A very happy New Year to everybody. As many of you know, I do not recommend making resolutions. They tend not to work and simply prompt a sense of failure when they are not kept. But I do recommend something called aspiration. Aspiration is what keeps us firmly on the path of awakening. Aspiration combines intention with energy. Aspiration keeps us from giving up or yielding to despair.
One of my deepest aspirations is to do what I can to work for peace - all kinds of peace: peace in the world, peace within all my relationships and peace within my own mind and consciousness. And so I thought I'd introduce you today to the Mission Statement of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship (http://www.bpf.org/html/home.html). Perhaps their aspirations can inform and inspire ours.
The mission of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF), founded in 1978, is to serve as a catalyst and agent for socially engaged Buddhism. Our aim is to help beings liberate themselves from the suffering that manifests in individuals, relationships, institutions, and social systems. BPF's programs, publications, and practice groups link Buddhist teachings of wisdom and compassion with progressive social change.
Our practice of contemplation and social action is guided by our intentions to:
Recognize the interdependence of all beings
Meet suffering directly and with compassion
Appreciate the importance of not clinging to views and outcomes
Work with Buddhists from all traditions
Connect individual and social transformation
Practice nonviolence
Use participatory decision-making techniques
Protect and extend human rights
Support gender and racial equality, and challenge all forms of unjust discrimination
Work for economic justice and the end of poverty
Work for a sustainable environment
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ReplyDeleteEllie
Thank you for reminding me of what is truely important, and for giving me a better set of priorities for my life.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to examine our financial priorities. Thank you.
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