How are you doing? No really. What's going on for you? It's been a tough year and many of us have had some difficult days. Throughout it all our Sangha has been there - a place to share practice, build spiritual friendship, and give what we can of ourselves. I'm personally very grateful to everyone who works so generously to hold our sangha spaces for us all, both face to face and online.This month we've got news of International Sangha Day celebrations for you to put in your diary - a beautiful festival of light, travelling right around the globe. And we've got ways for you to share some of that light - Dharma project grants you can apply for, and ideas for how you can inspire members of your local sangha to support our Dharma projects.
With metta,Lizand everyone at FutureDharma(and Badger the Collie, my working-from-home 'office mate')Ps - some of you may be receiving this for the first time, having signed up for news from us via the Order Office. I hope you enjoy hearing about our FutureDharma and India Dhamma Trust projects, but if for any reason you want to unsubscribe you can do so using the link in the footer of this newsletter.
[embed]https://vimeo.com/469720434[/embed]Join us for International Sangha Day on Saturday 28th November - a festival of light starting at dawn in the south Pacific, ending with nightfall in the north – ringing Triratna with a blaze of light in a gorgeous online festival of Dharma. We're working with The Buddhist Centre Online and International Council, two of our FutureDharma projects, to bring you a beautiful celebration of spiritual friendship and generosity. We've never celebrated Sangha Day on this international scale before - and we're very excited about it. More details to follow, but for now please save the date in your diary.
A big shout-out to Amsterdam and Cambridge sanghas, who are both holding online events featuring FutureDharma projects and fundraising for them. On 8th November Amsterdam sangha is hosting Vidyavardhini, a National Coordinator in India for Young People's Projects, who will join them live from India on Zoom. And on the 10th November, Cambridge sangha is celebrating our Translations projects and their work to make Triratna Dharma books available in many languages.Each sangha is aiming to raise £1,200 which will support a Youth worker in India and pay for a Dharma book to be translated into another language. Wouldn't it be fantastic if they could bring these two things into being? Both sanghas are happy for you to join them - (follow the links to their sanghas for more details).Hosting an event like this is a great way to enjoy a live event with one of our project partners from across the globe. Your sangha can 'twin' with a FutureDharma project and raise funds for them - a very practical and inspiring way to become more connected with our international sangha. If you feel inspired to hold a celebration please drop an email to Maitrinara, who will support you in making your event a success.[embed]https://vimeo.com/463775814[/embed]
In April we launched our Thrive Online campaign to raise £200K to enable Triratna projects to share the Dharma throughout the world in these difficult times. Our amazing supporters have given over £152K,
meaning we're just £48K short of our target. Over 1,000 people read this newsletter. If we each give £50 then together we will raise £50K and more than meet our target. You'll be helping more people like Indian Youth Coordinator Vidyavardhini fulfill their wish to share the Dharma with those who most need it. Please give if you can.
Did you know that FutureDharma awards small grants of up to £3,000? Our Small Grants are specifically for Dharma projects that need an injection of cash to get off the ground or turn a situation around. And we're able to make a fast decision, meaning that the money can reach your project just when it's needed. If you've got a dream Dharma project that needs that extra bit of love from our FutureDharma supporters, we'd love to hear from you. You can find out more in the video.[embed]https://vimeo.com/466244868[/embed]
You may have heard about the recent restrictions introduced by the Indian Government on charity funding from overseas. We want to reassure you that we are committed to our projects in India and are working to comply with the new requirements and continue to support their life-changing work.PS - our projects are only possible because people like you give. Please give if you can.
