How to be as Kind as a Buddha — Practices to Cultivate Kindness for Self and Community

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How to be as Kind as a Buddha — Practices to Cultivate Kindness for Self and Community

On Wed, 23 February, 2022 - 16:15

Suddhayu

How to be as Kind as a Buddha —
Practices to Cultivate Kindness for Self and Community

Meditation, Dharma, Community — every Sunday 10-11:30am ET, in-person at Gateway Taiji or online on Zoom, beginning February 27.

“Even as a mother protects with her life
Her child, her only child,
So with a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings”

Like a garden, kindness needs to be cultivated; kindness needs the right conditions to grow and flourish. What are those conditions and how do we find or create them? Every Sunday we’ll be exploring practices that create the best conditions within ourselves and our communities for kindness to take root, thrive and bear fruit.

Metta, or universal loving-kindness, is known as an immeasurable, in that it has limitless application and leads to a heart and mind free of constriction. The every-day practice of kindness leads to a freer, more expansive heart. How big can your heart grow?

Click here to donate.
Click here to join on Zoom.

Safety:
How are we coming together safely?
In line with Gateway’s policy, we are requiring that all in-person participants be fully vaccinated vs Covid-19. If you are not vaccinated, you may still participate via Zoom.
If you have cold or flu symptoms, we ask that you do not attend in-person, but please attend on Zoom.
Gateway has installed Hepa filters in their HVAC system for air purification.
We will practice social distancing indoors.
Although all in-person participants will be vaccinated, masks are required indoors due to Rockingham County’s current covid transmission rate.
*Please let us know if you have questions or concerns about how we’re coming together.

Our Sunday series will resume in-person at Gateway Taiji (875 Islington St, Portsmouth NH) and online on Zoom beginning February 27 and continuing through the end of May. Sessions are from 10 to 11:30am. Please bring your own water bottle or thermos; we have meditation cushions and chairs at the studio. Join us for the whole series, or drop in as you like. Suggested donation of $10-$15. Your donations help cover our rent and support our programs and teachers.

Image detail of Amitabha Buddha, Mongolian, 1800-1899; The FIne Arts Zanabazar Museum

view our community guidelines for promoting good conversation

Community Guidelines

Here are key excerpts from our community content guidelines, which are designed to help create a positive environment for everyone:

1. Please be courteous at all times. If you’re engaged in any kind of discussion, be as prepared to listen as you are to express yourself. Remember that there’s always a real person behind a computer/device screen, and they are likely quite different from you.

2. Think twice before posting anything that’s likely to give offence or be inflammatory. That doesn’t promote good conversation. If you’re upset at something you see here, perhaps let a little time pass before responding. Bear in mind this isn’t a space to vent our views, it’s about exploring respectfully with others what it means to be a Buddhist within our community and in the modern world generally.

3. We may remove posts or comments that are considered off-topic.

4. Everyone has off-moments, and we’ll always try to be in friendly dialogue with you if a problem arises with one of your contributions. But we reserve the right to remove posts and comments (or even suspend user accounts) when we feel these guidelines are not observed.

5. Our current editorial policy around Safeguarding is aligned with the advice given by those tasked with developing Triratna’s approach to this important area of ethical life. If anyone breaches current policy by posting in ways that mean The Buddhist Centre Online potentially break the law by hosting the material, then we will have to remove their posts or comments. We respectfully request that all users bear this in mind when posting. If in doubt, please feel free to ask first before posting. It will save time, energy, and lead to less potential polarisation in these spaces, even if there is disagreement.

Whatever you contribute we very much encourage you to think about it in the light of the Buddhist ethical precepts around 'Right Speech'. These encourage communication that is: truthful, kindly and gracious, helpful and harmonious. We look forward to all you have to bring to the site!

Moderation

We try to keep things light when it comes to moderation of posts and comments within this shared space. And we ask the community itself to lead with this. If you have seen something that concerns you, please feel free to contact us. However, we do ask that you bear in mind the following guidelines, which will help preserve a harmonious atmosphere throughout the site:

Remember there is always a person behind the post or comment you’re objecting to. They may just be having a bad day… If you’re upset, perhaps let a little time pass before responding to them or us. Try contacting the person first in a spirit of open, courteous engagement to see if hearing their perspective changes your own view of things, or if hearing yours changes theirs. Take care to make sure what you are asking us to look at is actually against the spirit of the group or the site itself, rather than simply a difference of view or of personal taste. If in doubt, ask a friend and/or the administrator of the group.

The most important things about this is the first bit: we ask the community to lead with this. That means you! Thanks for helping us promote good conversations on The Buddhist Centre Online.

Read the full set of Community Guidelines