Sajib Barua looks at how the Buddha advised on the global crises of today, from economic crises to military conflict
ukraine
Back to School: Integrating Refugee Children in New Communities
When children are forced to leave their home because of the ravages of war, they do not just need a physically safe environment, where they can grow up in peace. They need psychological support, oft-times trauma recovery, and validation and recognition of the struggles they have gone through. Such validation can be integrated into a […]
Love amidst Dislocation: Metta on the Move
There were children fleeing broken countries with their families long before the current Ukraine crisis. The estimated total of displaced children on the move globally is 50 million: a staggering number, each statistic a fearful child taking extreme risks for the chance of a better life. (American Psychological Association) The ancient Metta Sutta is famous […]
Displaced Dharma: Ukraine’s Crisis of Refugee Children
There are few experiences more distressing and traumatizing than being forced to leave home, and to flee somewhere, anywhere, that may offer physical safety from war. The endless calculations involved are exhausting: whether it is worth putting loved ones in further danger, fears of if the journey can be endured, and the sense of uncertainty […]
A Buddhist Prayer for Peace in Kyiv
Shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a small group of Buddhists, affiliated with the Nipponzan-Myōhōji-Daisanga, gathered in Kyiv’s majestic Mikhailovska Square to pray for peace, chant the Lotus Sutra in the Nichiren tradition of “Namo myoho-renge-kyo,” and call for an end to Russo-Ukrainian hostilities. The Nipponzan-Myōhōji-Daisanga is a Nichiren-aligned movement founded in 1917, consisting […]