International Network of Engaged Buddhists

Dear Friends of INEB,

We hope you all are doing well! 

This short report from us provides you with an update on some INEB events this year. Please read on!

Since INEB, as the name indicates, is a ‘network’ organization, our community is very diverse and expansive including many cultures and countries. The specific activities discussed show how our community is reached through INEB’s activities. 

INEB Conference in October 2019

We will be holding our bi-annual conference later this year at Deerpark Institute in Bir, India. The theme of the conference is ‘Culture of Awakening’. In the last few months, our team has had quite a few planning and coordination meetings with our partners to make sure that everything runs smoothly at the conference. Each conference location is rotated among its members. In this way the host organization provides an opportunity to increase understanding of its country context and challenges unique to its home community. Since the conference is being held in India participants also will learn about the Tibetan community in exile, both in Dharmsala and Bir. 

Our tentative schedule for the 3-day event, which consists of a series plenary and seminar sessions facilitated by a panel of experts, as well as contemplative timeouts which give participants the opportunity to relax and meditate in the beautiful and serene natural environment in the Himalayan foothills of Deerpark Institute. Nature walks and study tours will also be organized to give participants a chance to visit some of the nearby monasteries and schools. Traditional performances by local Tibetan artists will also take place in the evenings. Since the theme of the conference is the ‘Culture of Awakening’, seminar sessions will revolve around keeping this theme at the centre of discussion, and relating it to INEB’s vision, mission and outreach work. Some of the tentative topics of discussion for the seminar sessions are – Culture of Living and Dying, Culture of Peace and Justice, Culture of Sustainable Well-being, Contemporary Expressions of the Buddha’s Wisdom.

The day after the conference ends, our Advisory and Executive Committees will hold a joint meeting which is an opportunity for all our members to provide updates on their activities and critically review our 10 year strategic roadmap – The Way Forward.

Environment and Climate Focus – January Meeting

In January several of our partners met in Bangkok and via Zoom to discuss their involvement in various climate and environment initiatives. We discussed how to support each other through advocacy and training efforts. We developed a tentative calendar of events for the rest of 2019 and part of 2020 which includes study tours to other countries, workshops, an Eco-temple network meeting and an interreligious dialogue on Earth Trusteeship from 19 – 21 July in Bangkok. The theme for the dialogue is Nature Rights, Global Citizenship and Reclaiming ‘The Commons’:  The Rise of Earth Trusteeship.

Even though this is funded by the ED, it demonstrates the expansive community we reach through this dynamic partnership. 

March 12 – 15 International Roundtable on Buddhist Psychology, Psycho-Spiritual Counseling and Chaplaincy Counseling  

We are very concerned about helping people living with critical diseases, addiction and other psychological challenges including suicide. One of our approaches for addressing these is included in INEB’s strategic plan as Buddhist “Chaplaincy” Training. An international roundtable on Buddhist psychology, psycho-spiritual counseling and chaplaincy met at INEB’s Bangkok office from March 12 – 15. During these four days 20 – 30 Buddhist monks, nuns, lay persons, practitioners and specialists in a variety of fields participated in discussions and field visits. Participants (from Japan, USA, Myanmar, Thailand and India) came to deepen their understandings of key issues and form stronger collaborations. The roundtable covered four specific themes which included:  the interface between Buddhist thought and modern psychology; modalities for training Buddhist chaplains in psycho-social care; cooperative strategies and team building for medical and spiritual caregivers; and confronting substance abuse through Buddhist methods. 

Alternative Education

We have two alternative education programs, one of which completed their 27-week course (17 September 2018 – 15 March 2019) in March. The Ecovillage Design Education framework was expanded by increased emphasis on self-cultivation and social transformation. The entire program took participants on a journey grounded in critical self-awareness. New learning arose when our participants were exposed to a broad set of cultural perspectives and the diversity the participants brought to the courses. 

Young Bodhisattva Training in May 2019

In the last few months, the INEB team in partnership with Buddhist Hongshi College has been actively preparing for the ‘Young Boddhisattva Training for Spiritual Resurgence and Social Transformation.’ Twenty seven (27) persons, including monks and nuns from 10 countries, have registered to attend the training which will be held at Buddhist Hongshi College in Tao Yuan, Taiwan, from 30th April - 13th May 2019. The training is aimed at empowering the young generation. In order for young Buddhists to realize their human potential to contribute to real change, INEB and Buddhist Hongshi College is jointly offering this program to develop the confidence, capacity and commitment amongst young Buddhists for social and spiritual transformation. The training will empower and enrich youth in ancient Buddhist teachings and their applications in addressing and resolving current global problems. These young Buddhists stand to gain the unique potential to create real social and sustainable change in their communities and beyond. Our team has had a number of planning and coordination meetings with our partner, as well as some fundraising drives to raise some much needed funds that would go towards covering visa and airfare for some of our students who cannot afford to pay for these costs.

That’s all for now! Wishing you all a great year ahead!

With Metta,

The INEB Team 

Links:

• INEB Website
• INEB Facebook Page

Dear Friends of INEB,

Wishing you all a joyous Happy New Year! We hope you are celebrating and enjoying every moment with your friends and family! This time of the year is truly special, as it is now that we look back and thank with utmost gratitude for what we have received and achieved in the past year, and also look forward with great enthusiasm and spirit towards the unfolding of the new year.

If you have some time at hand, in between all the celebrations, please do read this short report that we are sharing with you about INEB's recently concluded AC/EC Meeting in Nepal. There have been some great developments, paving way for some fruitful collaborations between INEB and its local partners in Nepal to initiate work in a most important area of uplifting marginalized and Dalit communities in the Asian region. 

INEB Advisory Commitee (AC) / Executive Committee (EC) Meeting in Nepal

INEB held its annual joint Advisory and Executive (AC/EC) Committee meeting in Nepal, in end November. The meeting was held in Boudha, Kathmandu, near the world celebrated Boudhanath Stupa.

Glimpses of the Himalayan mountain ranges could be seen high above the rooflines as the Advisory and Executive committee members met to discuss the Nepali context and the activities that comprise INEB’s 10-year strategic roadmap. The meeting was coordinated with local partners, including Phakchok Rinpoche and the Chokgyur Lingpa Foundation, the Nepal Buddhist Federation, the Rastriya Dalit Network, and many other groups.

The activities in Nepal began with a public forum on 28 November, which was followed by the AC/EC meeting, and a work planning session coordinated by INEB with Nepali Buddhist minorities and Dalit groups, on 1 December.

The public forum explored the context and the social issues of the host country: Nepal. The presentations, given by representatives of Nepali Buddhist and Dalit groups, discussed the various issues the Buddhist minority and Dalit communities in Nepal face. During the first presentation, Phakchok Rinpoche, stated that Nepal needs to be known for more than being the birthplace of Gautama, the Buddha, in Lumbini more than 1,600 years ago. He stressed that the preservation of the Buddhist communities, the preservation of the Buddha Dharma, and conducting Buddhist activities were the most important objectives in Nepal.

The disparities and challenges that the Buddhist minorities and the Dalit communities experience shared repeated themes. In the predominantly Hindu country (81.3%), Buddhism (9%) represents the second largest religious group, with all remaining religious groups collectively representing less than 10% including Islam (4.4%), Christians (1.4%), and animists (3.4%). Predictably, these religious groups mirror the social caste system with the majority Brahmans (80%) being Hindu and other religious having a lower status.

This social system can give rise to discrimination against minority religions and social group, which, in Nepal, was expressed by their limited access to education, lack of employment opportunities, and laws, public policy, and legal system based on the dominant social class, all of which is reinforced by an unyielding status quo. Interestingly, it was noted that, within this religious and social context, Buddhist may be experiencing more tolerance than some of the other minority groups.

During the AC/EC meeting, which followed the public forum, members gave regional updates about activities throughout East, Southeast and South Asia, the USA, Europe, and Africa. Much of the agenda focused specifically on the progress of activities in INEB’s 10-year strategic roadmap, The Way Forward*.

INEB members discussed how to expand beyond their commitment to grassroots activism by engaging with India and China at a cultural level and build a Dharmic civilization of mutual respect, social justice, and peace. Members also discussed holding a few key major INEB events in 2019 that support dialogue and strengthen relationships in these countries leading up to INEB’s next general conference in Deer Park, Bir, India.

During the work planning session between Nepali Buddhist minorities and Dalit groups on 1 December, the issues and problems identified by Buddhist minorities in Nepal highlighted the inadequate representation of Buddhists in policy and decision-making levels of state mechanism. It was also noted that Buddhist heritage sites and a couple of institutes are controlled by non-Buddhists appointed politically, mainly by Hindu communities, and that little engagement and interaction takes place between monasteries and lay communities.

The Dalit group, in turn, expressed that support from the Buddhist community could help to resolve issues, especially since Dalits who have become Buddhists experience increased discrimination.

In terms of economic issues, the traditional occupations of the Dalit community need to be protected, promoted, modernized, industrialized, and marketed. Another critical issue is related to land rights and food rights. The Dalit community wants to link these to the non-violent movement advocated by the Buddha.

The second crucial area identified by the Dalit representatives was education. Less than 50% of Dalit communities are literate, and are economically, socially and politically backward due to this lack of education. They have very little access to higher education and less than 1% have an opportunity to go to university. They cited specific ways to address this education gap including needing to have books by Dr. Ambedkar and other Buddhists translated, to incorporate pillars of Buddhism into education which is available to everyone and financial support for higher education.

Both groups defined specific solutions to address these conditions which depend on close collaboration and working in unity.

Following the AC/EC meeting, there is a lot for INEB and its partners to ponder upon. Much has come out of the meetings with the Dalit and Buddhist minority communities, with ample scope for providing greater support to both in resolving their core issues. In fact, the timing of the AC/EC meeting was perfect, just before the start of the New Year, where now INEB and its partners can start and take on refreshed efforts for the work to uplift these marginalized communities.

Well, that’s it for now. If you are inspired by INEB and its partner’s initiatives for Dalit and minority communities, please do consider supporting us. We would really be grateful for any contribution. Even $10 is a powerful form of action, because $10 has the potential to be multiplied into 100s, and can go far enough to significantly back INEB’s efforts to strongly support the upliftment of the people of these communities, who are at the moment in need for a helping hand.We would also appreciate if you could share this report with your family and friends.

I hope this short report brings through a wave of inspiration within all of your celebrative spirits as the clock ticks us through from 2018 to 2019. Without taking more of your time during this festive period, on behalf of the INEB team, I wish you all a very Happy New Year. May 2019 blossom the flower of love and compassion within us, rousing us to continue the important work of engaged social service for the upliftment of all beings.

With Metta,

The INEB Team

Links:

• INEB Website
• INEB Facebook Page