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Socially Engaged Buddhism… Bits and Pieces

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The author and Roshi Bernie Glassman at Upaya Zen Center (photo by Roshi Joan Halifax)

For my longtime readers, I miss seeing you here… for my newer readers, just to get you up to speed, I don’t post very regularly on The Jizo Chronicles anymore. I am focusing my energy these days on my other blog, The Liberated Life Project, as well as on the work I do as Upaya Zen Center’s director of community outreach and development.

I’m having a rare quiet night so thought I’d give this blog a little attention and share some news from the world of socially engaged Buddhism that’s come across my desk this past month:

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Seasons Greetings

In the snow a single twig of plum blossoms!
The whole universe is plum blossoms.

~Dogen

___________________

Wishing all my readers a blessed holiday season…
May all beings dwell in peace, joy, and sufficiency this coming year.

~Maia

Two Good Things for Jizo Chronicle Readers

This short post is just to let you know about two things I created recently that you might be interested in –

• A free e-book called “Collected Words” — I compiled some of my favorite pieces of writing over the years and am giving it away to celebrate my birthday (which was last Sunday). There are a number of essays on engaged Buddhism in the book, which is available for download on my other blog, The Liberated Life Project.

“Fully Engaged!” – a toolkit for small nonprofit organizations who are looking for help with marketing. There’s a special 25% discount on the kit until 7 pm (Pacific Time) tomorrow, November 30th.

We’ll return to our ‘regular programming’ in the next post — thanks for reading!

May you be well,

Maia

The Greatest Wealth is contentment: A Buddhist Perspective on Poverty (David Loy)

Via Scoop.itSocially Engaged Buddhism

A reflection by David Loy…
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Good Stuff You Should Know About…

A collection of things that have been piling up to share with you…

♦ New Book by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel,
past executive director of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, has just published a new book: Tell Me Something About Buddhism. Larry Yang writes about the book: “Zenju Earthlyn Manuel’s book is a lyrically written description of how the Teachings of the Buddha are relevant to all communities in our contemporary world. Her words are simple and yet penetrating, covering philosophy, technique, and the ineffable qualities of experiencing a spiritual life.” You can find it here at the Powells online bookstore.

Thich Nhat Hanh to Offer Mindfulness Retreat for Members of Congress
My friend Louise Dunlap writes, “Those of us longing for a more mindful congress might want to join this effort to urge our senators and congresspeople to attend a short retreat in October with Thich Nhat Hanh. Even though this is not a directly political tactic, I think it can make a difference. Especially if you are already in touch with legislators or their staff (who are also invited), perhaps you can pass on this invitation and urge others to do so too.”

You can find more information about this event here on the Plum Village website.

Urban Retreat in Providence, RI
Acharya Fleet Maull
will be offering a year-end 7-day retreat through the Shambhala Center in Providence, December 26 to January 1, 2012. From the description: “Acharya Maull’s teachings will focus on the integration of meditation practice and spiritual evolution with the realities and needs of daily life and our shared aspiration to create a healthy, sane, and sustainable society for ourselves, our families, and future generations.”

I know Fleet from his involvement in the Upaya Buddhist Chaplaincy Program; he’s a wonderful teacher and I hope some of you will be able to participate in this. For more info, see: http://www.shambhalasun.com/news/?p=23426

Scoop It!
I’ve been experimenting with a new online tool for curating articles on socially engaged Buddhism that I find around the Internet. It’s called “ScoopIt” and you can see the page I created here. I’ll be curious to know if you find this interesting, useful, inspiring, or none of the above : )

The Window

There is this moment, often just a split second, between the time something happens and our reaction to it.

Anything can happen in this moment. Whatever does happen turns the wheel of karma.

In the moments and days after September 11, 2001, there was an open window for those of us here in the U.S., a time when we were stunned by what happened and we hadn’t yet reacted, as a nation. And then the window closed, in the form of a formal declaration of war on Afghanistan (and subsequently Iraq).

But before that, can you remember?

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Peace on Earth

Peace on Earth and Good Will to All!

Art by Mayumi Oda, Upaya Zen Center Christmas Tree

Wishing you and your loved ones a blessed holiday season…

in kindness,

Maia

Finalists Named for Blogisattva Awards

The Blogisattva Awards are kind of like Christmas for us Buddhist bloggers. Originally started by Tom Armstrong, these awards have been given out over the past several years and have really helped to build a sense of  sangha among Buddhist bloggers, as well as brought more awareness of their work to the larger community.

I am honored and humbled to be included in the lists of finalists, a list that includes some of my favorite writers like Genju, James Ford, Marguerite Manteau-Rao, Nathan Thompson, and Marnie Louise Froberg. You can view the complete lists of nominees here. The “winners” will be named tomorrow, December 12, but in my book, they are all winners!

(To me, the one glaring omission was not including Katie Loncke’s excellent blog in the list — I hope that she will be recognized next year and in the meantime I encourage you to take a look at her writing, which is consistently thought-provoking and heartfelt.)

A very big thank you to the team that administered this year’s awards: Nate DeMontigny from Precious Metal, Kyle Lovett from The Reformed Buddhist, and Anoki Casey of Buddha Badges who will always be my favorite graphic designer.

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