Consider giving.

2020 has been a challenging year for all of us. This holiday season I hope you consider giving to charities as one of the gifts you share. It doesn't need to be much, but every gift matters and opens doors of possibility and hope for others. Here are a few of the charities worth considering:

Feeding America

With the pervasive presence of COVID-19, many families are facing difficulty putting food on the table. There are numerous organizations that have met this challenge, and Feeding America is one of the highest rated and most efficient programs working to connect people with the food they need. You can also enter your zip code to determine local food banks if you want to focus on your community (Food Lifeline for Seattle). Every $1 donation provides ten meals to families in need. 

GiveDirectly

GiveDirectly gives cash to people in need, no strings attached. Studies have shown this to be the most effective way to help the poor and make an impact in their lives. They currently have campaigns in America and Africa to help those in need. Your dollar goes a long way to helping families in Africa, and we also have a pressing need to support those in our own communities across America. 

buildOn

buildOn empowers the youth to serve our country and the world in order to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations. They are a highly rated charity with various programs to help both in America and abroad. A $66 donation supports the education for three children in developing countries.

Charity:water

Charity:water funds clean water projects in developing countries, providing access to clean and safe drinking water. It's easy to overlook to impact clean water makes to our life until we don't have it. Millions of people around the world struggle to procure clean water every day, time that could be used for work or education. 100% of every donation goes to fund clean water projects.

Equal Justice Initiative

The EJI works to end mass incarceration, seeking racial justice and public education to protect basic human rights. EJI has a perfect score of 100 on Charity Navigator, meaning every dollar you donate has maximal impact. 

84,000

84,000 translates all of the Buddha's words into modern language, providing free and open access to all via its online reading room. $250 supports the translation of one page of the Buddha's teachings. Give a little, and then spend some time enjoying their reading room knowing that you are helping to make it happen. 

Buddhist Digital Resource Center

TBRC is dedicating to seeking out, preserving and sharing Buddhist texts through technology. For over twenty years they have been seeking out the hardcopies of texts and then scanning them into a digital format. I have been using their online library for over ten years to translate various texts, all of which are made freely available to translators and academic institutions. Projects like 84,000 and other Buddhist publications rely heavily on their work. 

There are a hundreds of other important charities to support. GiveWell provides a list of charities that make the most impact per dollar. Charity Navigator is a useful resource for evaluating charities and assessing the impact that they provide. 

Money is not the only gift you can share this holiday season. Our communities are in desperate need of kindness, patience, and giving each other a break. A smile goes a long way, but in a world where we often cannot see others smile, looking someone in the eye and being present for them can be a gift we can all aspire to share. 

The practice of compassion.

What do you think about when someone says to practice compassion?

Do you think about helping someone.  Lending a hand.  Tending to the suffering, feeding the hungry.  Do you think about a mother caring for her child.  A father picking up their child from an accident.

We tend to think of the practice of compassion as an act.

But what if the practice of compassion was to be open, available and responsive?  What if the act of compassion was to remain open, available and responsive?

The practice isn't about doing, it is about being.

Being open, available and responsive- you could help someone, lend a hand, tend to their suffering, feed them when they are hungry.

You could also simply maintain that space for them.  Be there, with them, not doing anything.  And not needing to.

Thank you, dear reader.

It can be a strange experience to share your thoughts and feelings across the blogosphere.  The connections you make, the conversations you have, the hearts touched and the faces you never see.  It can be both entirely personal and yet entirely connected at the same time.  It is hard to put into words the impact that others make in your life, usually the only thing that gives due justice is thank you.  The Tibetan for thank you is thujeche, which literally means great compassion or kindness.  Here is to celebrating your kindness and your support.  Thank you.

I sit, stand and walk,
catching fleeting reminders
of where we have been
and where we want to go.
Moments of clarity and insight,
of fear and anger and exaltation, 
strewn across a lifetime of moments,
captured in bottles left to drift at sea.

May you stumble upon what you need,
a worn wood inscription,
a chance encounter,
a guidepost on your journey,
a cairn on a forgotten path,
a note in a book you've always had.

Wherever you are,
this battle is not your own.
Those paths you walk,
those lonely and precarious paths,
you are not alone. 
We are out there,
we are all over,
and we walk with you. 

Readily available.

So often we have big plans. 

In order to make an impact and matter we seek out large scale projects and initiatives.  We need non-profits and funding and community outreach and social platforms for that change to grow. 

What if we simply planned on being more available?

What if our project was to be available when others needed a hand,
if they needed advice,
or a shoulder to lean on.

What if you were always ready, always available when others needed you?  What if everyone shared this same willingness and preparedness?

What would suffering, problems, mental illness and inequality look like if we lived in a community of openness and acceptance?

You might be the one we are looking for.  

What is truly beneficial.

The Buddha's teachings are not self-help,
they are self-liberation.
They are not meant to save your self,
nor to improve your self.
They are meant to liberate your self.
That is truly helpful.
Truly protecting.
Truly beneficial.