Manjusiha writes from the London Buddhist Centre, Triratna’s largest urban centre, with news of a new project he’s launched: Journal East, which he describes as “a Buddhist View of Current Affairs”. Its aim is to bring a more Dharmic voice to contemporary society, particularly in the face of the economic, political and social upheavals that are taking place around the world. Only three months old, its already covered issues as diverse as Religion for Atheists; Occupy the High Street; Should Buddhists wear poppies?; and more.

He says “This is a site that I set up towards the end of last year, inspired by Subhuti and Maitreyabandhu. I hope you will visit it and subscribe [it’s totally free, though of course you can donate - Ed.]. If you are interested in writing for it then please e-mail me. At the moment it is quite UK-centric - I hope you will help me to change this!

I’ve been interested in politics since school. Graduating from university, I worked as an environmental consultant for fourteen years, before dedicating my working life to Buddhist causes.

Since becoming a Buddhist I’ve wrestled with the seeming tension between withdrawal from, and engagement with, the world around me. But since 2009, when I was ordained, I’ve seen that this is only an apparent rather than an actual conflict. These pages are my way of explaining why and how Buddhism and current affairs can go together, how the creative tension between them can shine a light on both, and how much a Dharmic perspective, and Buddhist practices, have to contribute to our crumbling and re-emerging society.

I hope you will get involved in this critically important – and, I hope, engaging and enjoyable – conversation”.