×
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.
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.
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
… et une version en français…
Les ailes secrètes
Nous nous plaignons de notre faiblesse et pourtant
Nous ne voulons pas ouvrir nos ailes secrètes :
Le monde est sombre, car nous sommes aveugles
Face à la nature étoilée des choses.
Nous arrachons nos plumes aux couleurs irisées
Et avec leur beauté céleste nous tentons
De façonner des flèches nocturnes,
Puis gémissons « Hélas ! voler nous ne pouvons ! »
Nous marmonnons que tout n’est que poussière,
Ou bien d’un ton moqueur nous abordons les sages :
« Montrez-nous donc le Soleil qui brille au-delà
Du Voile » – et puis nous fermons les yeux.
Des forces d’en haut et des forces d’en bas
Dans leur quête de Vérité les hommes cherchent l’aide,
Se mettant au-devant de la Lumière
Et craignant l’ombre qu’eux-mêmes ont créée.
Ô ne te plains plus de ta faiblesse
Mais secoue et déploie tes deux ailes secrètes,
Et dis « Le monde est lumineux, car des choses
Nous entrevoyons la nature étoilée. »
Élève-toi avec tes plumes irisées
Et atteins la terre proche et lointaine où tous sont un,
Où la face de la Beauté est dévoilée
Et où chaque étoile deviendra un soleil.