Social Enterprise at the Symposium for Western Socially Engaged Buddhism
In the first days of the Symposium for Western Socially Engaged Buddhism, we discussed how the rich tradition of Buddhism has always taught people not only to wake up to the fact that we are all one, but to actualize our interconnectedness in the way we treat each other in personal relationships, families and in society as a whole…
Video: Engaged Buddhism Symposium Welcome
View the trailer now for excerpts of the welcome at the August 2010 Symposium For Western Socially Engaged Buddhism. If you purchase the DVD, you could view this segment and others while supporting the community work of the Zen Peacemakers. Related Blog Posts: Eve: Organic & Protest History Contextualize Symposium Campus Bernie Establishes Hopes for […]
Symposium: Ricard Says "You Just Need to Do It"
Buddhist Monk Advocates Compassion, Action “Compassion without action is just sterile,” keynote speaker Mathieu Ricard told a packed hall at the Zen Peacemakers’ Symposium for Western Socially Engaged Buddhism on Tuesday, August 10. “When people see suffering in the street and say, ‘It’s not my job,’ I don’t see that. If something comes your way, […]
Burma's Saffron Revolution Comes To Symposium
Socially Engaged Buddhism at the Edge: Burmese Monks Speak of Torture, Imprisonment Two veterans of the “Saffron Revolution” — the peaceful revolt in August and September, 2007 of saffron-robed Buddhist monks in Burma, who led thousands of people in street marches to protest the brutal military dictatorship in that nation — spoke on Wednesday, August […]
Special Ministries Discussed at Symposium
Buddhists Ministering on Prison Issues, Five Commitments, Food, Mental Health From prison hospice rooms to rooftop gardens in the Bronx, Buddhist ministers are redefining what it means to serve in the world, according to participants in a panel discussion on “Special Ministries” at the Zen Peacemakers’ Symposium on Western Socially Engaged Buddhism in Montague, MA […]
Symposium: Jon Kabat-Zinn on stress reduction
By Fleet Maull: What follows here is myparaphrasing of Joh Kabat-Zinn’s presentation: he is interested in strategies for change that do not lead to polarization, burnout and further conflict. While he has deep respect for the teachings and practices of the Buddha and feels connected to this tradition and its wonderful lineages, teacher and practitioners, […]
Symposium: Has Buddhism always been engaged?
One major question we are exploring at the Symposium For Western Socially Engaged Buddhism is whether Buddhism has always been engaged. I explored this topic in the past and Symposium presenters are providing new insight. On Monday, David Loy shared ways in which traditional Buddhism was and was not engaged, including the view that the […]
Peacemaker Institute, Interdependence Project Enrich Symposium
Program participants are sharing their reflections on the Buddhablogosphere. Fleet Maull from Peacemaker Institute responded to Sallie King’s critique of justice, Fleet shares his defense of a Buddhist basis for a concept of justice. On his coverage of the 2nd day, Fleet asks whether engaged Buddhists can collaborate and whether new partnerships will emerge from […]
Symposium: Robert Thurman- Buddhists Have Always Been Engaged
Robert Thurman was a monk ordained by the Dalai Lama and also became an Ivy League professor of religion. One debate that is surfacing at the Symposium for Western Socially Engaged Buddhsim is whether social engagement is part of historical Buddhism or whether it was introduced by a synthesis with Western concepts of human rights. […]
Symposium: Sallie King- Buddhist Critique of Justice
Sallie King offered a Buddhist critique of popular conceptions of justice based on her experience at an international, interfaith peace council, where leaders of world religions gathered to address conflict. Listening to people struggling in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict left the Buddhist contingent squirming. From the Buddhist perspective, they heard same story from both Israelis and […]
