In his essay “The Need of the Hour,” in the current issue of Tricycle, Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi offers us guidance on how to find our “sacred calling.” As the title of the essay suggests, the time to do this is now. He begins “The Need of the Hour” by reminding us of the urgency of this task.

It’s hardly a secret that human recklessness is reaching a critical mass, threatening not only our collective sanity but even our long-term survival. Ever more powerful and impersonal weaponry, endless warfare, super-quick changes in technology, a volatile global economy, the widening gap between the ultrarich and everyone else, climate disasters, species extinction, and ecological devastation: these crises are escalating out of control, and even what was once the most idyllic South Pacific island offers no escape. We’ve got to find ways to put our house in order, and we’ve got to do so fast; otherwise the rapid descent of our civilization towards collapse seems unavoidable.

To address some of these concerns himself, in 2008 Ven. Bodhi worked with several of his students to found Buddhist Global Relief (BGR), an organization that provides hunger relief and educational aid in countries suffering from chronic poverty and malnutrition.

You can read about BGR in the current issue’s “Good Work” section.

BGR’s Walk to Feed the Hungry
On September 10, 2011, in Riverside Park in New York City, I will be joining BGR at its second annual Walk to Feed the Hungry event. Many members of the Tricycle staff will be walking as well. The walk will follow a 3.5-mile route along the paved footpaths of the waterfront park.

If you would like to support BGR, consider making a donation on this FirstGiving fundraising page. All proceeds from the walk will go to support BGR’s hunger relief projects in Asia, Africa, and the United States.

Thank you!

Thank you for subscribing to Tricycle! As a nonprofit, to keep Buddhist teachings and practices widely available.