Vesak Update
Clearing the Way
Many blessings to the rainbow of our Buddhist lineages as we honor and celebrate Vesak/Wesak! Also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, Vesak is a holiday observed by Buddhists across the world at various times throughout this lunar month of Vaisakha. This full moon time (which fell on a lunar eclipse this year) is considered to be one of the holiest days for Buddhists, commemorating the birth, attainment of nirvana/nibbāna and death of Gautama Buddha. It is under these auspices we are excited to announce our newest Board members!
WELCOME OUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS!
BPF Board member photos on a pink background with lotus blossoms, collaged by cheyenna weber.
Clockwise from bottom left:
Shubha Balabaer, Tony Butterfly Pham, Nicole Wires, Ravi Mishra, Rahil Rojiani,
Sarah Nahar, Alex Rodriguez, Helen Hyun-Kyung Park, Jacoby Ballard (center).
We also want to acknowledge the incredible outpouring of support from the BPF community and our
The BPF Board received an outpouring of support in response to the Board vacancies. Over 25 people applied for our board openings, including those both new and longstanding BPF friends. Considering the unique transition we are in, we ultimately had the difficult task of narrowing our selection of those candidates whose skills most meet our current gaps in capacity and knowledge. Thank you again to all who applied, shared the vacancy, and sent us your well wishes!
We are excited to announce our four newest members:
Helen Hyun-Kyung Park, Jacoby Ballard, Shubha Balabaer, and Nicole Wires. Welcome!
Learn about the full board: https://buddhistpeacefellowship.org/board
LAST CALL TO JOIN THE BPF TEAM!
A reminder that we have two upcoming paid positions.
Applications close Wednesday, May 18th.
Find job descriptions and application instructions: https://buddhistpeacefellowship.org/open-positions
UPDATE ON OUR TEACHERS COUNCIL
We also want to appreciate the conclusion of our first interim teachers council, with deep bows to Mushim Patricia Ikeda, Lama Rod Owens, Leslie Booker, and Dalila Bothwell. Since the beginning of the year, we have convened three distinct sessions focused on transparently exploring our organizational development in relation to the changing currents of engaged BuddhaDharma on Turtle Island. The first session highlighted gaps between engaged Buddhism and social movement work, including the limited spaces for those worlds to come together. In the second session, we continued to surface the ongoing tensions and patterns of erasure of Heritage Buddhist community and culture in relation to Western convert Buddhism, including BPF’s own karma in this regard. In the third and final session, teachers vetted and provided feedback on our transition process, including Board recruitment, generative conflict processes, and our upcoming community engagement strategy.
While there are many takeaways, one continuous thread is the need for us to learn to wield Manjushri’s sword of discernment in relation to our work ahead. If we try to be everything to everybody, we will fail all of us. What is our community most needing right now, and what is BPF’s karma in relation to that need, is a question we are looking forward to sharing with the wider community in the coming months. Our time with the Teachers Council also affirmed BPF’s unique position within the engaged Buddhist ecosystem to bring a vital and radical perspective, as a space for ecumenical inquiry and relationship-building for the shared goal of collective liberation.
Our next step in this discernment process is to work with a Community Engagement consultant this summer and fall so that all who wish to participate in this process may have the opportunity to do so. We will then share the results of that process with you in the same way we have so far. Stay tuned for more announcements about those opportunities to be in inquiry and fellowship with other engaged Buddhists.
Thank you again to the teachers who took time from their busy schedules to support this process and learning.
If you have any questions, concerns, or guidance, please offer it to our Interim Managing Director, Sarwang Parikh, at sarwang@bpf.org.