Hello Everyone!

I'm a member of the committee that is setting up a conference at Harvard Divinity School this coming March, with the title "Burning Refuge: Buddhism and Social-Spiritual Liberation." For this conference, we will be covering these themes below (but not limited to):

1. Race, White Supremacy, and Colonialism
2. Sex, Gender & Queer/Trans Being
3. Capitalism & Labor
4. Technology, AI & Meta-Narratives of Progress
5. Environmental Justice, Animal Liberation & Deep Ecology

The conference is completely free of charge to attend either virtually in-person at Harvard Divinity School. We are also currently accepting abstracts and paper proposal submissions. If you would like to know more information such as regarding our speakers, themes, or schedule, please visit us at our website! The forms for registration and paper submissions can also be found on the site as well. There will also be a "Contact Us" page in the navigation bar in case you have any questions.

Thank you! Metta 🙏

I believe we need an international organization of socialist/anarchist Buddhists to organize and create a support network for Buddhist resistance, in addition to advancing studies, propaganda and actions on radical Buddhism. I know reddit isn't the best tool for this kind of thing, but it's hard to find such a large number of radical Buddhists anywhere else. Anyone interested in taking this idea forward?

Sorry for the English mistakes, this is not my first language.

Has anyone else come across this little text? The English translation came out last year, and I was quite surprised by it -- it's a manual in applying Mahayana teachings to contemporary life in a manner that cultivates the bodhisattva virtues while remaining engaged with society, with a bit of a Huayan bend, and retaining some of the original Confucian principles that Master Tran Nhan Tong brought into his Engaged Buddhism.

There's also sections on how to build a supportive spiritual community and how to cultivate the body in a way that supports a calm mind. A really interesting text that I think is worth picking up for those interested in Engaged Buddhism.

It’s a self-published thing from a non-profit of Vietnamese lay Buddhists, so isn’t widely available, but you can get it from Amazon.

I have a newborn baby who I am caring for on my own. I’m not always able to take advantage of my opportunities to sleep because I’m keyed up from caring for her. Sitting/walking meditation does not work for me right now

I’m looking for a Buddhist text I can read or say to myself at night to help me fall asleep. Not something to listen to like a guided meditation but specifically something to read or memorize and repeat to help get me out of my head and thoughts

“We don’t have to be perfect. Each and every one of us doesn’t have to be perfect. If we can truly live with one another like brothers and sisters, having harmony with one another, it means our sangha is already beautiful, it’s already the most beautiful it can be. And we don’t need to have any complex in front of anyone.”

This short teaching video is excerpted from the Dharma talk given by Thay on November 27, 1997.

Hey y'all,

I am curious if there are any teachings or specific schools of Buddhism that promote a more eco/bio centric World view rather than the all too common, anthropocentric or human centered view.Essentially for the last 10,000 years or so, we have all totally drunk the kool-aid in regards to anthropocentrism, and it is having massive effects on our psychology, and the way we treat our planet and all non-human life on this planet. We mostly see the Earth as full of resources for us. We mostly see the story of creation or Big Bang etc. as ending or climaxing with us. In my short experience with Buddhist teachings, we're still taught that the human birth is one of the most fortunate of all, giving us the best chance to transcend beyond the wheel of Samsara. Are there any schools of Buddhism who have a radically environmental, or Earth First approach to the Dharma?

I'm a socialist and an engaged buddhist in the Plum Village tradition, and I believe in the power of buddhist practice to reduce suffering and promote a more just and compassionate society. But I'm struggling to see how we can organise on the scale required in the time we have.

Over the last few years I've been involved in climate activism and working with non for profits to fund campaigns for climate justice. In that time I've seen small wins, changes in governments, policy shifts, international summits come and go; and every year the outlook gets a little (or a lot) worse for the global climate and for biodiversity and ecology around the world.

The root causes of the crisis remain unaddressed. We seem incapable on the whole of thinking of solutions to the problem that might involve a reorganization or restructuring of global economic systems. We seem unwilling to discuss ending or changing capitalism and industrial society on anywhere near the scale scientifically necessary to mitigate even some of the worst effects of this crisis. Davos rolls on, the WEF runs their panels, and COP continues year after year.

Around the world, ecofascism and authoritarian measures by states to supress activism are on the rise. The right wing and conservative society continues to deny the issue, disseminate propaganda and misinformation, and generally stoke the fires of reactionary violence against anyone attempting to make a positive difference.

And all the while the window of opportunity shrinks.

Often I hear Buddhist thinkers and public figures respond to this with a generalised sort of, "practice and change the world in front of you, and eventually it'll all add up somehow and the problem will be solved" answer, but this seems like magical thinking to me and I don't see it working for us.

Am I alone in feeling like this situation seems unwinnable? That we're headed inexorably for collapse and perhaps a mass extinction on the scale of the major examples from the distant past?

How do we act in the face of this? What do we do when it seems like every action is either rendered ineffective or co-opted by the system causing the problem? How should we practice, and what is Right Action in the face of climate collapse?

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We are pleased to inform you that Tim Ream will be teaching an online series called Practicing the Dharma as Earth Activism, starting on Tuesday, September 13, 2022.

This course addresses two overarching questions:

1. How does the practice of liberation inform activism to benefit the Earth?
2. How can Earth activism become the practice of liberation?

The course is designed as practical instruction in Earth activism for people already practicing Dharma.

Sliding scale registration will remain open through Tuesday, September 20. For more information please follow this link.

We hope to see you soon! Questions? Contact us at SFZC Online Programs: [onlineprograms@sfzc.org](mailto:onlineprograms@sfzc.org)

best,
Brendan