BOCS.HU - Sustainable Civilisation       Send this in an email! 
English [20051030] [animation, leaflet] Time to read: half an hour BOCS Vision (Ecology, Peace Education, Peace, Family, Human rights, Nonviolence, Development education, Philosophy, Global Education, Third World, Environmental education, Community, Conscientious Objection, Christianity, Kommunik?ci?, Movement, Population, Sex, Transcendency)
Short history and vision of the BOCS Foundation.
A BOCS küldetése / BOCS Vision

Introduction: You can download the offline version here:
bocs_vision.exe


BOCS:HU – vision

„And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.” (Isaiah 11,7)

Since 1975 it works in the first place with the philosophical, ethical, educational and social aspects of ecology, on the base of evangelical nonviolence and of the responsibility for the future generations, the poor, and the underprivileged. It aims at teaching non-material richness and non-consumer happyness in small communities and summer camps. (Environmental Encyclopaedia, volume I. page 139.)

Some of the beginnings and milestones of our activity:

1975: Gettin started: the young people’s religion class of the Basilica of Szekesfehervar started to go in for ecology with the leadership of Gyula Simonyi.
1976: Community organiser training.
1977: The first ecology day in one of the big summer camps of the Székesfehérvár communities (Szentendre). Beginnig of the sponsoring of the Indian schools of Cedic Prakash SJ. The Christmas Resolution.
1978: Publishing of the Love book. Big summer camp in Szentendre.
1979: The first youth weekend is organised in Tihany. Big summer camp in Kapolcs. Do Not Fear But Trust (an essay about fear in the four gospels) .
1980: Cogitation about paid work. Big indian summer camp.
1981: The religion group of the Basilica in Szekesfehervar was forced to become underground. Big summer camp in Pakod.
1982: Big summer camp in Péliföldszentkereszt.
1983: Imprisonment of community members because of conscientious objection to military service.
1984: The translation of Jean Michael Hornus’s book: It Is Not Lawful For Me To Fight. Mechanization of underground publishing. Assisting in the starting of the summer holidays for handicapped children in Söréd.
1985: Taking part in the starting of the so-called Silk Mill, one of the cradles of the political changes. Summer camps in Ipolytölgyes, building a catholic home for handicapped children.
1986: Council about ecology for small catholic communities. Cedric Prakash SJ’s first visin in Hungary. Starting of the periodical Palmaag (Palm Branch).
1987: Establishment of the Noe Club. Computer camp in Sukoro.
1988: Computer camp in Balatonszabadi.
1989: The Simonyi family received passport (their travel „no longer interfered with the public interest”). First JPIC meeting in Holland. First visit to Transylvania. Some articles of the Palmaag was published as a column of the journal Third Shore.
1990: Establishing magazins Érted vagyok and Tájék. Takin part in the tying of the Net(work of Hungarian Catholic communities) from the beginning. Church an Peace meeting in Drezda.
1991: The first National Green Meeting. Establishing the magasine Christian Solidarity.
1992: Visit in the Bruderhof in England. Translation of Eberhard Arnold’s book. Peoples’s Plan for 21th Century, Thailand. Kairos Europa.
1993: Starting to use email („green spider”). Lecture tour to Transylvania with Csaba Bojte. Second visit of Cedric Prakash SJ.

1994: Official registration of the BOCS Foundation. Lecture tour in Scotland.
1995: Starting of the website BOCS.hu. Joining the International Campaign To Ban Landmines from Eastern- Europa. Signature collection for the World Court Project against nuclear weapons. World Peace Meeting of University Students in Japan.
1996: Our first visit to India. Youth Meeting in Csiksomlyo. Giving lecture on Pax Romana conference.
1997: The II. European Ecumenical Assembly. Third visit of Cedric Prakash SJ in Hungary.
1998: : Lectures and summer camps in Transylvania. First participation on the Balaton Group meeting. Lecture on the Pax Romana Conference.
1999: First summer camp for the children from Deva.
2000: Lecture tour in the USA. Publishing the book: Rapture of the Gospel. Environmental education with young volunteers on the Island Festival for the first time. Fourth visit of Cedric Prakash SJ in Hungary.
2001: Publishing of the Environment & Peace Calendar and the Donella Meadows memorial book.
2002: Fifth visit of Cedric Prakash SJ. BOCS magazin (a daily email calendar) started. Environmental competition in the Net annual summer camp, in Zanka.
2003: Environmental education in the Valley of Arts and other festivals. IDC (international development cooperation) section on the National Green Meeting. HAND Association.
2004: Study tour to the ESP school network in India. ENSZ Decade of Education for Sustainability (2005-2014). IDC social consultative body in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.


Roots are important, but too much is as bad as nothing at all. The planet of the Little Prince is nearly crushed by the roots of the overgrowed baobab trees. This drawing illustrates the present crisis of the life on the Earth. It’s a situation, which is unprecedented in history: we overburdened our planet.


What are the roots for, if the tree doesn’t bear any fruit? Much ado about nothing. The squirrels wheel whirls in wain. The roots, which exhaust the planet, not only bear no fruit, they nourish only a few leaves.
The chinese character of crisis is composed of the characters of danger and chance. Let’s have a look at the dangers that are threatening us, and let’s also see our chances.


1. reproduction
The first root is reproduction.
After thousands of years of being almost horizontal, the diagram of human population turned almost vertical in a time of only a few generations. This changed people, families, society, economy, policy, culture and everything. Fortunately this most determining field is the easiest to control.
After a few steps there is an opportunity to watch the teaching animation about the population bomb.

2. production
The second root is production.
People have to work much more in our North-Atlantic Civilisation to force their living from the overburdened nature, than tribes who live in the nature. But everyone who is born wants to live. The economic race presents itself as the success of life. But we are not living to work, we work to provide the moderate means for a higher level of life.

3. consumption
The third root is consumption.
People who are more wily then others make their living by giving glass beads and fiery water in exchange for the work of masses. Everyone, who’s born, desires appreciation. The race for consumption also represents itself as the success of life. It’s not the things we consume and possess, what makes us worth as a human, but the things we live true, undergo, create, give and in what we develop.

4. pollution
The fourth root is pollution
Natural cycles and relations work irregularly (plastic also dissolves, but a million times slower), things which need to be separated become mixed (oil makes water undrinkable), living beings on the other end of the pipes (exhaust pipe, barrel) perish fast. Everything, which is born makes pollution. The question is, whether the nature can deal with it’s kind and quantity, or not. Not the rabbish coming from outside, but the rabbish what the people themselves pollute, makes them dirty. (see Mt 15, 11).

5. fight
The fifth root is fight.
Human being became the natural enemy of human being in the fight for natural resources. Violence is also terrible when it’s little, but in large scale the armament race threatens the whole life on Earth with extinction. Safety is the most basic need of every being. Everything which is born obtain it’s place under the Sun by fighting. By the way, every living being’s fate is to die once, the question is, what imperishable has grown up in it, as long as it was alive.


Healthy and proportional tree
Roots are necessary, but it’s the method and measure which counts.
Our ecological footprint, which weighs heavily on the Earth, is a product of three factors: how many we are, how much we consume, and how smart/ ecologically we consume.
This planet is suited for a smaller population of humanity, on a reasonable level and ecological way of living.
Now, that the tree is proportional, let’s see the main quuestion: what kind of fruits does it bear?

Soul and cosmos
Many people surf in the virtual world of the internet. But in everyone of us, there is also an amazing world. Some, who discovered it, wrote whole books about it (for examle: The Inner Castle by Saint Theresa, or The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton). The hundred thousand billions of galaxies, natural wonders, or the macro and microcosmos of little beings are also waiting for us as wonders, feelings and wisdom.

Spirit and creation
How many books can we read in a lifetime? How many amazing poems, films music could we enjoy in the time, which we spend by rushing or staring at the TV? A lot of intellectual treasure is waiting for you! And you can also take part in this intellectual carneval by creating.

Family and friends:
Most of the advertisements promise the happy moments of family life or friendship, if you buy the product it tries to sale. But if you want to buy it, you have to work to earn the money for it, and this robs your time from your beloved ones.
Remember the fisherman, who was resting on the seashore, and the businessman, who tempted him to be greedy for money. The businessman promises the fisherman the same thing that his already doing as a result of a back-breaking and nature destructive career.

Solidarity and gentleness
Jesus said that „also pagan can love their friends”. You can become able to much more: solidarity towards the people in need, and gentleness towards enemies.

Playing and joy.
„when He appointed the foundations of the earth… Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him” Says the wisdom / Pro. 8.30/


Be your own gardener
Life is plant improvement, refining of our own life and personality.


Becoming human is becoming a wine-taster.
The wine–taster doesn’t despise the pleasures, but he lives with them wisely. He takes delight in the light, the swinging, and the fragrance of the wine, he’s only tasting it. He uses up only a little, but he finds a lot of joy in it, and he doesen’t cause any loss to himself or others. The hard drinker consumes a lot, causes a lot of trouble to himself and others, and finds very few pleasure in it.


Population bomb is the main cause!
After thousands of years of being almost horizontal, the diagram of human population turned almost vertical in a time of only a few hundred years. It’s not only a heavy multiplier of the ecological footprint, but it fundamentally changed society, economy, policy, culture and everything. Supporting our successors produces an alibi for everything bad, this is the most useful thing to manipulate people.
The next step in the evolution of humanity is a step from the instincts to the responsible begetting.
I watch the population animation
I have already seen the population animation


„Dont be thoughtless!
Someone else earns on your work!”
We suffer in our private life from the things we cause by our daily work.
Different kinds of interests of groups try to use youth: be a stahanovist, work yourself to death for the company, give a boost to the indisposed economy with your consumption, give birth to workers for the industry, soldiers for the army, numbers for nation, be a consumer faithful to a trade-mark, renounce family life, sacrifice your life for your nation on the battlefield, throw your money and litter around in a cool style…
You have to choose wisely even from the noble ideas. At the moment, the Earth is a little common boat, the population, economy and armament race among nations, firms or religions can easily become fatal for everyone.


„I’m thirsting for this water”
It’s not growing five thousand roses, what makes us happy, „But whoever takes the water I give him will never be in need of drink again; for the water I give him will become in him a fountain of eternal life.”
„Come to me, all you who are troubled and weighted down with care, and I will give you rest.” (Jesus)


Non material happyness
Live the fruits: more worth, meaning, joy and chaff.
„Don’t cut down every tree, at least sometimes take half an hour rest” /Zsuzsa Koncz/
Don’t consume, produce, pollute, propagate and fight too much: it’s less burden for the Earth, the living world, the next generation and the poor.


Ancient prophetical pipe dream
„And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.” (Isaiah 11,7)
Panda is a branch of the family of predator bears, which became plant-eater. It touched the soul of people, and became the global symbol of protecting nature.
The neanderthalensis, which was stronger and taller than the homo sapiens became extinct. Now instead of the stronger roots, the finer, fruit bearing type of human has better chances in evolution.


Suspect the evolutions!
Over the gene evolution there is an evolution of memetics and moreover there is a third level of evolution. We will tell also about these later.
The fear of death motivates the overgrowing of roots. The more you recognise the things which worth eternity in yourself, the more you can concentrate on the fruits, on your future, on your cosmic-size and long improvement.

Geographical place: Sz?kesfeh?rv?r

Persons whom it is about: Prakash, Cedric SJ, Simonyi, Gyula

Groups, movements whom it is about: BOCS Foundation

Author: Simonyi, Gyula

Translator: Simonyi, ?gnes

Group, movement, tendency (wherefrom it comes from): Bocs Foundation

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