variations of rainfall from year to year cause relatively frequent floods and droughts.”[6] And, in Bangladesh rice is the main staple food crop. As a result, In Bangladesh, farmers are cultivating rice extensively.

Water:

Water is the other essential element of agricultural development. Without adequate water we can not grow food. In many parts of Bangladesh, farmers are not getting enough water for cultivation. Water scarcity is another important matter of agricultural development. Dr Hossain also advocated “efficient use of water in irrigation. If water use can be economised, then more land can be irrigated through using the same resources and infrastructure”[7]

Present Situation of these Natural Resources:

Land Degradation and Agricultural Productivity in Bangladesh:

Land degradation is creating for the cause of environment pollution. Land degradation means when the land is lost its actual quality. “Example may be flood, steep slopes, rains of high intensity, strong leaching in humid and droughty situation in the dry regions. This is very much true for Bangladesh. Direct causes of degradation are irrational land use and inappropriate land management practices.”[8] What are the reasons behind land pollution? There are many problems behind this. I think these are the most important reasons:

Deforestation of hilly land, unsuitable for sustained agricultural use
Shifting cultivation without adequate fallow periods
Intensive cultivation of MV crops; primarily cereals
Unbalanced fertilizer use
Absence of soil conservation management practices
Problems arising from improper planning and management of irrigation systems[9]


Urbanizing is also another important matter of land diminishing and land degradation. Increase of urbanization is making arable land vulnerable too. Bangladesh bureau of statistics found that the net cropped area of Bangladesh was 59 percent in 1974. It was decreased by 6 percent in the year 1996.[10] This is very simple that the growing population needs more shelter, more food.

Location of Bangladesh is also critical factor of cultivable land. Because of its location, cultivable area of Bangladesh is varying.The significant factor influencing agricultural activity in Bangladesh is its location in the basin of several major rivers. These rivers make the land highly fertile and cause continuous loss and gain of alluvial land through riverbank accretion and erosion. As a result, the total cultivable area varies, changing the baseline for calculating land availability and land use. The char lands (new lands) and adjoining bank lines account for about 6 percent of total land area in Bangladesh and support 4 percent of the total population. Land lost due to erosion leads to emergence of other char lands, but it takes several years for the land to become suitable for cultivation.[11]

And it is also true that we are loosing our land due to the various erosions. For example: water erosion, river bank erosion. It is seen that water erosion is accounted for 25 percent degradation of agricultural land.[12] And the river bank erosion is causing for the “strong river current enhanced by mechanized river traffic and/or channel diversion during the rainy season. About 1 million hectares of floodplain areas are prone to river bank erosion.”[13]

Inefficient use of water:

Inefficient water using is another important matter of food production. Especially a country like Bangladesh should use water resource properly. According to Mr. Saiful Haque Improving the productivity of water used in agriculture is the key to solving many of the problems, as well as managing water as a resource. Getting more crop per drop enhances food security and makes more water available for nature, industry and domestic users. It enables us to reduce the need for investments in new water storage and irrigation infrastructure -- investments many countries like Bangladesh can't afford. By improving the productivity of water on rain-fed lands, we can contribute to the food security and incomes of the poorest people[14]Because of water problem, many new problems are creating in agriculture sector. Without this important resource, we will not be able to provide future food security to whole country.

Why this is a Serious Problem:

Food security will be a serious problem for Bangladesh in near future. Day by day the population of Bangladesh is increasing alarmingly.

Current population growth in Bangladesh:

Though it is true that the population growth of Bangladesh is decreasing every year, but the growth is not stopping permanently. Even it is not possible to stop population growth permanently Population growth is a continuous process. We can not stop it permanently. From Bangladesh Bureau of statistics, population census, 1991 and UNFPA, 1998 found that the population growth of Bangladesh was 2.17% in 1991. After that in 1998 it was only 1.7%. Yes, it is true that our current population growth is declining every year, but it is also true that our arable land is also destroying every year.

Population vs. food production in Bangladesh:

In my introduction part, I told that rice is the main staple food in Bangladesh. Rice cultivation is being taken place in Bangladesh extensively. We are using our net cropped area intensively. We can make it clear by analyzing this table:
it is seen that in 2000-03 our land area was 14.84 million of hectares, net cultivable land was 8.42 million of hectares, and total cropped area was 14.30 million of hectares. By seeing percentage of net cultivable land in terms of total land, we can find that our total net cultivable land is over 56.71%. But we are using almost all land for cropping. As a result, cropping intensity is much higher in Bangladesh. In 2002-03 cropping intensity was 175.81. This cropping intensity can be the future threat to our food security. World Bank and BCAS projected that the population of Bangladesh will be 170 million within 2020. So, it is a big challenge for our future food security.

On the other hand, every year rice production is increasing. In 2004-05 total rice production was 25.18 million metric ton. That’s fine, we have no alternatives. But how long it will continue? BRRI (Bangladesh Rice Research Institute) is making higher yielding crops for adequate production for the people of Bangladesh. But, every year, at least 1.7 percent population is increasing. On the other hand, arable land is diminishing every day. How long the people of Bangladesh will get food? This is big question. We should think it deeply.


Solution:

How can we solve this problem? For this, we have to think differently.

Rethinking land productivity:

For maintaining land productivity, we need to use our land natural friendly. We have to make a strict land management policy. The ministry of land will be responsible for all land related matters. The ministry will maintain all matters of land reforms, land use planning, and lands protect planning.

Improving water productivity:

Water is the vital element for agricultural development. We should minimize our water loss. Water can be tomorrow’s success for Bangladesh. For this reason, we have to make the best use of water. Mr. Saiful Hoque writes that following steps can make the water use efficiently:
Crop breeding: we can use less water by increasing yields without increasing water demand.

Reducing land degradation:

By stopping soil erosion, we can reduce land degradation. Though “there is a common misperception that degradation of the agro-ecosystems is a slow process that can be always reversed with adequate inputs such as fertilizer”[15]

Low-cost technologies: low cost technologies use is another important fact of irrigation. Mr. Saiful Hoque suggests that “various forms of precision irrigation -- mainly sprinkler, drip irrigation systems and dead-level basins -- can increase yields over good but ordinary irrigation systems by 20 to 70 per cent”[16]

Improved irrigation management practices: Even he thinks that the most important matter of cultivation for Bangladeshi farmers is that in an uncertain environment farmer should have enough water to invest in seeds, fertilizers, and land preparation.
Population stabilization:


At the beginning of my paper I told that population is the main problem of Bangladesh. I think population stabilization is the key to tomorrow’s success for Bangladesh. For this reason, we have to take a comprehensive planning. This planning should include “family planning, improving reproductive healthcare, reducing infant and child mortality and supporting education.”[17] The most important thing is that awareness among people.

Conclusion:

Natural resources are limited. We are living in this world by using these resources. By destroying these resources mean destroying our own existence. For this reason, firstly we should be more aware of our natural resources that we have now and try to make the best use of them. In my own point of view, I think every person needs to understand that nature and existence are not separate from each other. We can not leave nature. Bangladesh is the most densely populated country of the world. As a result, Mmany new problems are coming day by day. Thus, the people of Bangladesh need to think the development process differently. Before going to use natural resources, we should make adequate planning. As the population of Bangladesh is large; thus, we should make a plan that how we can use this huge asset (population). How we can make this asset capable? For this reason, we have to rebuild people again by giving proper education. After that, it will be possible for us to make a new Bangladesh where every people will understand the nature. Every people will understand the country. And to make it feasible, we have to give people there basic needs like food they need. For this reason, we have to think natural friendly food production method which will be better for all people. If we want to make human resource strong quickly, we need education and health care first. I think these two things are the further condition of development process. “A poor economy may have less money to spend on health care and education, but it also needs less money to provide the same services, which would cost more in the richer countries.”[18] “Japan’s economy development was clearly much helped by the human resource development related to social opportunities that were generated”[19] In the conventional paradigm to attain economic growth the concept of "grow first and clean later” was the underlying principle. In the last decade, particularly after the Rio summit in 1992, it has been realized worldwide that sustainable development can not be achieved without environmental conservation.”[20] If we can do all this, we will enable the country to progress towards a sustainable environment and a development process


SOURCE:

[1] Dr. Saleemul Huq, Dr. A Atiq Rahman, Dwijen Mallick, Population And Environment In Bangladesh, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS)p.4 source: internet

[2] Dr. Saleemul Huq Dr. A Atiq Rahman, Dwijen Mallick, Population And Environment In Bangladesh, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS),p.2, source: internet
[3] Dr. Saleemul Huq Dr. A Atiq Rahman, Dwijen Mallick, Population And Environment In Bangladesh, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS),pp. 1-5, source: internet
[4] Impact of Land Utilization Systems on Agricultural Productivity, COUNTRY PAPER: by Md. Nazmul Ahsan and Md. Nuruddin Ahmed, Published by the Asian Productivity Organization, p.131, source: internet

[5] Brammer hugh, Land use and Land use planning in Bangladesh, chapter 12, p.268
[6] Land use and Land use planning in Bangladesh, ibd,p.268
[7] BANGLADESH AGRICULTURE AT THE CROSSROADS:
CURRENT CHALLENGES, report no: 36, p.5, Centre for Policy Dialogue, source: internet
[8] Land degradation and agricultural productivity in Bangladesh,
Land Degradation Situation in Bangladesh, Soils Division, BARC, 1999, source: internet
Ñ marginal varities
[9] Land degradation and agricultural productivity in Bangladesh,
Land Degradation Situation in Bangladesh, Soils Division, BARC, 1999, source: internet
[10] Impact of Land Utilization Systems on Agricultural Productivity, COUNTRY PAPER: by Md. Nazmul Ahsan and Md. Nuruddin Ahmed, Published by the Asian Productivity Organization, p.132 source: internet
[11] Impact of Land Utilization Systems on Agricultural Productivity, COUNTRY PAPER: by Md. Nazmul Ahsan and Md. Nuruddin Ahmed, Published by the Asian Productivity Organization, p.132 source: internet
[12] Land degradation and agricultural productivity in Bangladesh,
Land Degradation Situation in Bangladesh, Soils Division, BARC, 1999, source: internet
[13] Land degradation and agricultural productivity in Bangladesh,
Land Degradation Situation in Bangladesh, Soils Division, BARC, 1999, source: internet
[14] Improving Water Productivity, How can we get more crop per drop?Md. Saiful Haque writes from Stockholm, daily star web edition, vol.5
[15] Improving Water Productivity, How can we get more crop per drop?Md. Saiful Haque writes from Stockholm, daily star web edition, vol.5
[16] Improving Water Productivity, How can we get more crop per drop?Md. Saiful Haque writes from Stockholm, daily star web edition, vol.5
[17] Population And Environment In Bangladesh, By Dr. Saleemul Huq Dr. A Atiq Rahman, Dwijen Mallick, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS),p.3, source: internet
[18] DEVELOPMENY AS FREEDOM BY AMARTYA SEN, P.48
[19] DEVELOPMENY AS FREEDOM BY AMARTYA SEN, P.41
[20] BANGLDESH: STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT 2001, P.119

This writings is done by the help of Ariana Bain who is currently a masters student at Yale University.

Promotosh Barua

9th semester, School of Business

University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh