All of us at Buddhist Global Relief wish to express our deepest gratitude to all who participated in our 2022 Buddhist Action to Feed the Hungry season. Hundreds of BGR supporters contributed their time, fundraised, donated, and shared in our online Dharma gathering, held on October 29. The event was a poignant tribute to the impact of our community’s compassion and generosity.

“Compassion means taking action,” Insight Meditation Society co-founder Joseph Goldstein said in his Dharma talk at the gathering. “This is what Buddhist Global Relief is doing so effectively, and so successfully in the world, that it’s just a tremendous inspiration for me and for many others.”

Goldstein was joined by an eminent group of Buddhist teachers including Konjun Gaelyn Godwin, abbot of the Houston Zen Center; Bhante Buddharakkhita, founder and abbot of the Uganda Buddhist Center; Ven. Lekshe Tsomo, founder of the Jamyang Foundation; Rev. Kiyonobu Kuwahara, of Berkeley Buddhist Temple; Raimund Hopf, founder of Mitgefühl in Aktion; Bhante Saranapala, founder of Canada: A Mindful and Kind Nation; Ayyā Dhammadīpā, founder of the Dassanāya Buddhist Community; and BGR founder Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi.

Through these talks, and through presentations from BGR partners Amrita Basu of Building Bridges India, Genevieve Waltcher of Lotus Outreach International, and David Palmer of the Joan Rose Foundation, we were invited to reflect on the qualities of our hearts that allow us to be open to seeing and being present with suffering, and to celebrate the joy that arises from taking action to respond to that suffering.

We at BGR are grateful to everyone who joined us in this beautiful gathering and to all of our supporters around the globe who make our work possible. Together, we are creating a more compassionate world.