Buddhist Peace Fellowship

2005 Annual Report

Click here to download a PDF file of this report

 

Wisdom and Compassion for
Progressive Social Change

 

“The Buddhist Peace Fellowship has always represented for me the fact that
spiritual insight and informed, dedicated, vigorous social and political activism
are inseparable. We are all activists on behalf of wisdom, even on retreat.
It is very important to me that BPF be supported to carry this gift of peace
and compassion into tangible projects in the world.”

~ Sylvia Boorstein, Spirit Rock Meditation Center

1. Introduction

2. Letter from BPF Executive Director Maia Duerr

3. Looking Back at 2005: Highlights

4. Financial and Membership Report

5. Gratitude

Click here to download a PDF file of this report

Introduction

The Buddhist Peace Fellowship is pleased to present this overview of our programs and projects during 2005. We hope it will inspire you to learn more about us, and to join us in “being” peace as we work for peace and justice.

The mission of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF), founded in 1978,
is to serve as a catalyst for socially engaged Buddhism.

 
Our purpose is to help beings liberate themselves from the suffering that manifests in individuals, relationships, institutions, and social systems. BPF's programs,
publications, and practice groups link Buddhist teachings of wisdom and compassion
with progressive social change.

Through our worldwide network of 4,000 members and more than 30 chapters, our vision is to bring peace where there is conflict, to promote communication and cooperation among Buddhist sanghas, and to alleviate suffering wherever possible.

 

Make a gift to support the Buddhist Peace Fellowship

 

Letter from BPF Executive Director Maia Duerr

BPF Executive Director Maia Duerr (center) with Ryümon Gutierrez and
 Roshi Joan Halifax at beginning of Los Alamos Retreat, Hiroshima Day 2005

 

Dear friends,

Though the Buddhist Peace Fellowship’s work is always about peace and justice,  in 2005 we crystallized that focus with the theme: "Cultivating Peace, Dismantling War." We invited our 4,000 members and 35 chapters to reflect and act in accord with this theme, and to connect our dharma practice with the challenge of peacemaking in today’s world. The BPF community responded in many diverse ways, which you’ll read about in this report.

The world has given us much to which to respond. In 2005, we saw a growing abuse of power in our government institutions, and an increasingly alarming trend to place corporate profit over the common good. This combination of factors translated into deep suffering for many in the world. Natural disasters, like the Southeast Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. Gulf Coast, were made worse by the legacy of institutionalized racism and poverty. More than 2,000 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq; the number of Iraqi civilians dead is estimated at well over 30,000. And across the globe, the disparity between rich and poor continues to widen.

In the face of all this, BPF has encouraged Buddhist communities and everyone who cares about compassionate involvement in the world to engage in many ways: holding meditative witnesses for peace, solidarity with those who are disenfranchised, participating in the electoral process. Our programs cultivate seeds of peace in young people and in prisoners, and Turning Wheel continues to share inspiring stories of grassroots change from a spiritual perspective.

I believe that one key to an effective and healthy organization is to balance experience with innovation. Over the past year we have maintained continuity on our board, and we have appreciated the contributions of new members Jesse Maceo-Vega Frey, Sozan Schellin, Azara Turaki, and Marian Urquilla. On staff, veterans Susan Moon and Alan Senauke provided a sense of connection to our history at the same time that new staff Michael Callahan and Hong Chingkuang brought fresh ideas and perspectives. We are grateful to longtime BPF friend Mushim Ikeda-Nash, who stepped in to fill the role of Acting Associate Director of Programs when Diana Lion went on an extended medical leave in the fall. Those of you who know that I am student of the dharma of baseball will understand when I say that our lineup is deep, and loaded with talent and wisdom.

On behalf of all the BPF board and staff, I thank you for making it possible for BPF to bring forth a courageous, compassionate presence for peace in today’s world. With your support, we hope to do so for many years to come.

In the dharma,

Maia Duerr

 

BPF Board of Directors, December 2005

Robert Joshin Althouse (Secretary)

Doug Codiga

Anushka Fernandopulle (Vice President)

Anchalee Kurutach (President)

Diane Gregorio

Sozan Schellin

Azara Turaki

Marian Urquilla

Jesse Vega-Frey

Chris Wilson (Treasurer)

 

BPF Staff, December 2005

Michael Callahan, Prison Program Co-coordinator

Hong Chingkuang, Prison Program Co-coordinator

Colette DeDonato, Turning Wheel Managing Editor

Jenesha de Rivera, Associate Director of Finance and Operations

Maia Duerr, Executive Director

Mushim Ikeda-Nash, Associate Director of Programs (acting)

Charis Khoury, Membership Coordinator

Diana Lion, Associate Director of Programs (on extended medical leave)

Susan Moon, Turning Wheel Senior Editor

Alan Senauke, Senior Advisor and International Projects

Tempel Smith, BASE and Youth Program Coordinator

Looking Back at 2005:
Highlights of the Year

Ending the Death Penalty for Juveniles

In 2004, BPF’s Prison Program contributed a Buddhist perspective to an amicus brief on the Simmons case, which raised the question of the legality of the death penalty for juveniles. On March 1, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court decided by a 5-to-4 vote to end the imposition of the death penalty on offenders who were under the age of 18 when their crimes were committed—a huge victory for all who believe the death penalty is immoral.

War in Iraq: Historic Buddhist Peace Delegation in Washington, D.C.

On September 24, more than 300,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C., to call for an end to the war in Iraq. Thanks to BPF’s leadership, there was an organized Buddhist presence in D.C. that weekend. We convened a “Buddhist Peace Delegation,” with nearly 200 people marching behind our banner’s message: “May all beings be safe and free from anger, fear, greed, delusion, and all ill-being. May they be at peace.” And BPF made it possible for a Buddhist Peace Affinity group to take part in the largest civil disobedience to happen in front of the White House in more than 20 years.

“Creating the Conditions of Peace” Symposium

Inspired by our colleagues in the BPF-Seattle chapter, we organized a one-day symposium called “Creating the Conditions for Peace,” held in conjunction with Tikkun’s Spiritual Activist Conference in Berkeley, CA, in July. More than 130 people attended the BPF symposium to listen to panelists and participate in small group discussions on applying wisdom and compassion to environmental issues, racial and gender justice, and peacework.

Nuclear Disarmament: BPF Chapters Worldwide Commemorate Hiroshima

In August, 14 BPF chapters across the world commemorated the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Vigil locations included: Los Alamos, NM; Livermore Nuclear Lab, CA; Nevada Desert Test Site; Tampa Bay, FL; New Haven, CT; and Sydney, Australia. Throughout the year, BPF published a number of articles on both the inner and outer dimensions of disarmament, and created an online resource guide about nuclear disarmament.

Responding to the Southeast Asia Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina

When the Asian tsunami struck in late December 2004, BPF was quickly in contact with friends and organizations throughout the region — in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Burma. In a very short time, through our chapters and members, we were able to raise more than $18,000 in direct aid, much of which we channeled through Sarvodaya in Sri Lanka and INEB in Thailand. We have remained in contact with relief projects providing material aid, psychological counseling, and religious support.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, BPF continued to take a leading role in raising awareness of race, class, and privilege as critical issues to address in Buddhist communities and beyond. In September, BPF executive director Maia Duerr’s essay, “Waking Up to the Tragedy of New Orleans" was published in Common Ground magazine and on Antiracism.net. Later in the month, BPF endorsed a call by Interfaith Worker Justice for ethical reconstruction of the Gulf area. In October, Maia represented BPF on an interfaith delegation visit with hurricane evacuees in Baton Rouge.

 

Cultivating Peace, Dismantling War: Peacework

Staff: Maia Duerr, Mushim Ikeda-Nash, Alan Senauke

Peacework webpage

“Our participation in the nonviolent direct action at the White House was a very powerful experience. Being in an affinity group with BPF members was a crucial piece of that experience: not only was I demonstrating for a cause in which I believe deeply (ending the war, and working for peace in Iraq and everywhere), but, more importantly, I was doing it in a way that itself modeled peace, largely because I was surrounded by comrades who grounded and strengthened me in that practice.”

~ Ben Hall, BPF member, Providence, RI

 

Our Peacework, always the core of our organization, took a more defined shape in 2005 and manifested in three primary ways:

  • Being Peace in a Time of War: offering a witness for peace and “public displays of practice” at vigils, rallies, and other gatherings.
  • Dismantling War: addressing the suffering brought about by the pervasive militarism in our culture through support and information for young people facing decisions about the military as well as for those already enlisted.
  • Peace Education and Resources: publishing and distributing Buddhist perspectives on peace and social justice issues, and participating in interfaith forums.
Being Peace in a Time of War

Perhaps the most important gift that Buddhism and BPF has to offer the peace movement is our deep commitment to nonviolence and our desire to “be the change we wish to see,” in the spirit of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. We believe that it is possible to speak strongly for peace and justice, but that we can do so in a way that helps to cultivate peace rather than creates more "enemies." This kind of witness can be a healing balm for long-time activists, as well as a doorway into social engagement for those who are new to activism. In 2005, BPF offered these “public displays of practice” in a number of settings. Here are a few:

  • In March, BPF chapters in the San Francisco Bay Area held an all-night vigil at the “Eyes Wide Open” exhibit organized by the American Friends Service Committee. BPF members sat through the long night with combat boots of soldiers killed in Iraq and held a sunrise service to remember all those who died in the war, including Iraq civilians.
  • In August,14 BPF chapters across the world commemorate the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Locations include: Livermore Nuclear Lab, CA; Tampa Bay, FL; New Haven, CT; and Sydney, Australia (visit photo gallery here). In New Mexico, BPF executive director Maia Duerr joined Roshi Joan Halifax and Hilda Ryumon Baldoquin Guitterez for a five-day retreat that included a “bearing witness” vigil near Los Alamos Nuclear Lab. Senior Advisor Alan Senauke represented BPF on the board of the Nevada Desert Experience, and was one of the organizers for NDE’s August witness in Nevada. BPF was also a partner in the Jizos for Peace Project, which created more than 300,000 images of Jizo Bodhisattva for display in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and U.S. weapons labs.
  • In September, BPF was instrumental in organizing four days of compassionate action in Washington, D.C. to call for peace in Iraq and in convening a “Buddhist Peace Delegation” more than 200 people strong. The weekend began Friday night with a service and candlelight vigil organized by the Washington DC BPF Chapter and ended on Monday with a long vigil for those awaiting arrest for civil disobedience. BPF also helped to bring Bhante Suhita Dharma, the first African American ordained as a Buddhist monk, to Washington to speak at a major interfaith service and share a message of hope out of his experience with the Civil Rights Movement. Visit photo gallery here (photos by Joan Schwartz).

     

Dismantling War

In July, BPF released a comprehensive on-line resource guide called “The Dharma and the Military,”  compiled by Mushim Ikeda-Nash and Maia Duerr, intended to support young people facing decisions about the military.

Throughout the year, BPF board member Chris Wilson, BPF staff, as well as members around the country have been supporting the efforts of Buddhists in the U.S. military to attain Conscientious Objector status. We were contacted by three young people who requested our assistance to help them document a paper trail of their beliefs on nonviolence. Alan Senauke continues as a core member of the Buddhist Chaplain Coordinating Committee, which is developing religious materials for Buddhists serving in the military, and serves to support Lt. Jeanette Shin, a Buddhist Church of America minister who is the first Buddhist chaplain in the history of the U.S. armed forces.

We plan to develop this area in 2006, and to offer Conscientious Objector and Hardship Assistance counseling through our network of chapters. We also plan to launch a web-based forum called “Ask a Dharma Vet,” where young people can connect with military veterans with a dharma background.

 

Peace Education and Resources

BPF is increasingly seen as the leading Buddhist voice on peace and justice issues. In 2005, we stepped up to this role in many ways:

  • BPF was invited to be a key partner with George Lakoff’s Rockridge Institute in hosting the first Spiritual Progressives Online Conference. BPF staff Alan Senauke and Maia Duerr were moderators. Participants across denominations joined agnostics and atheists to discuss the interplay between religion and progressive politics and between belief and civic activism.
  • In April, BPF Associate Director Diana Lion was a keynote speaker at a major conference on Women and Buddhism held at Smith College, Northampton, MA.
  • BPF was a co-sponsor of Tikkun’s historic Spiritual Activist Conference in Berkeley, CA, in July, attended by nearly 1,200 people. Our contribution to the conference was a one-day symposium called “Creating the Conditions for Peace.” More than 130 people came to listen to panelists and participate in small group discussions on applying wisdom and compassion to environmental issues, racial and gender justice, and peacework. Panelists were: Michele Benzamin-Miki, Paul Haller, Anchalee Kurutach, Diana Lion, Ajahn MahaPrasert, Caitriona Reed, Canyon Sam, Ven. Heng Sure, and Lauren Van Ham.

 

In addition, BPF published articles and statements during 2005 on the war in Iraq, nuclear disarmament, the death penalty, workers’ rights, environmental illness, and inter-religious dialogue. A number of these pieces were written in collaboration with members of BPF’s International Advisory Council, a group of more than 50 prominent Buddhist teachers and activists with strong relationships with BPF.  And Think Sangha, which emerged from INEB in the early 1990s, continues to consider issues of Buddhist analysis.

In 2006, Alan Senauke will work with members of Think Sangha and our International Advisory Council on an in-depth Buddhist analysis of U.S. militarism and its effect globally.

 

Make a gift to support the Buddhist Peace Fellowship's
Peacework and Other Programs

 

Building a Community of Compassionate Activists: BPF Chapters and the Buddhist Alliance for Social Engagement (BASE) Program

Maia Duerr, Chapter Coordinator, and Tempel Smith, BASE Coordinator
Washington D.C. BPF Candlelight Vigil on the
Eve of the Presidential Inauguration

Our members have frequently asked us to widen our circle beyond the San Francisco Bay Area. During 2005, we got out of our Berkeley office–a lot! During the year, board and staff met with BPF members and participated in events in: Washington (D.C.), Hawaii, India, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, and New York. We look forward to connecting with even more of you in 2006 when we hold a Membership Gathering in Garrison, New York.

Two of the programs that extend BPF’s mission on a wider scale are our network of chapters and the Buddhist Alliance for Social Engagement (BASE program).

 

BPF Chapters

BPF Chapter Directory

BPF is helping to cultivate a broad movement for peace and has been a crucial resource for activists all over the world. Since November 2004, we received nearly 30 requests for information on how to start a chapter. In 2005, we welcomed six new chapters: Cleveland, OH; Olympia, WA; Santa Cruz, CA; Madison WI; Detroit, MI; and Calgary, Canada. BPF chapters worldwide are working on a wide range of issues, including peace, human rights, gay marriage rights, animal rights, nonviolent communication, homelessness, elderly outreach, and prison dharma. Some examples:

  • Cleveland BPF chapter worked with the Cleveland Nonviolent Coalition to create a Peace Fair at a Labor Day airshow, in order to offer an alternative to displays of military might.
  • The BPF chapter in Melbourne, Australia, reflecting on the return of neo-conservative governments in the U.S. and Australia, decided to respond to their feelings of despair and powerlessness by becoming actively involved in small projects working with refugees, including from Burundi and South Sudan. The group hoped this effort would increase their understanding of multicultural issues, particularly those around Muslims.

In 2005, the newly-formed Chapter Council, a group of seven regional representatives from BPF chapters around the world, met via teleconference bi-monthly to address challenges facing chapters and to establish a closer working relationship between the BPF central office and chapters.

 

BASE Program

BASE Program Website

BASE provides six-month support communities for the study and practice of socially engaged Buddhism. All BASE programs combine five elements: service/social action, wisdom/training, dharma practice, community, and commitment. Participants work or volunteer in service projects, and meet regularly for study, support, discussion, training, and meditation.

In August, 2005, we celebrated the BASE Programs’ 10th anniversary as BASE alumni gathered to share fond memories and their love of BPF and BASE.  In the past decade, more than 200 people have participated in BASE groups and have helped to build vibrant communities of spiritual activists.

In the winter and spring of 2005, we ran two BASE programs in the Bay Area. In early 2006, two more programs launched, one focusing on the use of written and spoken language in the service of engaged Buddhism, and another on the theme of aging and sickness. The interest in the BASE program continues to increase, reflecting a deep yearning for both community and service.

With the support of a grant from the Hidden Leaf Foundation, we will launch two BASE groups in the fall of 2006, one in Seattle and one in Calgary, Canada. BASE has great potential to expand both in number of participants and in diverse geographical regions.

The San Francisco BASE House continues to nourish dharma practitioners and activists. Toward the end of 2005, BASE House residents began plans for a monthly speaking series and a weekly sitting group for dharma activists. In early 2006, speakers included UC Berkeley peace scholar Michael Nagler and BPF’s Maia Duerr.  This, along with the weekly community dinners, has made BASE House a warm community hub for socially engaged Buddhism, and a model we hope can be re-created in other regions.

Make a gift to support the Buddhist Peace Fellowship's
Chapters, BASE, and Other Programs

 

Strengthening Global Connections:
International Projects and Partnerships

BPF International Liaison: Alan Senauke

International Projects Webpage

“Being at the International Network of Engaged Buddhists conference made me
proud of the work we do at BPF, and the experience reminds me everyday of the interconnectedness among all of us.  We cannot work alone.  Our friends in
dharma are out there and we must connect with them so that we can transform
ourselves and our society.”

~ Anchalee Kurutach, BPF Board President

 

BPF’s international presence is often manifested in work through and in our active affiliates. For fifteen years we have been closely involved with the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB), founded by Sulak Sivaraksa, a BPF International Advisory Council member. Since its founding in 1989, BPF has attended every INEB conference, meeting in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Korea. Board president Anchalee Kurutach represented BPF at the November 2005 INEB meeting in Nagpur, India, that included educational panels and discussion as well as tribute to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who brought Buddhism to India’s “untouchables” in the early 1950s. Anchalee gave a presentation on BPF’s youth and prison programs and involvement with the anti-war movement, and learned about engaged Buddhist projects in Asia. 

More highlights from 2005:

  • Alan Senauke and Shambhala President Richard Reoch continue to shepherd the development of an International Buddhist Peace Service (IBPS) in partnership with the Garrison Institute in New York. IBPS is a non-partisan, non-sectarian global initiative aiming to link Asian, Asian-American and western Buddhist communities as a spiritual and material resource for peace and for the reduction of suffering internationally. Careful connections have been nurtured with Asian partners towards an inaugural conference in 2006 or early 2007, and with an ambitious goal of creating the first ecumenical Buddhist NGO with consultative status at the United Nations.
  • The Foundation for the People of Burma is a BPF affiliate dedicated to providing humanitarian aid to Burmese people of all ethnic backgrounds and religious beliefs. The Foundation responds to the basic needs of communities, supporting locally run projects in health, education, and leadership development. Under the leadership of Hal Nathan, FPB has become a significant and widely recognized resource for sustenance and change inside Burma and along its borders.
  • Since 1990 BPF has sponsored two active programs supporting Tibetan refugees in Nepal and India, collaborating with the Tibetan Government in Exile and administration in the Tibetan settlements. The Tibetan Children’s Fund provides upwards of $20,000 per year in food and medicine in the settlements.  The Tibetan Revolving Loan Fund has a fund of about $100,000 in constant circulation for labor-intensive livelihood projects in the settlements. We are grateful to Gordon Tyndall for his steadfast oversight of these projects.
  • Dharma Gaia Trust (DGT) provides funds for Buddhist-inspired grass roots ecological  projects in Asia and the developing world, building on mutually respectful East-West partnerships. DGT supports projects including: the Tibetan Sustainable Living Project, Pipal Tree/Fireflies community in India, the Ladakh Nuns’ Project and South East Asia Organics in Vietnam.
  • South East Asia Organics (a project of DGT and an affiliate of BPF), founded by John Berlow in 2004, was named a winner last June  in the Vietnam Innovation Day contest for environmental protection projects sponsored by the World Bank for its proposal: “Increasing Ecological and Human Potential: Organic VAC at Vietnam Friendship Village.”  The project is located at Vietnam Friendship Village a residential treatment center for children and veterans affected by Agent Orange located near Hanoi, where they have created an organic vegetable garden and are extending and renovating fruit orchards. Soon they will begin work to set up their own fish farm.

 

Make a gift to support the Buddhist Peace Fellowship's
International Work and Other Programs

 

Transforming Suffering: Prison Program

Program Director: Diana Lion (on extended medical leave of absence, beginning August 2005)

Coordinators: Hong Chingkuang and Michael Callahan

Prison Program Website

 

“The bodhisattva practice is not to cut off from binding and grasping,
 nor to abide in the ocean of grasping…  What is sin? What is blessedness?
As one’s own mind is void of itself, sin and blessedness have no existence.”

~ Shakyamuni Buddha

(from The sutra on the Meditation of the Boddhisattva Samantabhadra)

 

2005 was a year of major transition for the Prison Program. In August, 2005, Diana Lion left on extended medical leave after founding and directing the program for seven years. Hong Chingkuang and Michael Callahan were hired to advance the program’s goals. Since coming on in the summer, Hong and Michael have focused on integrating advocacy, ministry, and correspondence into a coherent praxis of transformative justice.

The vehicle for this shift is the Coming Home Initiative. The vision of “Coming Home” is to be in fellowship with those who have found the courage and strength to practice while incarcerated, so that we may actualize the ever-present opportunities to deepen our shared practice of personal and community transformation. The four elements of the initiative are decarceration, housing, economic self-sufficiency, and social justice organizing and advocacy. This shift marks our commitment to dealing with the root causes of violence in ourselves and in society: racism, poverty, political disempowerment, and imprisonment.

Throughout 2005 we deepened our relationship with allies like Death Penalty Focus, AFSC, and California People of Faith Working Against the Death Penalty to build momentum toward a legislated moratorium in California. Alan Senauke served on the executive committee of the California People of Faith.  Working with this group, BPF helped to organize a meditation vigil at the December 13 execution of Stanley Tookie Williams, whose writings and transformed life serves as inspiration to thousands of young people around the country at risk of criminal gang activity. The execution of Williams was a stark reminder that state murder is politically expedient and cannot be left to politician’s calculations. The campaign to stop Tookie’s execution saw long-time Buddhist activists redouble their efforts to stop the killing and was a watershed moment for a new generation of death penalty abolitionists.

In 2006, BPF will build on this groundswell to get moratorium legislation passed while the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice completes their studies on the causes of wrongful convictions.

Other highlights from 2005:

  • In March, the Chicago and Bloomington BPF chapters held a bearing witness vigil at Indiana State Prison for the execution of Donald Wallace, Jr.
  • In November, Michael Callahan visited Boston and NYC to strengthen the Prison Program’s relationship with chapter members doing prison work. He presented to 25 activist practitioners at the Lucy Parsons Center in Boston on the relationship between Buddhism, the prison-industrial complex, and community organizing. He also met with Paco Lugovina of the Greyston Foundation, service providers and educators from the Fortune Society, and Rima Vesely-Flad of the Interfaith Coalition of Advocates for Re-entry and Employment to discuss lessons they’ve learned in their work and how this knowledge could inform the Coming Home Initiative.
  • Correspondence Project: Hong Chingkuang and Joshua Seldman have been working with Helen Seward, our volunteer correspondence coordinator, to reestablish the project so that it encompasses the practices of both the volunteers and the inmate correspondents. Our goal is to create a conductive union of helping oneself and others, rather than helping just oneself or just the helping of others. We have become more aware of the difficulties that can arise on the part of volunteers who, with good intentions, wish to feel charitable. We have begun to establish a practice in which volunteers are raising awareness that through this correspondence, they are helping themselves as well, by freeing themselves from the dualistic conception of “helping others who are needy.” Together, we are learning that we are all rays of light, nourishing and helping one another.
  • We continue to bring together resources that will nourish the minds and hearts of those inside that are newly establishing faith in Buddhism. For prisoners who have an ongoing practice, we are creating a list of materials that complement one another and unify the fundamental goals of the Buddha’s teachings.
  • The Prison Program has been working to compile resources from Asian Buddhist communities. Some of the groups we’ve been building relationships with include: The Corporate Body of the Buddha Education Foundation (Taipei, Taiwan); Amitabha Buddhist Society of the U.S.A.; Northern California Koyasan Temple; Fo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Si.

As sin and blessedness are fundamentally without distinction, so too are the distinctions between those that are incarcerated and those that are not.  As long as we are spiritually free of our obstructive thinking (which is a prison in itself), there is no you or I, but only we; replete with the same virtues and the qualities of the Tathagata, free from judgment and discrimination.

 

Make a gift to support the Buddhist Peace Fellowship's
Prison Program and other work

Planting Seeds of Peace: Youth Program

Program Coordinator: Tempel Smith

Youth Program/Teen Retreats Website

 “I’ve kept in touch with a lot of people who were on the Teen Retreat. It’s been
 beautiful to have that underlying support even though we don’t see each other;
 it really settles my mind for tough stuff at school, for tough social issues. The month
 after I came home from this retreat was one of the most peaceful times ever in my life.”

~ BPF Youth Program Retreat Participant

 

In 2005, BPF’s Youth Program held two six-day intensive retreats for teenagers, each retreat serving 30 youth. Teens traveled from as far as Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Michigan, and Tennessee to attend. We experimented with making the 2005 retreats a day longer than in previous years and found it greatly improved the depth of the experience. During each retreat, we held an afternoon workshop on a theme of progressive social awareness. On the first retreat, James Baraz taught about Conscientious Objector status to military service, and on the second, Carin McKay taught on gender issues.

In 2006, we are looking forward to holding the summer retreat at a new location, the Padmasambhava Peace Institute in Santa Rosa, California. We will extend the retreat yet again by another day, and will have access to more wilderness space to begin expanding our retreats out into the natural environment. We also plan to work with an intern who will help to shape and expand the Youth Program so that it includes more opportunities for service learning combined with meditation practice.

The Youth Program is supported by a grant from the LEF Foundation as well as by the generosity of individual donors. We are also grateful to The Land of Medicine Buddha retreat center for helping us by lowering their usual site rental rate. And finally, we are thankful to the 15 adults who volunteer on each retreat and offer a week of their lives to live, teach, and serve the youth. BPF’s Teen Retreats are truly a community-wide effort!

Make a gift to support the Buddhist Peace Fellowship's
Youth Program and other work

 

Weaving the Web: Communications
(Turning Wheel, e-newsletter, film project)

Editor: Susan Moon

Managing Editor: Colette DeDonato

Turning Wheel Website

“Turning Wheel is the best

Buddhist journal I read.”

~ Jack Kornfield, Spirit Rock

Turning Wheel continues to publish dynamic quarterly issues on themes of interest to socially engaged Buddhists.  Since the last annual report, we have published issues on the following themes:

  • Spring 2005: Practicing with Disability
  • Summer 2005: Crossing Borders
  • Fall 2005: Buddhas Among Us
  • Winter 2005: Disarmament
  • Spring 2006: Personal Odysseys

 

 

TW’s articles on practicing with disability were particularly notable, and elicited much positive feedback. Little has been published on this important subject in the Buddhist press. Our Winter 05 issue on Disarmament addressed BPF’s theme for the year, and included a groundbreaking list of Palestinian and Israeli peace projects compiled by Lyn Fine and Annette Herskovits. The list is posted on our website and will be updated regularly to reflect important developments in this area.

Managing Editor Colette DeDonato did an excellent job as editor-in-chief for the Disarmament issue, while Susan Moon was on her four-month sabbatical. TW also published three young writer’s award winners during 2005.

Thanks to the volunteer help of artist Jan Eldridge, recent issues of TW have included work by new artists that Jan has brought to our attention. She has been coming into the office once a week to volunteer for TW. She brings us art and helps us match it to articles and poetry in the magazine. She has also been writing book reviews for us.

We have a new book review editor, Jim Brown, who is also a member of the TW editorial committee. Jim is taking a more proactive approach to TW’s reviews than we have had in the past. Instead of just sorting through the many books that come in for review and deciding which ones to review, he’s requesting review copies from publishers of the books he thinks TW should review.

The Turning Wheel editorial committee is comprised of members in the Bay Area who meet in person, and long-distance members who stay in touch via email.

Coming in 2006:

  • Summer 06: Interfaith Dialogue and Action.
  • Fall 06: A special issue with a radical look at what we can do as Buddhist activists in response to the present and dire political situation. Robert Aitken Roshi will serve as guest consulting editor.
  • Winter 06: “Being an Ally,” Mushim Ikeda-Nash will join Sue and Colette as a guest editor.

E-newsletter and Film Project

In addition to Turning Wheel, BPF stayed in touch with our members and others interested in socially engaged Buddhism through our monthly e-newsletter, which now reaches more than 3,000 people with news and action alerts.

And finally, thanks to filmmaker Ed Herzog’s generous donation of time and talent, we were able to capture the spirit of our work in a short film, “Being Peace in a Time of War,” which included scenes from September’s Washington D.C. Buddhist Peace Delegation. In 2006, we will make this film available for viewing to more of our members via our website. Ed plans to make a longer documentary on BPF and engaged Buddhism with the extensive footage he has shot of BPF’s other programs and projects.

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Financial and Membership Report

Associate Director (Finance and Operations): Jenesha de Rivera

Membership Coordinator: Charis Khoury

In fiscal year 2005, the staff at the Buddhist Peace Fellowship worked hard to ensure the financial well being of the organization. We were fortunate to end 2004 with a surplus, due primarily to a generous bequest from the estate of Judith Stronach, which gave us the opportunity to stretch our wings and re-invigorate the organization’s visibility and presence in the world.

Grateful to start the year with a cash reserve, the organization took care to assure the funds were spent wisely. In our 2005 Development Plan BPF’s key goals were to diversify our funding sources and increase the support from our membership base. We are happy to report that 2005 saw significant progress in both areas due to increased visibility and fundraising efforts.

BPF’s presence at various events across the country and internationally re-established the organization as one of the leading voices in socially engaged Buddhism. By devoting resources to travel expenses and new fundraising efforts—including a new member acquisition mailing—BPF ended the year with 1,000 new members and ten new major donors ($1,000 and over). Income derived from our membership support increased from 14% of total revenue in 2004 to 19% in 2005.

Our organizational capacity was enhanced by the addition of new staff and board members. Their presence along with the increased stability of a full time Executive Director and an Associate Director of Finance allowed the organization to investigate new funding sources from the foundation world. BPF ended the year with new foundation grants totaling $20,000 (from the Hidden Leaf and LEF Foundations) and a hopeful list of possible new funding sources.

By the end of the year the staff and board were hard at work planning BPF’s first-ever annual fundraising event: Being Peace in a Time of War, featuring Tenzin Robert Thurman and Bhante Suhita Dharma, which took place in San Francisco on March 5, 2006. The event brought in close to 500 guests.

Our work in fiscal year 2005 will focus on broadening our outreach and organizing efforts, and will position BPF for continued success. We are grateful to our members, donors, community members, and volunteers who provide the energy, passion and resources necessary as we continue to bring together wisdom and compassion for progressive social change.

(More detailed financial statement included in PDF file of 2005 Annual Report.)

 

Chapter income includes income reported by 10 BPF chapters using our federal tax ID number for their local activities.

Program Services includes salary and program expenses related to BASE, Prison Program, Youth Program, International Projects, and chapter support/local chapter expenses.

 

Gratitude

All of this work has been made possible through the generosity of our members, as well as foundation grants received from:

  • Hidden Leaf Foundation
  • LEF Foundation

We offer our supporters an opportunity to sustain BPF through a three-year pledge program called the Bodhisattva Circle, at amounts ranging from $10/month and upwards. We gratefully acknowledge the 360 people whose membership in this Circle and consistent giving provides a strong foundation for our work. Thank you!

We bow in gratitude to all who have supported the Buddhist Peace Fellowship during 2005, and to the many volunteers who have offered their time.

 

BPF Fundraising Mission Statement

The Buddhist Peace Fellowship views fundraising as an important aspect of the
Buddhist practice of dana (generosity), which has the potential to transform
scarcity into sufficiency, and which is based on principles of
interdependence, gratitude, and inclusion. In all our fundraising efforts,
we vow to hold the quality of relationships over attachment to outcome.

Make a gift to support the work of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship

 

 

 
 
 
 
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