by Joseph Bobrow When people first asked what new methods we were using in The Coming Home Project, I would fumble and use words like unconditional acceptance, welcome and compassion. Eventually I came to call it unconditional love, and used the Judeo-Christian term, often employed by Martin Luther King, “beloved community.” It was unconditionality: non-judgmental, down to earth, responsive and non-sentimen ...

Buddha Comes Home from War: An Interview with Joe Bobrow Turning Wheel/Mushim: There are Buddhists serving in the U.S. armed forces. A blog for this community states in their mission statement that they "Recognize and promote honorable military service as in accord with the Eightfold Path's Right Livelihood." Since you've worked with many vets, what do you think of that statement? Joe Bobrow: Although war i ...

Nurturing Peace in Contexts of Global Violence: A Conference for Theological Educators and Religious Leaders Religious leaders throughout the world in every faith tradition are challenged today to be active agents of peace. This 4 day conference will bring together theological educators and others to work together to teach and learn about peacemaking both globally and locally. May 22-25, 2013 The Interchurc ...

Here it is: the second installment of our year-long curriculum for Buddhist activists. Take a look inside for: An exclusive practice offering video by Rev. Keiryu Lien Shutt Political cartoons, Cultural Appropriation Bingo, and other helpful supplementary texts Our favorite pieces from April's Turning Wheel Media, with discussion questions to help us dig in more deeply An introduction to the audio recording ...

Amidst the recent US-Korean tensions, which stretch back a long time, with many causes and conditions, BPF would like to share this letter, forwarded to us from our friends and colleagues at the International Network of Engaged Buddhists. Although we feel ill equipped to comment meaningfully on many geopolitical issues, we support the letter and hope to learn more about how anti-imperialists in Korea and th ...

(Warning: graphic images. Photo credits Dr Samira Alani/Al Jazeera.) As Buddhists engaged in the political realm, we try to remain open yet solid.  "Not Turning Away."  In describing her teacher in the Zen tradition, one of our BPF Board members writes, "What inspires me most is his imperturbability.  He feels deeply, yet is not shocked or rattled off center." At 4 a.m. this morning, I was, I confess, leani ...

[Protesters set fire to a mock model of the USS Guardian during a rally near the U.S. Embassy in Manila to demand U.S. troops pull out from the country, Jan. 21, 2013.  The USS Guardian is a U.S. Navy minesweeper that ran aground off Tubbataha Reef in southwestern Philippines. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)] When Dawn and I emailed some trusted editor-friends with a draft of the Introduction to Volume 1 of The S ...

Since BPF's inception in 1978, the mandala of socially engaged Buddhism has blossomed. Today's landscape of political Buddhism is rich and varied: Buddhists are working on global warming, mindfulness in prisons, organizing for freedom against colonial powers, ending global hunger, building an inclusive, social justice-oriented sangha, and accompanying Peace Communities in war-torn Colombia, among so many ot ...

On this 10th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, folks in my Facebook feed are reflecting on the inspiring actions they participated in to resist war. Former BPF staffer, Maia Duerr, participated in nonviolent civil disobedience to shut down Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee, MA. She reflects on the liberation available in laying aside our ego in the service of a larger cause: By the time we got to the e ...

As dedicated peacemakers, we know that racism obstructs and poisons the justice and peace we hope to manifest in our world.  Racism as expressed through the criminal justice system poses a clear and present danger to the well-being of black, Latin@, Muslim, indigenous, gender-nonconforming, and other targeted groups in the US.  Continuing our conversation of last week, about the ways that police do and don' ...