For me the importance of our Centre cannot be overstated. I would almost certainly still be victim to the mental highs and lows which often made my life a misery. I would still be stuck deep in samsara, without a notion of how to improve my life.
Other people and their suffering
Over the last year I've been thinking a lot about other men and women in West and North Yorkshire who - just like me three years ago - have yet to encounter the Dharma, or enjoy the benefits of meditation. Men and women who are perhaps, right now, looking for something to transform their lives.
As a Buddhist, I believe we should be reaching out to them, inviting them to join us and helping them to change their lives for the better. Sangharakshita talks about The New Society and I often reflect that - if we can somehow keep on growing our Sangha - then maybe we really can have a very positive effect on our local community...
Just imagine a place where people are kinder, more considerate. Where material things are less important. Where ethical behaviour, truthfulness and awareness are more commonplace. Just imagine that this could be Leeds, or Bradford, Wakefield, Harrogate, York or wherever you happen to live.
I believe that our Sangha is perfectly placed to help make this happen - except for one thing: lack of income.
Wouldn't it be great if the charity that runs Leeds Buddhist Centre was able to have
a surplus of funds each year - rather than running at a loss of several thousands of pounds?
Wouldn't it be amazing if we could afford to reach out and welcome everyone? If we could offer pay-what-you-can courses and retreats so that no one ever needed to feel excluded because of low income. How wonderful if we had the resources to offer more activities, new courses, more study sessions...
In my opinion, this needn't be a dream.
Where we stand right now
Working in the office every week I see what goes on around here and I can tell you that running a Centre like this takes a lot of effort and a great deal of money. We probably could cut costs a little if we moved out of the city centre but that would make us difficult to reach. We could save a bit more if the Centre charity didn't employ Uddyotani or make a small grant to Samanartha for all the work he does. But that wouldn't work either, because then, the Centre wouldn't function at all.
From my experience here I can assure you that every penny of our income is put to good use. There is no room for making savings. It's also true that we get no outside financial help whatsoever (apart from gift aid which is your tax money anyway). All our income has to come from the people who use the Centre.
Thankfully Sangha members are generous. I know how grateful I am to everyone who supports the Centre with Monthly Standing Orders. There are around 40 of us - donating between £5 and £150 per month and raising something like £12,000 per year.
Even so, our income is less than £800 per week while our outgoings are close to £900 per week. We're still losing close on £100 per week - £5000 per year.
What we need to do as a Sangha
We are a thriving Sangha here at Leeds, and I believe that we can do better than this.
Breaking even would be good, but I believe we need to go much further. I think that there are more than enough of us to give our Buddhist Centre the surplus it needs.
This is what I would like you to do:
1) Look into your heart and consider what Leeds Buddhist Centre means to you.
2) Think about other people and what it might mean for them to discover meditation and Buddhism.
3) Look at your finances and see how much you can give every month to help the Centre reach out to those people.
My own personal dream is that all of us in the Leeds Sangha will be generous with our support, and that together we will create a surplus of money that can help to change the world.
To do this we need to both increase our weekly Friends' Night Dana and double our income from Monthly Standing Orders. So:
- If you don't donate by standing order, please do so now - and please donate as much as you can.
- If you already donate by standing order, please try to increase the amount.
Please play your part in giving the gift of the Dharma to other people like yourself
There is a standing order form here. Please download it now, fill it in and return it to me at the Centre office. I'll do the rest.
And please, please... don't leave it until another day. DO IT NOW, while you are thinking about it.
Let's be generous. Let's make sure that our precious Buddhist Centre can reach out to many more people like ourselves. Let's help to change society for the better.
Thank you.
Jenny
P.S. Please be as generous as possible. £5 per month is really helpful, but £20, £50 or even £100 goes much further. Please give as much as you can afford.
No. 25 
This week there was news of his ordination into the Triratna Buddhist Order at ceremonies in 
During this course we'll be looking at a different aspect of Buddhism each week - Who was the Buddha? What are Buddhist Ethics? Where does meditation come in? and What is meant by Wisdom? 
Metta Bhavana meditation and exploring ways that can help us transform our lives and the lives of others through the cultivation of emotional warmth, kindness and friendliness. 
On Thursday 7th July around twenty of the Sangha watched a video of a talk by Vishvapani about the historical Buddha, his personality, his teachings and the discourses. It was a compelling account of the life of Gautama and how he fitted into his contemporary culture. Vishvapani is well known for his contributions to Thought for the Day on Radio 4 and for his book on the Buddhas life and times: Gautama Buddha - The Life and Teachings of the Awakened One.
The figure of Avalokiteshvara has a particularly strong link with the Triratna Buddhist Community as Sangharakshita, our founder and teacher, has said that he sees the thousand armed form reaching out to help all sentient beings as a symbol of the Order.
The sound of over 400 voices chanting the refuges and precepts, children acting out the story of Angulimara, a single voice singing the Karaniya Metta Sutta in Pali, a team of 30 of us washing up after lunch in an old army tent, driving rain and warm sun, quirky composting toilets, a sea of tents, laughter, good food, and an atmosphere of kindness and love pervading the air... just a few of the many, many images that linger in my mind a couple of weeks after the event.
The Triratna International retreat at Taraloka was a very special kind of space. People coming together from all over Europe - even India - and hundreds from the UK, forming a beautiful if transient sangha. There were 8 of us there from Leeds: Ann, Billy, Colin, Jan, Jonathan, Kathy, Khemasara, and myself. There were beautiful pujas, entertaing and informative talks, fantastic workshops, stories, meditation and a chance to really 'Re-imagine the Buddha' in all kinds of ways - even (thanks to Ratnaguna) imagining the tone of Gautama's voice as he delivered his teachings. 
did an amazing job feeding us all with delicious hot food, delivered on time, every time, while Vajragupta and his team kept all the events running smoothly. 
