Caring for Others

Last Thursday was the second evening of Buddhist Action month, and the theme was Caring for Others.
Ros talked about the charities Karuna and Young Indian Futures which work with Dalit people (ex-Untouchables) to help them build confidence and gain skills to free them from the oppression of the caste system. This work carries on from the inspiration of Dr Ambedkar who led the Dalits in a mass conversion to Buddhism shortly before his death - as we heard one evening earlier this year. Ros spoke from her own experience of  working for Young Indian Futures in Nagpur.

We decided as a sangha to donate regularly to Karuna and Young Indian Futures, and raise money for them.

We also discussed other actions we could take to express our compassion for all beings. Actions that people decided to take included:

• writing letters for Amnesty, and setting up a sangha letter-writing group
• donating something to the Food Bank every time I do a supermarket shop
• really listening to other people and understanding their point of view
• considering the feelings of family members, paying attention to how I relate to them
• eating more vegetarian food and less meat
• eating a more vegan diet and less dairy foods 
• getting in touch with friends I have lost contact with

Buddhist Action Month encourages us to feel our connection with all living beings and to take action​ - whatever that means for each of us.
​If anyone would like to contribute to Karuna or Young Indian Futures, there are links to their websites on our Links page.

​Next Thursday's theme: Sustainability