6pm Friday 26 June - 3pm Tuesday 30 June 2015

The Buddha said the world was “on fire” – burning with greed, hatred, and delusion. What have today’s Buddhists got to say about the state of the modern world, or about the contribution Buddhism can make to improving it? Vaddhaka (whose book on Buddhism and Capitalism - The Buddha On Wall Street - has just been published) will present and compare the ideas of some contemporary Buddhist thinkers, such as Sangharakshita, David Loy, and Bhikkhu Bodhi. Vajratara will explore the life and work of Dr Ambedkar and show how important and relevant his ideas are, not just in their Indian context, but to Buddhists everywhere. Together we will examine how we might put the ideas of these Buddhist thinkers into action and make Buddhism of deeper relevence to society.

Vaddhaka and Vajratara will be running this retreat as part of Buddhist Action Month at Adhisthana. 

"The International Buddhist Relief Organisation is a UK-based NGO recognised by the UN. It was established as a charity in 1995 with the registered aim ‘to help relieve the suffering of people everywhere, regardless of their status, creed or geographical location, who are in condition of need, hardship or distress as a result of local, national or internal disaster or by reason of social or economic circumstances. In accordance with the Buddhist doctrine and principles, such help is also extended to animals everywhere that are in need of care or attention.’

Principally it has consisted of a small group associated with Ven. Kassapa OBE who have raised funds to help relieve disasters (eg the S.E. Asian tsunami, floods in Pakistan, the Philippine cyclone). It has also supported fixed projects like the Tithandizane Clinic in Zambia (with Amida Trust), the Welligama Nursery School (in the wake of the tsunami), and the Navatkuli Housing Appeal, based in Jaffna, for people displaced by the civil war. In addition, it collects medical supplies and equipment for use in poorer countries and supports animal rescue schemes.

The charity has a website and is registered with Paypal and Everyclick.

The Proposal

At its AGM on 24 May 2014, the statutory officers decided to stand down in favour of a new committee to take over IBRO’s work and name. Their minuted decision is to act as a caretaker committee until December 2014, or until such time before that date as another committee can take over. Also minuted is that they have asked Yann Lovelock (in consultation with Ven. Kassapa) to help arrange this transfer.

At present the charity has assets of nearly £3K and had a turnover of about £9K in the previous year. These figures are about average, except for 2005 during the tsunami relief period, when IBRO’s profile was very high in the media."

Enquiries and expressions of interest in carrying on IBRO’s aims should be addressed to Yann Lovelock at yanda_lovelock@yahoo.co.uk"

"The Network of Engaged Buddhists has today (24th May 2014) dissolved formally as an organisation in line with the conditions of its constitution. Its membership met to reconcile and ratify this decision after a protracted period of consideration of the organisation's future and earlier consultations.

There are a variety of reasons why NEB has wound up its operations, these include: membership numbers in decline as many sanghas in the UK have their own engaged Buddhist groups and sub-groups There are many other diverse forms of Buddhism in new and more traditional groups and in mindfulness movements associated with Buddhist engagement in a practical sense.

In consideration of this ever-changing phenomenon it is recognised that NEB’s lack of a public profile does not suggest a decline in Socially Engaged Buddhism (SEB), in fact the contrary is the case, and SEB in the UK is alive and well.

Groups that function within the ethos of SEB or are associated with its methods and thinking in some way, include: Amida Trust, Buddhist chaplaincy movement, the NBO, Rigpa Trust, Rokpa Trust, SGI (UK), Tariki Trust, Triratna Buddhist Community, and a range of Zen/Chan organisations.

Whilst recognizing this change, we celebrate the creative and exciting work done by the Network of Engaged Buddhists, and we regret the loss of its national all-inclusive voice, upholding and promoting as it did the vision of a Radical Culture of Awakening so desperately needed. We know that its members will continue to serve Buddhism well and hope that such a national all–inclusive voice for Socially Engaged Buddhism will re-live and we wish everyone associated with NEB now or in the past, blessings in the Dharma.

Thanks should go to the various members who have been part of the executive over the years and to all members of NEB for their efforts. In particular, we would like to acknowledge with much gratitude the role of Ken Jones the founder of NEB, and its visionary and guide over more than three decades, He is now in his 85th year and continues to teach, offer retreats, write and archive his prolific work.

The assets of the organisation will be passed to the Network of Buddhist Organisations (NBO), as an infrastructure and umbrella Buddhist group. (This decision was unanimous at the dissolution meeting.)

NEB Dissolution Meeting Participants

24.5.14

• details of forthcoming events
• short reports on what you've done (up to 350 words)
• pictures
• little videos and
• audio.

Buddhism generally has a very positive image in the UK, as a peaceful, meditative lifestyle. At the Network of Buddhist Organisations UK, we’d like to mess that up a bit! The image isn’t wrong; it’s just very partial, and it’s misleading. Lots of Buddhists are firmly committed to social action. You just don’t know about them.

All across Britain, there are Buddhists working away for the benefit of others, in their ordinary lives as nurses, police officers, social workers, charity workers, volunteers or anything else you can think of. And then there are all the Buddhists who run Buddhist charities and social projects helping others, through overseas development work, prison and hospital chaplaincies, mental health projects or campaigning on environmental social issues, to mention a few.

All this goes on all the time, and in Buddhist Action Month 2014 (BAM) we’ll be shining a spotlight on it. BAM’s suggested theme is global warming and the environment, but the month is intended to stir up and celebrate Buddhist social action in general.

Starting very small with Buddhist Action Day in 2012, we progressed to a whole month in 2013. This was moderately well taken up, but 2014′s campaign has started well with the leaders of one of the UK’s largest Buddhist denominations agreeing to adopt it nationally – not just across England but UK-wide, and even maybe across the Channel! Some UK members of this movement, the Triratna Buddhist Order and Community, are even thinking “beyond BAM”: inspired by the Quakers’ Minute 36 on sustainability, Triratna's 40 or so retreat and urban Buddhist centres are talking about collectively moving towards a fairtrade, lower carbon lifestyle over the next few years.

Buddhist commitment to social action is based on a range of teachings and values including:

• wisdom and compassion
• karma – that our actions of body, speech and mind have consequences, for which we are responsible
• that craving, including over-consumption, causes suffering
• interconnectedness
• the five ethical precepts: undertaking to

1. avoid killing and other kinds of harming
2. avoid taking that which is not freely given
3. avoid sexual misconduct
4. avoid false speech
5. avoid clouding the mind with intoxicants

Follow the Network of Buddhist Organisations on Facebook.
Follow Buddhist Action Month on Facebook
Visit the NBO website.

View the original article.

• A very quick, easy thing to do and to encourage friends and Sangha members to do. Switch your internet search engine to Ecosia http://www.ecosia.org who plant trees with a proportion of their profits. You can set Ecosia as your default page (under preferences) and there is an app too. It all works perfectly well, I've been using it for several months now.