Repair (Heal) Your World

Dear all I just wrote this email to my Sangha, i.e. the group of people who I practice with at my local Buddhist Centre and I want to share it with everyone. Everything "private" in it is about me and my thinking, so I am happy to share it. The "Bodhisattva Project" is a program that the Kagyu Buddhist Centre in Kenilworth, Cape Town, started in 2010. Some of us have stuck it out and are in our sixth year. Some people have left and come back. Some new people have arrived and some have gone on other journeys. There are two ways to achieve Enlightenment. One way is the path of the Arhat. The Arhat's path is to achieve enlightenment for their own sake, although I must say that them being enlightened has a profound effect on the world. The other way to achieve Enlightenment is the path of the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva makes a commitment to achieve Enlightenment in order to help others. The Bodhisattva achieves enlightenment or Nirvana and then returns to ...

28th November 2008; 1 Kislev 5769 Dear all In this recessionary time, people need each other more than ever. Many people are contemplating suicide as a way out of their predicament. Some have already taken this step. Their families may never understand. Please please share your problems with your friends and family. Take your spouse for a walk and tell them there is a problem. If you need money, tell your family and friends. If you need to talk, then just talk. If you've told your local school that you can't afford the fees and then go and buy an expensive pair of jeans or go on holiday, please keep your problems to yourself! And to the friends. Keep all your friends' confidences. If someone tells you something that you think they shouldn't know, say "I didn't know." One of the reasons for sharing is so that you can get help to step out of your vicious circle of worry and see things from a different angle. Especially at this depressing and recessio...