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Thanks Cindy. Great you are enjoying our content. Have you been to the centre already?

Thanks Cindy. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. 🙏

Hey Jesse! Thanks for being in touch. Yes, I plan to upload it. It's just been so busy with the meditation challenge! I should get it ready next week. I'll let you know 🙏

Thanks so much! @@BrixtonBuddhistCommunity ❤

@@jessehoney8030 Hi Jesse, We have decided not to publish the video for now as we are focusing on creating other content. Sorry about that. Have you seen Matreyabanghu's talks from the Meditation Challenge? There are two really good talks. Here are the links: Breaking Through Reality Part 1 th-cam.com/video/OT5YkeGMPmQ/w-d-xo.html and Part 2 th-cam.com/video/cEW-zsc5G7c/w-d-xo.html I hope to see you on Parinirvana day!

Thanks@@BrixtonBuddhistCommunity - sorry I couldn't make Parinirvana day but hope to see you soon!

Hi Frankie. Thanks for getting in touch. I don't know much about Nichiren Buddhism. I'm sure you can find some information online. You can also find out more about our movement (Triratna) and specifically about the Brixton Triratna community on our website brixtonbuddhistmeditation.org/ or turn up to one of our classes! That will probably be the most effective way to find out, through your own experience.

Thanks Jo, It was an amazing talk. We are very lucky to have Daisy-May - and other wonderful people like yourself -in our community 😊🙏🏼

Hi Leonski, sorry to hear you feel that way but I'm pleased to hear that you seem to have found a Buddhist context that you're happy with on the vipassana retreats. I wish you all the best for your practice. I did still want to respond to your concerns however. It's true that Suella Braverman is a mitra in the Triratna Buddhist Community. As an organisation, we don't think that people's political views or affiliation should prevent them from practicing and exploring the Dharma. We welcome people from the full range of political views to our centres. The Dharma is neither left-wing or right-wing, but as someone deepens in their Dharma practice then naturally one's views are explored and worked on, and of course we realise that some of our views may be unhelpful, unkind or unethical. We all hold views like this, whether we think of ourselves as politically 'right' or politically 'left'. In terms of the Dharma what matters is our willingness to be open about them, explore them in discussion with others and ultimately change them in accordance with Dharmic principles. A mitra, which translates as 'friend', is a person who had made a commitment to work on themselves, but who doesn't teach or hold significant organisational responsibility within our Buddhist tradition, because usually they have not yet resolved many of these views to a sufficiently deep level. This is different to an ordained member of our community, someone who has made a lifetime commitment to Dharma practice, undertaking a great deal of training and worked on themselves to a high degree. These 'Order Members' are held to a higher ethical standard by other members of our Order, and unlike mitras, are the ones who teach and hold the most significant organisational responsibilities at our Buddhist Centres.

Hi, Yea I understand she is just a member. But how can you justify a member that is inflicting pain and misery, essentially human suffering on people in a practice that is supposedly about limiting such human suffering? Suella Braverman is literally overseeing policies that are leading to immense human suffering across this country. How can this be justified by someone who is supposedly leading their life by the eightfold path?

@@BeyondscutumCrux We should be compassionate to others, even those we deem as bad. Perhaps through the community and teachings, we can all create a better world.

​@@ajourneytogrowth Surely compassion should include those very very vulnerable people who are literally risking their lives and their families, fleeing war and persecution to come to the UK. The same people Suella Braverman is using a scapegoat for her parties failures which is now leading to hate crimes spiking?? The suffering Suella Braverman is causing in this country is far greater than any single person can cause? How can you justify this immense amount of suffering being caused by someone in your ranks??

Thanks Kalpna! 🙏🏼🌸❤️

Thanks Ruby. We are glad the video was useful 🙏🏼

That's right! 🙏🏼❤

Thanks Viryanaga! 😊🙏🏼

Thank you Anthony 👍🏼🙏🏼

Thank you so much Kalpna. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. It was a wonderful talk and a wonderful Sangha day celebration at Brixton 🙏🏼

Thanks Kathya, glad you found the talk interesting!

Thanks Rah, glad you've enjoyed it!

Thanks Kalpna, Viryanaga here. Yes it was a strong experience for me, one feel opened me up to the sufferings of other beings, so sad but still helpful from a Dharmic perspective. As you say even the Buddha wasn't protected from the experience of loss of worldly existence, but at least perhaps saw them within the bigger context.

Hi, Viryanaga here. Thanks for the comment and for watching the video, sorry its taken a while for us to respond. Given your thoughtful comment, I thought I'd take some time responding properly In some ways I'd agree with you, the buddha's teachings are often just straight-forwardly practical or instructive. The Buddha, at least in terms of the way the teachings are recorded, appeared to be agnostic as to the reasons why things are the way they are. By way of a traditional example, if we've been shot by an arrow (an analogy for the inevitable suffering we experience through sickness, loss and death in this human existence), then instead of sitting in pain wondering who shot it, we should instead focus on removing the arrow. This is what the Buddha's teaching is concerned with, helping us move beyond suffering, rather than being interested in why there is suffering in the first place. On the other hand, the Buddha was also clear that all things are caused, arise or disappear, as a product of conditions, essentially cause and effect. Rather than try to convince people of the truth of that, he simply said look around you and into your experience and see for yourself. As the insight the Buddha attained is accessible to all of us, this is what Buddhist practice is - testing out and scrutinising the teaching of the Buddha in ones own experience though deep meditation and reflection. The fundamental principle of Buddhism is that if we can see deeply enough in the nature of things we can understand for ourselves what is true, and in a sense no longer need the teachings of the Buddha to point the way.

Perfect!

Thanks!

Thanks Alex, glad you enjoyed it!