Bodhipaksa writes from the States with news of another milestone in the slowly-growing Canadian Triratna Buddhist sangha, saying - “I'm leading a workshop in Toronto on Oct 19 which Harshaprabha and I are hoping to use to kick-start regular Triratna activities in the city. There’s a few people with Triratna backgrounds in Toronto, and others moving there later this year, but so far no Order Member to keep things going. We're hoping that the two of us, and possibly other Order members too, if they're interested, will be able to support a nucleus of interested people by making periodic visits. So at the end of my workshop we're having a gathering to sound out how we might move forward. The Toronto group, once formed, will join existing Triratna Sanghas in Guelph and faraway Vancouver. Harshaprabha's doing some other events in Ontario, outside of Toronto, immediately following the Toronto workshop. He has an event called "The Buddha as Exemplar" in Guelph on Sunday October 20, and three events in Goderich. More information about those can be found at http://triratnabuddhistcommunityontario.com.

Bodhipaksa’s workshop is entitled ‘The Power of Self-Compassion’, and will, in his own words, “explore the power that self-compassion has to free us from hurt and fear, and to free us up to be compassionate toward others.” He goes on to say “Studies have shown that self-compassion leads to greater emotional resilience and happiness. When we’re compassionate toward ourselves not only are we happier, but we’re also more able to help other people. And yet many of us find it hard to have compassion for ourselves. We tend to be self-critical, and have difficult distinguishing self-compassion from self-pity and self-indulgence. On this day of meditation and reflection, I will guide us through practical exercises in learning to regard ourselves — and our pain — with compassion. It's a practice that's profoundly revolutionized my own life and freed me from a lot of suffering, and I'm very keen to share the techniques I've evolved with others. As the Buddha said, 'If you take care of others, you take care of yourself. And if you take care of yourself you take care of others.'”.

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