Abundance in Simplicity

BAM logoBuddhist Action Month (BAM) is a festival of social action, with Buddhists worldwide engaging in socially beneficial activity rooted in Buddhist values. BAM is an opportunity for us to act on our deepening understanding that we live in a complex, interconnected world, in which all our thoughts, feelings and actions have consequences, for us and for other living things.

Cambridge Buddhist Centre is actively engaged and has been holding a series of events throughout the month of June, closely linked with the aims of the Circular Cambridge festival. Our chosen theme is “Abundance in Simplicity” – living well with less. A simple life puts less demand on our environment and society. And becoming more engaged in your local community can bring more lasting reward than short term consumerism. The reduction in craving can lead to a wonderful feeling of abundance.

The events so far have included an Art Exhibition, where members of the Buddhist community displayed their artwork, and an Art and Craft Sharing Day, where people worked together to create a gift for a good friend. These relate closely to the CirculArt Trail, which showcases the work of over 20 local artists who will be displaying their pieces made from re-purposed materials in the windows of twenty-one of Cambridge’s finest charity shops. All these events are encouraging people to be ‘creators rather than consumers’.

And coming up we have several more events, including a couple where everybody is welcome:

Kusala CafeKusala Café – We will be cooking up a storm of deliciousness from food that would otherwise go to waste. We will also be transforming the Cambridge Buddhist Centre into a cafe, as it was in 1928 when Toni’s Festival Grill opened serving food on the forecourt. You can come and pay what you like for yoga (12pm -1pm), food (1pm -3pm) and meditation (3pm – 4pm).

 

Clothes SwapClothes Swap and Repair – Please bring good quality, clean clothes you don’t need any more and wish to donate and/or swap for new ones! We hope we can encourage you to make a change by reducing waste, fixing things rather than throwing them away, consuming less and living a more simple and contented lifestyle.

 

 

Currently we are in the middle of a week-long collection for Cambridge City Food Bank, and we are hoping to take on future projects, inspired by our Buddhist values, to help our local community and demonstrate the benefit of living a simple, yet abundant, life.

John Turner