The OBC Journal is available online We have been busy this spring and are delighted to announce that the first digital issue of the Journal of the OBC is now available. The layout and content will be very familiar to our former subscribers, with the usual mix of articles, photos and news from around the Order. We also welcome new readers, joining us for the first time and hope you appreciate the journal and the insight into the life and practice…
…ious issues we considered. Some rules were adopted ‘as is,’ others dropped completely, while others required extensive revision. On occasion a rule would be sent to a committee of several people to revise and bring back to the assembly later on. I detail here some of the subjects and individual rules we addressed in order to illustrate the breadth of the various issues considered. (Since most of these rules are in our Temple rules section, similar…
…odhisattva. What seemed to “matter” before no longer seems important; what comes to the forefront instead is the necessity to live by a few very simple things: charity, tenderness, benevolence, sympathy, and gratitude. The first four of these are what are known as “the signs of enlightenment”, what to look for if you are really keeping the precepts. This is what you should see in someone who is really keeping the precepts and who has found the Ete…
…a monastery or in lay life, we all have to decide how best to arrange our lives and free time, factoring in the importance we give to our religious lives. This is especially true for the lay person who has more choices than someone in a monastery, where much of the day is predetermined by the schedule. The layperson must choose what type of employment to have, whether to marry and raise a family, whether to become involved in social and political…