But these days, he does a lot more than simply dispense Buddhist philosophy. He also deplores the sharp distinctions between rich and poor that exist in many countries. He notes that the world’s population has accelerated wildly since 1950. At present, the earth may have enough resources to sustain the six billion people there are now, but it does not have enough to sustain another doubling of the population. The solution, he says with a smile, is to have more monks and nuns. The other solution, he adds more practically, is to use birth control.
