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 Jizo Chronicles 
Cool website! Awesome.
All wonderful! Many thanks for sharing 🙂
Hear, hear! These are great! Especially love your Scoop It page!
“The necessary and welcome economic growth within our Sangha, in the form of business operations and commercial and domestic investments, has brought along as a by—product an increasing frequency of disagreements and disputes. There is a need for our society to provide resources for the sane, nonagressive resolution of such conflicts in keeping with the principles of Dharma and the Great Eastern Sun. Accordingly I have decided to institute and appoint the Upaya Council. The function of the Upaya Council shall be to mediate and/or arbitrate commercial and domestic disputes among members of the Vajradhatu community, as individuals, groups, or businesses. It shall be the initial task of the Upaya Council to propose to me and my Privy Council a set of guidelines under which it shall operate. There shall be no internal hierarchy within the Upaya Council and each member shall have an equal voice; the findings of the Council shall be arrived at by unanimous consent.”
~ Vajracarya the Venerable Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche, Spring, 1979.
རྣམ་པར་སྣང་མཛད
Upaya Council