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We can grow a Sangha that integrates the wisdom of ecology: interdependence, experimentation, co-evolution, resilience through diversity. But not without you. Before 2019 closes, we invite you to support the work of One Earth Sangha.
Double the Impact
Donate before midnight, December 31
and your contribution will be matched by one of our generous supporters.
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Over this past year, as we encounter increasingly alarming reports about wildfires, biodiversity loss, climate-induced warfare, and other calamities, we must also grapple with the mysterious and perhaps equally frightening lack of collective response. Research reveals that the vast majority of us not only acknowledge the reality of the climate breakdown but are deeply concerned. Why then do so many feel somehow powerless, unable to find the footing to stand against this stream?
This crisis reveals, teaching us about this world but even more about ourselves: how we cling and rationalize, and avoid; how we inspire, discover courage and refrain; how we wrestle with fear and find new ways to hope. It hastens questions that might otherwise lie in wait, never confronted: how do we really function, what do we actually value, even deeper, what is the nature of identity, where is meaning found?
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The founding premise of One Earth Sangha is that the Buddhist tradition offers significant and largely untapped resources that can support us in bringing clarity and a steady resolve to our inter-related ecological, social, and spiritual crises. We submit that Buddhist teachings and practices were never more needed. What was once the province of mystics may be to some degree required for remaining whole, connected and consistently helpful. Through our online presence and working in partnership with Dharma teachers and local communities around the world, diverse in tradition and racial makeup, our mission is to bring these considerable and much-needed resources to bear, to cultivate together an appropriate response to this unprecedented challenge.
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The work doesn't stop there; more is on offer. Thanks to our awesome team and a growing network of participating communities, we have the opportunity to provide the means for you, our members, to find one another and then to build strong local connections. We hope to support you in supporting one another in not just one but many forms of engaged response, acting from a place that is rooted in dharma and authentic community.
But there is even farther to go. With our partners in the Dharma and this Sangha, we want to explore in specific terms how Buddhism itself must evolve (for it has always done so). After receiving so much validation from modern science, how must its practices and teachings be modified to support not just a few but peoples in huge numbers in letting go of all in this world that must be relinquished and guiding us into mutual well-being, even amid unfolding ecological breakdown? If activist author Naomi Klein is right when she observes, This Changes Everything, then it's not a question of whether but rather how Buddhism needs to change. We are excited to explore a conscious evolution of Buddhism with you over the coming year.
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One Earth Sangha has established itself as a virtual Dharma center: a source and amplifier of EcoDharma, a community for those who wish to take a mindfulness/dharma approach to their holding of ecological crisis, and a training ground for budding EcoSattvas all over the world. All of this is made possible by the dana (generosity) of sangha members like you. With your support, we can continue to offer resources for meeting this ecological and spiritual crisis with kindness, courage, creativity and equanimity. It is never too late to lean into the uncertainty and embody an appropriate response.
While often painful and sometimes heartbreaking, we are grateful that we are not alone on this journey; we are in Sangha. We hope you will support us and deeply appreciate whatever you can offer. May your generosity serve this collective awakening.
With sincere appreciation,
Kristin and Lou
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Dedication of Merit
Our prayer that any goodness generated here be extended out into the world:
May all places be held sacred.
May all beings be cherished.
May all injustices of oppression and devaluation
be fully righted, remedied and healed.
May all wounds to forests, rivers, deserts, oceans,
all wounds to Mother Earth be lovingly restored to bountiful health.
May all beings everywhere delight in whale song, birdsong and blue sky.
May all beings abide in peace and well-being, awaken and be free.
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