Associacio Cultural Bodhyanga in Barcelona is the Buddhist Peace Fellowship's Chapter in Spain

Statement of Purpose

To make clear public witness practice as a way of peace and protection of all beings;  

To raise peace, environmental, feminist, and social justice concerns among Buddhists;   

To bring a Buddhist perspective to contemporary peace, environmental and social action movements;

To encourage the practice of non- violence based on the rich resources of traditional Buddhist Teachings;

To offer avenues for dialogue and exchange among the diverse the world sanghas,

 General Information

Buddhists of many traditions join the Buddhist Peace Fellowship to explore direct persona and group responses to the political, social and ecological suffering of our world. Drawing on teachings of nonviolence and compassion, recognizing the essential unity and interdependence of all beings, and extending the awareness of our Buddhist practice to include the peoples, plants and animals of our planet, BPF members and chapters seek to find ways to work for social justice, equality, and global concerns.

The Buddhist Peace Fellowship was founded in Hawaï in 1978, as local Buddhists explored ways to 1ink their concerns and work for peace and justice with their Buddhist practice. The time was ripe for bringing the peace and social justice movement to the Buddhist community and a Buddhist perspective to the peace movement. BPF formed under the umbrella of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and expanded FOR's ecumenism to include Buddhists. Since that time BPF has grown to include about 4,500 members internationally and over 30 local chapters around the U.S. There are affiliate BPF groups in Australia, Great Britain, Spain, Ladakh, Bangladesh, and Thailand. As an ecumenical network of individuals and local chapters, BPF serves to promote communication and cooperation among sanghas in their work of nourishing all beings and resisting the forces of exploitation and war.

The national office and chapters of BPF have a number of national and international projects, including:

• BASE (Buddhist Alliance for Social Engagement volunteer service/practice programs in several regions.
• Revolving Loan Fund for Tibetan refugees to begin self-supporting industries
• Partnership with INEB (International Network of Engaged Buddhists) based in Thailand
• Institutes and Town Meetings on Engaged Buddhism and urgent issues
• Working for human rights and the continuation of Buddhism in Burma, Vietnam, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh
• Campaigning for the release of monks and writers from Vietnamese prisons
• Study guides on Ethics for Buddhist Communities, Buddhism and Ecology ,Gulf War, Violence and Non- Violence
• Providing education and support for personal choices to live simply, conserve energy, and resist consumerism
• Participating in vigils and demonstrations for nuclear disarmament and weapons.control on a community and international scale
• Working with refugees from struggling countries.
• Days of mindfulness practice.

We have also published two editions of The Path of Compassion: Writings on Socially Engaged Buddhism, a Handbook for the Creation of Buddhist Alliance for Social Engagement groups, and have prepared bibliographies on Buddhism and social action and Buddhism and ecology. .

BPF publishes a distinguished quarterly journal, Turning Wheel, with articles by and about spiritual peacemakers around the world, which explores issues of concern to us all. Past issues have focused on community, sexual misconduct in Buddhist communities, prison practice, gay and lesbian people in Buddhist practice, homelessness, toxic wastes, tax resistance, Buddhist responses to the war in the Middle East, socially conscious consumption, and Buddhism and ecology. We have featured articles by Joanna Macy, Robert Aitken, Gary Snyder, Peter Matthiessen, Mayumi Oda, Thich Nhat Hanh, Sulak Sivaraksa, and Stephen and Martine Batchelor. Turning Wheel is also one of the few publications in the U.S. which has regular reports on the traditionally Buddhist countries of Tibet, Burma, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, and other Buddhist countries of Asia.

Becoming a member of BPF requires only a commitment to the general spirit of BPF's purposes and payment of yearly dues (membership is open to everyone regardless of financial contribution). As a member you will receive Turning Wheel and be kept informed of BPF-related events and projects. BPP members are Buddhist and non-Buddhist, and membership is not contingent upon active status in any Buddhist organization. To become a member complete the membership form and return it with your contribution to the BPF office.

Local chapters carry on many of BPF's projects and programs. While operating within the broad guidelines of the statement of purpose, chapters retain their autonomy and function independently. New chapters may form wherever BPF members and friends are actively supporting each other as engaged Buddhists.

The Fellowship of Reconciliation is the umbrella organization of BPF. FOR is an interfaith, international, pacifist organization which has established an outstanding record of action since its founding in 1914 on the eve of World War I. BPF is one of FOR's 25 religious peace fellowships. We have been warmly welcomed as the first peace fellowship outside the Judeo-Christian tradition. Through our affiliation with FOR we unite our efforts with dedicated peacemakers of many faiths and learn from the long tradition of Western religious social action embodied by their 30,000 members in the US and sister groups in 30 nations around the world. At the same time, FOR affiliation offers a broad avenue through which the Buddhist perspective can reach the peace movement. FOR embodies a wealth of expertise and resources that BPF draws on continuously for our understanding projects and programs. We benefit greatly from our relationship.

BPF is also affiliated with the International Network of Engaged Buddhists(INEB), an alliance of concerned Buddhists based in Bangkok and begun in 1989 by a member of our International Advisory Board, Sulak Sivaraksa. INEB's mission is to gather resources and strengthen the network of spiritual peacemakers in the traditionally Buddhist countries of Asia. Through Buddhist-based training workshops on a variety of social concerns, they are dedicated to strengthening Buddhism in each of the countries, as well as exploring nonviolent alternatives to the seemingly endless cycle of destruction and despair that much of Asia and Southeast Asia is trapped in. BPF works closely with INEB, and we are privileged to share in its rich depth of Buddhist tradition, to have the opportunity to better understand the suffering of our ethnic Buddhist brothers and sisters and to work together to alleviate that suffering.

BPF International Advisory Board ;

 email : info@bodhyanga.org