NBO Gathering “Buddhism in Action: What are we doing?”
5th November 2016
SGI-UK South London Centre, Brixton
- What are we doing within ourselves?
- What are we doing in our communities?
- How are we taking action in the world?
After the hugely successful European Buddhist Union weekend conference, “Buddhism in Action” in Berlin in April 2016, the NBO decided to bring this theme to our home shores as the subject for an afternoon gathering held after the NBO AGM 2106.
This free NBO event attracted a good turnout and a very lively and informative afternoon was had by all. It was a great opportunity for people of many Buddhist traditions to meet others and to share ideas, concerns, resources and, most importantly, to make friendships and links with people from other traditions and groups who are engaged in the same projects.
The audience listened to a talk by Munisha about the importance of spiritual friendship, after which everyone took part in a lovingkindness meditation. Then there were presentations and discussions on areas of work the NBO is currently engaged in:
Christine Thuring spoke passionately about Buddhist Action Month 2016 and her plans for an even bigger campaign in June 2017!
Jo Backus gave a really interesting and useful talk on Buddhism in Religious Education including her work on Buddhism in the curriculum and in writing a contribution to the syllabus for GCSE study.
Modgala engaged the audience with a talk about Buddhists working with refugees.
Keith Munnings and Martin McGonigle spoke about their work with Buddhist healthcare chaplaincy in the NHS.
The afternoon was a rich opportunity and much enjoyed by all, to the extent that it was difficult to bring all the animated conversations at the end of the afternoon to a close and persuade people to leave!
Val Stephenson
Chair, Network of Buddhist Organisations UK
This event followed meetings of the NBO trustees and committee, held the same day.
