Tag: Public Preceptors

A Koan for our Times: April - October 2024

Though the many beings are numberless, I vow to save them.
Though greed, hatred and ignorance rise endlessly, I vow to cut them off.
Though the dharma is vast and fathomless, I vow to understand it.
Though the Buddha’s way is beyond attainment, I vow to embody it fully.

- a formulation of the Bodhisattva Vow, quoted in Noble Friendship, Khantipalo

What does a Buddhist Order have to offer the world in times of conflict, violence and environmental destruction? How is the...

Chair's Letter – October 2023

Dear Order Members and friends,

I’m writing from Mexico, where preparations are underway for the Day of the Dead celebrations, and on the fifth anniversary of Sangharakshita’s death. I’m here for the fourth Pan American Convention, which is taking place in a Benedictine monastery on the outskirts of Cuernavaca as Chintamani retreat centre is unfortunately too small for the nearly 100 or so attendees. There are Order members from Canada, in the north, to Argentina, in the south...

Chair's Letter – March 2023

Dear Order members and friends,

Thanks to Maitreyabandhu for the evocative account of our network of friendships last month. 

First I’ll write with an update from the March College meeting – and end with a personal request.

At that point last month, I was involved in our annual Women Preceptors’ retreat at Adhisthana, which gets better each year as the body of experience grows and the connections between us become stronger. We’d decided to make it an ‘in person’ event, while making the study...