Engaged Buddhism

Sorry about that. So "engaged" in the act of posting my message I forgot the blog address: bensten.wordpress.com

Take care!

Hi Rob. I'm new to the ODE community and noticed you seem a little lonely out here! I think we have a lot in common and I appreciate the forum you've created. I am also a "card-carrying" Vajrayana Buddhist, father, part-time poet and so on.

In terms of being engaged, which is the focus of this group, one thing I've done is create a free monthly e-zine that communicates positively about health, creativity and spirituality. Having a wide-ranging audience of non-Buddhists, Buddhists and so on forces me to funnel the energy of my practice and vision into messages that can benefit everyone, and in that way "engage" them.

I'd love to get feedback from you or anyone else who reads this group. Am I or not engaging positively in this way? How could I continually incorporate dharma into these messages intended to inspire people of all backgrounds?

From my blog you can access the archives of the ezine.

I'd love to hear from you!

Oftentimes I think we get overwhelmed at being socially active. So many choices, so little time. The beginning however is easy. It begins with you. Let me quote Thich Nhat Han from "The Path Of Compassion,"

"We need such a person to inspire us with calm confidence, to tell us what to do. Who is that person? The Mahayana Buddhist sutras tell us that you are that person. If you are yourself, if you are at your best, then you are that person. Only with such a person - calm, lucid, aware - will our situation improve."

The path to peace in this world starts with each of us doing inner disarmament work. It will naturally flow out from us to others.

The premise of engaged Buddhism arises from two of Buddhisms major ideals: wisdom and compassion. It would seem awfully selfish to develop these ideals and not express them. And being socially active with them doesn't require one to have all the answers, or necessarily any of them. If you allow your compassion to radiate, then you will be doing what is natural to compassion.

Another vital factor that drives engaged Buddhism is the reality of interdependence. None of us exist independently. Even down to the level of our thoughts, there is really no such thing as independence. At the cellualr level this attempt at independence is called cancer.

Realizing our interdependence will go a long way to actually making for freedom, and uniting it with wisdom and compassion will help bring about the answers we need to solve today's problems in a way that leads to peace and equanimity.

All righty then. Besides the group description, I think we can also discuss Buddhism in general and what it means to us. Maybe there are questions we have about it. Since I started this shindig, I'll let you know I'm a card carryin' Buddhist, having taken refuge in the Karma Kagyu Shenpen Osel school of vajrayana Buddhism. A mouthful of Tibetan right there which took me long enough to discover the meaning of. So that's where I come from. And I'm no expert. I'm here to allow room for discussion, and I'll answer what questions I can, from my experience and readings.

Rob