Dear friends,
We at the Glasgow Buddhist Centre are very aware that this is a difficult time for your community. We are living in a time of fear based politics, often fuelled by the use of hateful rhetoric and the scapegoating of marginalised groups and minorities. While the level of violence seen in some cities south of the border has, thankfully, not as yet been reproduced here in Scotland, we are nevertheless aware that this is a time of concern and, indeed fear for many.
We wanted to reach out in solidarity and love and to let you know that we do not agree with those who speak out against you, much less anyone who acts from hatred or prejudice. We hope that you can stay strong in these challenging times and ask you to please take care of yourselves and your loved ones.
In our daily meditations and in our rituals, we reflect often on friendship and on loving kindness and I will conclude this letter with a quote from a very early Buddhist text: the Karaniyametta Sutta. Please know that we hold you within our hearts.
In peace and solidarity,
Dharmacharini Parami
Chair of the trustees of the Triratna Buddhist Centre (Glasgow)
Karaniya metta sutta
The Buddha’s words on Loving Kindness
In gladness and in safety,
May all beings be at ease.
Whatever living beings there may be;
Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none,
The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,
The seen and the unseen,
Those living near and far away,
Those born and to-be-born —
May all beings be at ease!
Let none deceive another,
Or despise any being in any state.
Let none through anger or ill-will
Wish harm upon another.
Even as a parent protects with their life
their child, their only child,
So with a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings;
Radiating kindness over the entire world:
Spreading upwards to the skies,
And downwards to the depths;
Outwards and unbounded,
Freed from hatred and ill-will.
In gladness and in safety, May all beings be at ease.
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