At the heart of the Triratna Buddhist Community is the Triratna Buddhist Order, today consisting of some 1800 ordained men and women across the world. Voluntary donations from members of the Order fund the ‘Order Office’ and its ever-growing work of coordinating such a diverse and far-flung community. There’s a lot more they want to do - and they’re launching the Maitrijala fundraising campaign to help make it happen! Amalavajra writes to say -
“As Order Members we understand the dangers of losing touch with the friends, inspiration and confidence that we need to deepen our Dharma practice. Some of us may fear for our continued unity as a spiritual community after Bhante’s death, especially if enough Order members feel they lack a voice in Order discussions or decision-making. These are potential challenges to our individual and collective ability to act as a force for good in the world.
The answer to these challenges, as we all know, is to ensure that the Order’s lifeblood of kalyana mitrata can flow smoothly between us, wherever we are in the world. We in the International Order Office team work hard to help that flow: organising large Order Gatherings so that we can meet and inspire one another face to face; producing Shabda (the monthly Order newsletter) so that we can share our lives and practice; maintaining the Order Address List so that we stay in touch with each other; and circulating Order news so that we keep up to date. And of course there is Parami’s and Mahamati’s work of visiting and offering support to Order members around the world.
“Yet there is so much more that we would like to do. We want to help our fledgling network of Area and Regional Order Convenors to develop and to cover their travel costs. This network offers an important channel by which local Order knowledge and concerns can be shared and heard, including by the new International Council. This is the Triratna Buddhist Community’s only overall coordinating body and will be especially crucial after Bhante’s death. The International Order Office also needs another team member to share Mahamati and Parami’s workload, and we want to improve our Order’s ‘infrastructure’, especially our online platforms and Order database.
“There are just over 1,300 order members outside India, and about 700 of us currently give Order Dana totalling £70,000 a year. Unfortunately this is barely enough to cover the costs of the Order Office’s overstretched and mostly part-time team, let alone the improvements we’d like to make. The Maitrijala Campaign aims to increase Order Dana to £108,000 each year from 1,000 of us.
Here is a short video interview about the campaign, made at the end of the recent Order Convention in India, where you’ll see me in conversation with Mahamati and Parami. With metta, Amalavajra”.
“As Order Members we understand the dangers of losing touch with the friends, inspiration and confidence that we need to deepen our Dharma practice. Some of us may fear for our continued unity as a spiritual community after Bhante’s death, especially if enough Order members feel they lack a voice in Order discussions or decision-making. These are potential challenges to our individual and collective ability to act as a force for good in the world.
The answer to these challenges, as we all know, is to ensure that the Order’s lifeblood of kalyana mitrata can flow smoothly between us, wherever we are in the world. We in the International Order Office team work hard to help that flow: organising large Order Gatherings so that we can meet and inspire one another face to face; producing Shabda (the monthly Order newsletter) so that we can share our lives and practice; maintaining the Order Address List so that we stay in touch with each other; and circulating Order news so that we keep up to date. And of course there is Parami’s and Mahamati’s work of visiting and offering support to Order members around the world.
“Yet there is so much more that we would like to do. We want to help our fledgling network of Area and Regional Order Convenors to develop and to cover their travel costs. This network offers an important channel by which local Order knowledge and concerns can be shared and heard, including by the new International Council. This is the Triratna Buddhist Community’s only overall coordinating body and will be especially crucial after Bhante’s death. The International Order Office also needs another team member to share Mahamati and Parami’s workload, and we want to improve our Order’s ‘infrastructure’, especially our online platforms and Order database.
“There are just over 1,300 order members outside India, and about 700 of us currently give Order Dana totalling £70,000 a year. Unfortunately this is barely enough to cover the costs of the Order Office’s overstretched and mostly part-time team, let alone the improvements we’d like to make. The Maitrijala Campaign aims to increase Order Dana to £108,000 each year from 1,000 of us.
Here is a short video interview about the campaign, made at the end of the recent Order Convention in India, where you’ll see me in conversation with Mahamati and Parami. With metta, Amalavajra”.