Crosslands Reserve is on the Hornsby Plateau in New South Wales. The underlying rock type is Hawkesbury Sandstone which was laid down during the Triassic period, some 220 million years ago. Soils in the area are derived from the Hawkesbury Sandstone and are mainly shallow, extremely porous and sandy with low nutrient levels.

Vegetation is broadly determined by soil type, climate and aspect. Open forest/woodland is found on the sheltered gullies and hillsides, the main canopy species being Blackbutts (Eucalyptus pilularis), Smooth-barked Apple (Angophora costata) and the Sydney Peppermint (Eucalyptus piperita). Low woodland/open scrub is found on ridges, plateau and dry exposed hillsides, the main canopy species being Red Bloodwood (Eucalyptus gummifera) and Scribbly Gum (Eucalyptus haemastoma). Where the valley widens and flattens out soils become deeper and remnants of Tall Open Forest can be found. Sydney Blue Gums (Eucalyptus saligna) and Grey Ironbark (Eucalyptus paniculata) are common. Beside the waters edge River Mangroves (Aegiceras corniculatum) and Swamp Oaks (Casuarina glauca) are common. Between Crosslands and Calna Creek, these mangrove areas are adjoined by a salt marsh herb land dominated by Glasswort (Sarcorcornia quinqueflora) and Seablite (Suaeda australis).

Most of the native mammals within the reserve, such as marsupial mice and possums are nocturnal and rarely sighted. Birds frequently seen including parrots and honey-eaters. Water birds including the White-Faced Heron and Pied Cormorant are often seen.

Prologue

Nowadays most of our youths seem to be living in "cyber space" totally lost touch with the natural environment around them. In order to help re-connect them to Nature I decided to take a group of Sydney youths to Crossland Reserve for a nature walk. The purpose of the walk was to use Nature as an analogy:

• To learn about the meaning of our Source.
• To show how everything can be traced back to a Source where the spiritual teaching originated.
• To learn about the propagation of spiritual teaching through Nature.
• To understand the importance of maintaining the purity of the Teaching.
• To enjoy and connect with the Natural Environment.

To introduce the theme of the walk I did a brief presentation of the water cycle and ecosystem to set the scene for the participants. I emphasized the importance of being open to learning, having a sense of adventure, accepting things as they are and enjoying the walk.

The Walk

The participants were divided into 4 smaller groups and each group was facilitated by a guiding person. During the walk the guiding person would help the participants to observe relevant features in Nature and answer any questions that might arise.

Let’s use water as our analogy. If the rain cloud is the Source, the rain is like the Heavenly mandate and spiritual Teaching. The clean rain water soaking into the ground, running down the gullies and mountain slopes eventually ended up in the marsh. Some of this water could be contaminated or polluted as it finds its way to the marsh. (Human interpretations of the teaching). The marsh is like a giant filter. It helps to remove rubbish, pollutants and excess nutrients and keeps the water as clean as possible. It is like people who have received the precious Teaching, we must make sure the original teaching is not corrupted over time. The linage is like the journey of water, from the marshes to the ocean.  

• Tendency of human to interpret the teaching for his own selfish gain.
• Have a pure and sincere heart so as not to corrupt the teaching.
• Further down the river it becomes wider and wider. It is like the big wide world the teaching could easily become contaminated and we become disconnected to the source.
• The spread of spiritual centres is like the River Mangrove spreading with the river. The mangroves help to continuously clean and filter the water just like the spiritual centres, keeping the teaching alive and pure. 
• Evaporation is the final ultimate filter that completes the cycle. Enlightenment – the teaching has become experience and ready to commence the cycle again.

Looking at how spiritual teaching is being propagated today, how do we ensure and maintain the purity of the teaching? Are there any good and practical “ideas” we can learn from Nature?

• To have Spiritual Centres positioned in strategic locations so that a safe environment is easily accessible to all the practitioners to learn and align their learning to the original teaching continuously. The Spiritual Centres must maintain the purity of the teaching by always connect to the source and the original teaching.
• In Nature the “filtering stations” are everywhere. For example, the River Mangroves, water plants, water snails, fish, water insects and miro-organism. They all play a rule in keeping the water clean.

What are our own personal responsibilities in terms of maintaining the purity of the teaching? Does Nature provide us with any clues?

• Make the spiritual environment an integral part of your life. Refresh and align your learning to the original teaching. Live the “teaching” in your daily life. Do not interpret the teaching for your personal selfish gain.
• Just like the creeks and rivers, we cannot propagate the pure teaching effective if we are “poisoned” or corrupted ourselves. If we cut down all the trees, poison the rivers and kill the fish and insects, what can we expect? Everything in Nature has a rule and purpose, no matter how small or insignificant it might be to us. The interdependency is critical for the overall balance.

Basically most of us are disconnected from our True Nature. As a result we only "see" life through our ego-self resulting in distorted perception. No wonder we find it so difficult to "see" the reason and purpose of our existence.
Zen: Humans are egocentric, one thinks that the 'self' is 'me', thereby differentiating oneself from others and comparing oneself with others, thus bringing about sorrow and suffering. Actually, humans are but one of the constituents in the immensity of Nature. THINK ABOUT IT .....

Epilogue

Everyone seemed to have enjoyed the nature walk. I hope for some, this experience has woken up an inner consciousness and for others a longing to experience more of what Nature has to offer. But for everyone I hope it was an enjoyable experience.

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