Dharmapeople Ads

Faiths in Action has just awarded funding to over 100 organisations to run local inter faith projects, helping to strengthen neighbourhoods across England. As well as boosting integration, the grants will spur social action by faith communities, helping to create communities in which people from different backgrounds work together to achieve common aims.

The Faiths in Action programme, managed by the Community Development Foundation (CDF) and sponsored by Communities and Local Government, creates opportunities for dialogue and collaboration between different faith groups within local communities.

More : http://www.communities.gov.uk/newsstories/newsroom/1704050

and :

Community Development Foundation - Faiths in Action

Round 1: List of groups awarded funding (PDF)

Round 2: List of groups awarded funding (PDF)

Home

Aug 2010

Ani Choesang writing a paper on available Buddhist educational material for UK schools

Dear All

Mariano – can you please pass this onto any others that you think will be interested.

As you know I am in the middle of writing a paper of the educational material available for buddhist education in UK schools. Currently this entails:-

1) My reviewing, in order to recommend buddhist books, for children, young adults and beginners in buddhism.

2) Reviewing any electronic or media based material that has been produced by buddhist organisations for schools across the key stages.

3) Reviewing recommendations that are currently offered by SACRE

4) Reviewing material at Warwick University

5) Collating a database of:-

    a) all buddhist books for children and young adults
    b) electronic and media based material available though mainstream and buddhist publishers
    c) Initial contact and discussions with any buddhist organisation in the UK that has produced educational material
    d) Email discussion with respected buddhist organisations in other countries who have produced educational material or books specifically to support key stages.

I think that this will cover most of Mariano’s points below re: key stages and what is currently available.

I have not particularly included further education specifically but have reviewed some beginners buddhist books for adults which I believe fall into this category. After all, anyone over 16 can be as receptive and capable of understanding buddhist as any adult.

I have not included any syllabus recommendations for special needs or over 18s.

Progress thus far

I have finished the database in Excel format and we have discussed using a more robust d/base when the current list is in an almost finished form. For the moment it is easier to change data in Excel.

I can have the Excel d/base finished by the end of this month, although it will be something to improve upon and continue to furnish as time goes by.

I have read a number of books and the reviews will be completed by the end of this month on the books received to date. (such fun reading children’s books…)

I have compiled a review database of all buddhist books that are available that are suitable for children, young adults and family led discussion/practice. This is in five different categories. Currently this is in table format in word and again we will look to create a more stable d/base when the majority of the work is completed.

I have received some educational material and made contact with some of the relevant organisations. I am about a third of the way through this.

Mariano and I are starting a list of buddhist elements that we consider most important for inclusion in a core buddhist syllabus. We then plan to pass it around for everyone in the group to comment and add to. I believe that this should be the basis for a check list of what is currently available as it will lead to our understanding of what is missing.

I can only work in batches of time on this and happy to absorb myself when I get going – however it will take a little time to get something that we wish to share with others or is publishable.

Will probably achieve what I have promised above by the end of this month.

I am out of the country for most of September in retreat. Can work on this at various points in October and November and can certainly have something respectable, even if only a draft, at some point in December.

I have taken a totally non partisan approach to the material received. The qualities that I am looking for and the material being:-

Factually correct
Comprehensive and intelligently written
good grammatical English and spelling. Good level of general intellect.
Material represents the mainstream buddhist traditions that are practised in the UK Eg Theravada Tibetan Zen
Non biased to any one organisation
Enough material in each key stage to proportionally represent the buddhist mix in the UK

It does not matter if some material represents a particular mainstream tradition as long as it is explicitly explained as such and is respectful when mentioning other traditions

I have long felt that there should be a core syllabus available for schools in order that children are taught with a consistent standard and quality of buddhist information. My thoughts are for core syllabus material with local flavour, depending on the buddhist parental mix and the qualified buddhist ‘teachers’ available in any given area. I started this paper in response to various comments from RE teachers and I felt that it was something that was required to see where we are, as a baseline for ascertaining what was missing and what was good about the current material.

In discussion with Mariano a few months ago he mentioned that other people are now interested in the same information, therefore we decide to collaborate. I am one who does not believe in reinventing the wheel if material is already available and cannot see the point in repeating what others are already doing. PLEASE If anyone else would like to work on this with me – please make contact, as I would not like to exclude anyone who has the knowledge or is keen to be involved.

I agree to be a part of a core group for working on the educational material. I think that it is best that people who specifically wish to be involved in this are on the working group and they then present to the others as various points for agreement, so that we can progress speedily.

I cannot offer to be involved in any other components at this stage.

We are holding a conference in Herefordshire at the end of September, the SACRE faiths presenting to RE teachers. I chose not to present at this years event but looking to presenting either next Spring or next Autumn. I will be attending though and will make contact with as many teachers as possible.

Regards Ani Choesang

-----Original Message-----
From: Mariano Marcigaglia [mailto: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ]
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 3:56 PM
To: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .uk

Dear Ani

Sorry for the delay, but it has been very busy, and it is going to be even more in the next few days

Nevertheless here is a little contribution on what we could do in the next few months :

1. Someone to investigate existing Buddhist contributions to KS1 of the available syllabuses (at least 3 or 4), and accompanying support material . Deliverables : presentation to the rest of the group by mid Oct ? (what is there, what can be done better, what is missing, etc)

2. Same as point 1, but for KS2 ; presentation in the following week

3. Same as point 1, but for KS3 ; presentation in the following week

4. Same as point 1, but for KS4 ; presentation in the following week

5. Same as point 1, but for GCSE ; presentation in the following week

6. Same as point 1, but for Special Needs and other specialist areas ?; presentation in the following week

7. Buddhism in Further Edu ?

8. some one to come up with a viable cheap strategy for skype conferences, document sharing, etc; and test it; By beginning of October ?

(Bill/Mariano/others). Regular Remote meetings/conferences is the aim (once every 2 weeks ?)

9. Someone to explore our possible future cooperation with Teachers of RE and come up with concrete proposals

10. Someone to look at the web site and make suggestions on how to improve it (Bill/others)

11. Someone to look at existing guidelines in the context of RE and Buddhist and propose improvements : presentation before Xmas ?

I'll stop here, but I will be add on more in due time

People who could be involved ? mostly listed in the SACRE database (http://www.dharmapeople.com/sacre_db/program_files/index.php) but also in the groups database

mariano

Home

Aug 2010

Phra N. Thanissaro : Advantage of letting Buddhist Speakers into Schools

Dear Mariano,

Here is a publicly available link to the first of the papers about the advantage of letting Buddhist speakers into schools :

http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/3338/1/WRAP_Thanissaro_ie-060810-thanissaro_2010b.pdf
to appear shortly in Contemporary Buddhism. You can post a link to this PDF if you think it is useful on the 'Buddhist People' site.

The other article will appear next year.

BTW, I am back in the UK now, but will (sadly for the SE) be posted in Manchester - meanwhile Patcharin Yimpatna seems to have added more energy to my previous SACRE engagements than I could probably have managed!

In the Dhamma
Phra Nicholas Thanissaro (Ven.)

Home

Aug 2010

West Kent College : Buddhist Chaplain Wanted

(now in hand)

> --- On *Thu, 5/8/10, Amaranatho /< This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >/* wrote:
>
>
>    From: Amaranatho < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >
>    Subject: chaplain kent college five sites
>    To: "Mariano Marcigaglia" < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >
>    Date: Thursday, 5 August, 2010, 15:40
>
>    Dear Mariano,
>    I got this email from Sue Brooks - one the chaplain I help with..
>    can you circulate...
>    The Buddhist would need to be keen to work in a further education
>    establishment and engage with young people, in their language. I
>    will to offer support about this if that would help
>    Blessings
>    amaranatho
>
>    .......
>
>    I'm trying to set up chaplaincy across our five sites and wondered
>    whether any Buddhists would feel able to come into a site to give
>    some time being available for students or staff to talk to on a
>    weekly /fortnightly or even monthly basis ?
>
>    I have to confess my ignorance and say I don’t know where the
>    Buddhist communities are based in Kent - so it would be useful to
>    know that anyway!
>
>    *Sue Brooks : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
>    *
>    Chaplain/Student Support
>    Student Support - Dyslexia Manager
>
>    phone phone ext: 2403/2411, Mon 7027
>    mob emailsig
>    Brook Street - Tonbridge - Kent - TN9 2PW - Tel:+44 (0)1732 358101
>    - www.wkc.ac.uk <http://www.wkc.ac.uk/>+

Home

June 2010

Meeting of the Buddhist SACRE & RE Support Group (South England) : July 17th (please note the changed vanue)

Where : 9, Woodland Crescent, Surrey Quays, London SE16 6YN, Canada Water Station on the Jubilee, and East London Line :

http://www.multimap.com/maps/?qs=SE16+6YN&countryCode=GB

host : mariano, 07703 519 478; 020 7 2520804

When : 1⁷^th July 2010, 14:00 – 17:00

Who is invited : Any Buddhist with an interest in RE and SACRE work

from Canada Water tube : go through the barriers in the hall, at the end of the hall turn left and walk straight down the corridor to the stairs in front of you (do not turn left to the other staircase and the lift)

Coming out carry on walking straight along the pavement, new building on your right (on the other side of the road) and temp office on the left. After 30 yards turn into Needleman St on the left, cross the road and in 30 yards you'll be in front of the main gates of Woodland Crescent; Number 9 is to the left of the gate to the inner gardens, just in fron of you

Agenda :

Introductions, who we are , what we do

Presentation of the new database (Buddhist Groups and contacts in the South), and how to maintain it

Overview of the reorganized SACRE Facilities and Resources;

the B. groups database is available in a new searchable format and will be sanitized/corrected in the next few weeks and expanded further

Ja An/Ven Ananda M. to give an account of their visits to a Bexley primary school (to be confirmed)

Isabel Smith to explain the nature of the ASG (Agreed Syllabus Conference) work she is doing in Hounslow (to be confirmed)

Buddhist stories for schools (where we are at)

An update of Ani Choesang's work on identifying and classifying Buddhist publications for schools and for children

Discuss the proposal of kickstarting a series of conference meetings, via Skype, of SACRE reps in the South of England (and beyond if they wish to), for the ones who cannot attend the monthly meetings in Central London. Ani, Bill, Frank and I have already being testing the technical feasibility, and we are happy with the results. Docs to be discussed can be preloaded into the dharmapeople web site work area and then accessed concurrently by remote participants

If you are a SACRE rep or are interested in RE, please come forward

Overview of existing SACRE websites, and online buddhist educational material

Identifying and organizing Buddhist speakers for schools : Southwark is formally requesting that we come up with a list of school visitors (to be trained and briefed, and temples willing to play host to educational visits). Other boroughs/schools are requesting our help, so please come forward if you wish to help. Ideally we would like to provide a London-wide service

Issues and protocols concerning school visits

Exploring the possibility of a periodical event at the Buddhist Society (and elsewhere), specifically for teachers of RE (By-annual ?), for RE teachers and the Buddhist community to bring each other up to date on relevant matters, identify issues and needs, explore the teaching of Buddhism and its challenges, schools interactions with faith communities , speakers, etc

Provision of educational/multimedia material for schools : getting the BS, NBO, Wisdom-Books , Buddhist Publishing Group, Clear Vision & others involved; can we organize a fact finding conference ?

Regular meetings with other faiths SACRE reps ?

if we have any spare time we will then explore relevant web sites :

NASACRE (National SACRE)

NATRE (National Association of Teachers of RE)
Religious Education Council (http://www.religiouseducationcouncil.org/)

and the Resilience programme : www.re-silience.org.uk, other facilities

Finally

Assignments, topics and date for next meeting

Closing

Contact : Mariano Marcigaglia, 07703 519478; 020 72520804, mmarcigaglia{at}gmail.com ; www.dharmapeople.com

Please let me know if you intend to come along.

And please start investigating online educational resources, SACRE web sites, RE teachers forums, and bring along your findings

Home

Jul 2010

Training materials for SACREs

http://www.nasacre.org.uk/supportcd.html

Designed to help your SACRE become really successful.

This CD contains

information about SACREs, their structure, roles and responsibilities;
insights into the nature, purpose and provisionof RE, collective worship and SMSC in school;
activities to encourage SACRE self-evaluation and development;
guidance on promoting community cohesion;
advice on establishing strategic partnerships;
support for the roles of SACRE chair and clerk.

Note: This CD will only run on computers with a Windows operating system

Every SACRE will receive one complimentary copy of the CD-ROM

Extra CDs [Price £5 incl p&p] can be ordered from:

Yvonne Cameron - Senior Administrator
South London Multifaith Resources Centre
Lewisham PDC.
Kilmorie Road,
London
SE23 2SP

Tel: 020 8314 7016
Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Home

Aug 2010

Thich Nhat Hanh : Global Ethics For Our Future

http://www.mindfulnessretreats.org.uk/about-london-talk.php

Thich Nhat Hanh's talk in London on Wednesday 11th August 2010 at 8pm

A number of tickets being offered free of charge specifically to monastics who have no personal income.

Presently we are offering 2 tickets to each Monastery/ Vihara/ Group although a request for more tickets will be placed in a waiting list and allocated closer to the date if there are tickets remaining then.

It would be wonderful if you have suggestions/ contact details for any of our sisters or brothers you know of who would like to come and enjoy this opportunity to see this wonderful teacher speak.
I am happy to be contacted with enquiries or requests (including the number of tickets requested and with their names and contact details) before the deadline of 23rd of July.

Josefeen Foxter Josefeen.foxter{at}googlemail.com , Heart of London Sangha

or mmarcigaglia{at}yahoo.co.uk

Home

June 2010

Help with PHD on Jewish-Buddhist Phenomenon

hello,

i'm a PHD student in sociology of religions from France(currently working
in Jerusalem), studying the interactions between Buddhism and Judaism,
from the starting point of the questions raised by the so called
'Jewish-Buddhist' phenomenon.

I'm writing to you because right now i am preparing a paper
that i will be presenting in a conference intitled 'Religion and the body'
in Finland (June 17), where i will talk about the Buddhist monastic
tradition of shaving heads, and looking at it under the perspective of
women, especially coming from a Jewish background;

So i'm writing both under a feminist perspective, comparing the level of
change it introduces in a woman's life, as opposed to a man who becomes a
monk, but also and primarily under the perspective of my study of the so
-called 'Jewish-buddhist phenomenon':where a shaved head is often in the
family of the nun, associated with the holocaust, my hypothesis is that it
introduced an additional level of difficulty for the western woman who
wanted to engage in a buddhist monastic life, when she is of jewish
origin;
also, i would like to compare that with the shaved heads (under hat or
wig)of some orthodox jewish women .

i choose that because i thought it was interesting to look at how the
same body treatment can take different meanings accoording to the belief
system that frames it;

I would love to be put in contact with women, either ordained or their
family, preferably but not only of jewish origin, so they would share a
bit of their experience

i'm also more broadly, for my phd, looking forward to meeting wiht people
of Jewish origin and practicing Buddhism;or to people who've witnessed the
'phenomenon' and have something to say about it

ah, a 'little' pragmatic detail, but i thought i'd better tell you in
case: for the topic about the shaved heads, the conference is on the 17th
of june....so a reply in not too long would be really wonderful and
helpful! (i'm sorry for asking that)

thank you very much, looking forward to hearing from you at any time

a deep bow to you ,

Mira

Mira Niculescu
Doctorante EHESS CEIFR/HUJ
http://ceifr.ehess.fr/document.php?id=307

23 rue des Fontaines du Temple 75003 Paris
Tel Israel: +972 (0)52 584 6007
Tel France: +33 (0)1 76 90 69 44
Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Home

June 2010

Tickets for Monastics for London talk by Thich Nhat Hanh in August

There are some tickets, at no charge, allocated for monastics, with no income, who would like to go to the London talk of Thich Nhat Hanh in August. They are on a first come, first served basis.

(mmarcigaglia{at}yahoo.co.uk)

Home

June 2010

Research appeal by phra Nicholas Thanissaro

Nice to hear from you again. I am excited to hear of a BS meeting devoted entirely to an agenda of RE and SACRE issues - but am sad to say I cannot attend. I have recently had to stand back from my role at Greenwich SACRE and elect some replacement Buddhists to step into my place since this year I have to spend more time in Thailand than the UK.

Nonetheless, you might like to inform the meeting that I have two articles in press for academic journals - one advocating the involvement of Buddhist insiders in classrooms (due to be published in Contemporary Buddhism next month) and another giving a preliminary assessment of how Buddhist migrant children are responding to the teaching of Buddhism in London RE classrooms (due to be published in the British Journal of Religious Education next year). At present I am finishing off research on adolescent attitudes to Buddhism in the classroom - conducted at three schools in Greenwich - and you might like to inform those who join the meeting in a follow on project for my doctorate I am looking to interview and survey 1000 Buddhist children aged from 13-21 starting in 2011 to gain an understanding of the Buddhist children on the receiving end of SACRE's curricula and RE in general. In this respect I will hope to bring on board a representative sample of temple-going Buddhist young people from all traditions and denominations and will be approaching the BS among other organizations in the Autumn to start with the work of recruiting suitable young people.

Hope the meeting is a fruitful one!

Phra Nicholas Thanissaro (Ven.)

Thailand Mob. +66-816-50-58-54

UK Mob. +44-7759-855000

Home

Apr 2010

Urgent emergency Appeal : Kyekudo (Yushu) Earthquake

Tibet Foundation

You may have already heard the sad news of the devastating earthquake (a 6.9 magnitude) this morning (14^th April 2010)at 07.49 (23.49 GMT) in Yushu (Kyedudo in Tibetan) in the northwest Province of Qinghai. This news has been widely broadcast on Chinese television and by the BBC.

Yushu County is 800km (500 miles) southwest of the provincial capital Xining. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region in the west and Kandze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the east.

Having worked in this region in the past, Tibet Foundation is familiar with the area and is already in contact with local people and local authorities. Ninety percent of the population there is ethnic Tibetan. The area is one of the poorest and remotest regions in the country with very inadequate communication and infrastructure.

The powerful tremor struck around 8 am local time followed by several other quakes, destroying or damaging almost all the houses, also school buildings, medical clinics and hospitals in the county capital, Kyekudo. Information regarding nearby areas is not available at the moment due to landslides and the breakdown of telecommunications. The official report of casualties states that some 400 are dead and thousands more injured. The unofficial and unconfirmed news from local people is three times greater than this.

The Chinese government has a good record of responding efficiently to such emergencies. The government and the Chinese Red Cross have already sent officials to assess the situation. Due to the remoteness of the region and poor infrastructure it could be a very challenging task.

We are directly in touch with some local people and local officers, and the Foundation representative in the nearby Kandze Prefecture is coordinating our assessment of the situation. Your help is most urgently needed for the Tibetans in the region. Whatever support you can give towards immediate assistance for medicine, clothing and food, and also long-term support for rebuilding schools and health clinics, would be very much appreciated. All funds raised by Tibet Foundation will go immediately to the people in need with no intermediary agencies.

Please, we urgently request you to help the Tibetans in Kyekudo affected by this devastating earthquake. We assure you that whatever amount you can offer, however large or small, will go directly to assisting the people in Kyekudo.

Please send your cheque made payable to Tibet Foundation (Yushu Earthquake) or send your donation online.

Our thanks to you in anticipation of your immediate and generous response.

http://www.justgiving.com/Karma-Hardy1 http://www.tibet-foundation.org/

Tibet Foundation, 2 St. James’s Market, London SW1Y 4SB Tel: 020 7930 6001

Karma Hardy, Tibet Foundation, 2 St. James's Market, London SW1Y 4SB

Tel: 0044 20 7930 6001, Fax: 0044 20 7930 6002 www.tibet-foundation.org/

Karma Hardy

Director, Tibet Foundation

Home

Apr 2010

A Site for The Buddhist Community Centre UK (Nepalese)

http://www.se-faithforum.net/cms/downloads/news/Buddhist%20Temple.pdf

There are more than 25 thousand Nepalese, Gurkhas settled in the South East of England and majority of them are Buddhist.

At this time there is no place for warship and mediation or temple in the region, we are in the process of establishing, The Buddhist Community Centre UK.

This will be a centre for all Buddhists and will be open to members of the public with an interest in Buddhism.

We are looking for a building or place for the temple which ideally accommodate about

100 people and have a community hall adjacent to it where individuals can gather after

ritual practices to celebrate the occasion. We are also on the look out for a hall that will

accommodate over 500 people, kitchen, and lama’s accommodation and car parking area

whenever veneration or functions are held. The ideal location for the centre would be

Camberley, Farnborough, Aldershot or Reading Area.

Once created, the centre will deliver teachings within the Mahayana Buddhist tradition

and its values. This will be achieved through Buddhist teachings, meditation, community

service, retreats and projects that preserve the tradition. It will be an ideal place for

practising Buddha dharma under the Mahayana tradition and will have complementary

activities such as meditation classes, workshops and room for individual contemplation.

I would be grateful if you could circulate this information through your contacts

Yours in dharma

Kaji Sherpa

Chairman of The BCCUK

BCCUK

109 Kings Ride, Camberely Surrey,

GU15 4LT

T: 07748297830 / 07853315634

E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

W: www.bccuk.org.uk

Home

Apr 2010

Bronze era Buddhist sites discovered in Swat

Islamabad, Mar.10 (ANI): An Italian archaeological mission in Pakistan has discovered a large number of Buddhist sites and rock shelters in Kandak and Kota valleys of Barikot in the Swat Valley linked to the Bronze Era.

“These are some of the finest and most fascinating ancient discoveries preserved in good condition,” Gulf News quoted Dr Luca Maria Olivieri, the Director of the archaeological mission, as saying.

“These rock carvings depict agricultural cult scenes in red colours, cup marks meant for rituals, for example, for holding liquids or preparing the ochre pigment, dancing scenes, battle scenes and a large number of animals,” said Dr Olivieri. (ANI)

http://buzz7.com/news/bronze-era-buddhist-sites-discovered-in-swat.html

http://www.areapal.com/news/Bronze-era_Buddhist_sites_discovered_in_Swat/20100310-134212/201003101342120013

Home

Apr 2010

Research : The nature of Buddhist spiritual experience, can you help?

From: Dan OKeefe < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >
Date: 8 April 2010 13:02
Subject: The nature of Buddhist spiritual experience, can you help?

Hello,

My name is Daniel O'Keefe and I am currently writing a research paper for University regarding the nature of Buddhist spiritual experience. I am basically asking for your help in answering a few questions on this topic, would you be able to help? I am trying to get a range of Buddhist traditions to participate in order to determine if we share similar experiences and feelings with regards to our practice. The questionairre wouldn't take long to answer and would need one or two people to answer it. I would be incredibly thankful for any aid you could give me as I know that this is very unusual and a little time consuming. I truly do not mind who amongst your Sangha answers, but I would need a little information regarding age, nationality etc.

Just try to be as descriptive as you can, don't answer anything you don't wish to and let me know if you would prefer to remain anonymous.

Thank you so much just for reading and if you would like a copy of the questions I will forward them to you ASAP.

Daniel O'Keefe < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >

Nature of Spiritual Experience within Buddhist Traditions

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions. I appreciate that some questions may be of a personal nature, so please do not answer any questions that you feel uncomfortable answering or may influence your practice.

Name:

Age:

Gender:

Length of practice:

Level of Education:

Ethnicity:

Tradition:

1. What inspired you to Buddhism and your particular tradition?

2. How does your practice feel or make you feel?

3. How do you act upon your practice?

4. Have you a stand out memory or moment that holds spiritual relevance?

5. Would you describe it?

6. Would you describe spiritual experience as external or internal in origin?

7. Why?

8. Is spiritual experience a permanent, none stop experience or does it fluctuate?

9. If your experience is that of flux, how would you describe a “high” and how would you describe a “low”?

10. What comes to mind when first discussing spiritual experience?

11. How has your practice transformed you?

12. Does religious experience generate the same feelings each time, or do they differ?

13. If they differ, what is it that differs and how?

14. Could you give three separate words that sum up your spiritual experiences?

Home

Apr 2010

FWBO becomes the Triratna Buddhist Community

FWBO becomes the Triratna Buddhist Community

'AVATAR' Animation comes to Indian Buddhists

Vishvapani's 'Thought for the Day' on BBC Radio 4

Home

Mar 2010

Innovista requires someone who could clearly communicate the beliefs of Buddhism for a film

(from Yann Lovelock, NBO)

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Sara Schumacher < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >
To: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Sent: Thu, 4 March, 2010 9:56:39
Subject: Glad You Asked : An opportunity to explore the different religions

Dear Yann Lovelock,

My name is Sara Schumacher and I work with a UK-based organisation called Innovista. In 2004, we launched a resource called 'Glad You Asked', a DVD resource that facilitates small group discussion around the big questions of life and faith, including (among others) 'Do the differences in religions matter?'. Since then, it has been used in over 30 countries with over 3000 small group.

We approached the session on the different religions in a comparative manner. We asked representatives from the 5 major world religions the same questions, giving each equal time to respond to what their religion believes. The questions included : 'Who or what is God?', 'What happens after we die?', and 'How do I join your religion?'. After listening to each presentation, the small groups then discuss the differences they hear.

This year, we are re-developing the resource, updating the content to reflect the changes in our culture. Our commitment remains to provide those who are spiritually seeking with the best material to engage their thinking and convictions.

We plan to re-film the different religions session in the same manner as before. For the 2004 version, Vidyasuri of the Birmingham Buddhist Centre did an excellent job as the representative for Buddhism. For this revision, we were wondering if you could recommend someone who could clearly communicate the beliefs of Buddhism. Being involved would require no more than 2 hours for filming as well as any time devoted to preparatory work (we would send the questions ahead of time). We are planning to do filming for the resource between now and the end of June.

Both on-screen and in all of our print materials, we will cite both the presenter and organization. As well, we will pay all expenses incurred for the filming of this session. Unfortunately, due to our budget constraints, we will not be able to pay above and beyond this.

As the inter-faith coordinator for the NBO, I thought that you might be the best person to ask about this - however, if there is someone better, I would be very grateful if you could forward this email on to them. We hope that you'll be able to help us in this matter! I look forward to hearing from you.

With thanks,
Sara Schumacher

---
Sara Schumacher
Executive Projects Manager

Innovista International
317 Banbury Road | Oxford | OX2 7JH | UK

+44 (0)1865 510 313 | www.innovista.org

Our Comment : Innovista is a Christian Evangelical project :

http://www.innovista.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=61&Itemid=92

home

Mar 2010

Community RePaint Program

(message from Jamie Cresswell , NBO Chair)

From: Repaint [mailto: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ]
Sent: 04 March 2010 12:59
To: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Cc: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Subject: Community RePaint could provide paint for your members

Dear Jamie,

In the coming months we expect to receive many thousands of tins of brand new paint and wondered if the Buddhists would be able to put some of this, mostly, oil-based paint (i.e. gloss, satinwood, eggshell) as well as floor, masonary and emulsion paints to good use. The manufacturer of the paint is in the process of removing these products from their range and will be donating all of it to Community RePaint. We are eager for this paint to be used for the benefit of others as opposed to sent to landfill.

Community RePaint is an award-winning paint reuse network, made up of 63 community-based projects and stretching from Cornwall to Belfast to the Shetland Isles. Individual projects collect “half-tins” of leftover, domestic paint from householders, unsold paint and damaged tins from local DIY outlets and manufacturers, and leftover paint from painters and decorators.

The paint is sorted and stored at a project’s premises and then redistributed to local charities, community and voluntary groups and individuals in social need. Projects typically encourage small financial donations, e.g. 75p per litre or less, to help cover their costs, in this way they are able to provide an ongoing service to the local community.

We may also be able to meet your needs for emulsion and other types of non-hazardous paint. For more information please see;

www.communityrepaint.org.uk

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me and I hope to hear from you soon.

Kind regards,

Clair Lloyd | Community RePaint Programme Co ordinator
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |www.communityrepaint.org.uk

Please note I will be picking up Community Repaint enquiries on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The Community RePaint network is managed by Resource Futures | www.resourcefutures.co.uk

1st Floor | Royal House | 28 Sovereign Street | Leeds | LS1 4BJ

Direct dial +44 (0)113 200 3959 | Mobile +44 (0) 7903 037429 | Switchboard +44(0)113 243 8777

Registered office The CREATE Centre, Bristol, BS1 6XN Registered at Companies House Cardiff. Company number 5753433

home

Jan 2010

BBC Documentary - Life, Money & Relationships

The BBC has asked for our assistance on the topic of Money. This is for a documentary series.

Please see information below. Contact details in flyer.

‘MONEY’ - A three-part documentary series for BBC2

Would you be interested in talking to us?

BBC Television is making a thoughtful documentary series about life, money and relationships. The series will explore our personal value systems to discover how people decide what to spend their money on. The aim is to paint a portrait of our philosophical, spiritual and psychological attitudes to money.

At this stage, we’d like to have a confidential research chat with you over the phone about your attitude to life and money. Equally, if you have friends or family members you think might be interested in talking to us, please pass this information on.

To find out more about this exciting new series, please get in touch in confidence;

please call 0207 557 2315 or 0207 557 2358

or email us at; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

home

Feb 2010

Remembering Sally

Message from Chris Ward :

Just to let you all know that some reflections on the recent celebration of Sally's life in Bristol have been published on the 'Buddhism in Britain' blog http://devworkernbo.typepad.com/

home

18/12/2009

Ven Amaranatho's appeal

Ven Amaranatho's Appeal : need a place to stay after April 2010, for a few months

"I'm going to be taking a sabbatical for a year or so from Amaravati soon. I will be going to Malayasia and India till April and then will need to find somewhere to live. If you hear of anything on the grapevine, maybe you could let me know. I hope to spend more time with AFAN and also bringing meditation into schools."

Please contact mmarcigaglia(at)yahoo.co.uk or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

home

18/12/2009

Kalyana Mitra needs your help

Kalyana Mitra (www.buddhistchaplains.com) needs the help of Volunteers

Have you got any spare time for the Kalyana Mitra Project ? We need Buddhist volunteers for a variety of tasks :

Speakers for schools and other bodies or organization , who might request an overview of Buddhism or a talk on some specific topics
Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE) Buddhist reps, for your local Authority advising them on Religious issue in the Education environment. You can find out more here : www.nasacre.org.uk
Help designing and setting up the web site : www.buddhistchaplains.com
Help gathering and formatting data for bulk uploads
Interested in Chaplaincy work (NHS, Prisons, Universities and HE, Immigration Detention Centres, Olympic Games, etc) ? Register with us, let us know how you can help, what skills you can put to good use.
Help with admin tasks as well as more practical ones, e.g. organizing events, contacting people, etc

Please contact mmarcigaglia(at)yahoo.co.uk or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

home

18/12/2009

S/H Material for Chaplaincy

Good second hand books and other media on Buddhism to support Chaplaincy work ?

Let us know and we might be able to collect

Please contact mmarcigaglia(at)yahoo.co.uk or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

home