Beloved students, I greet you in the month of Wesak in 2016, the month from which we begin the yearlong journey to receive the return of the Buddha’s energies to Earth. May each of you chart well your special journey during these months and beyond. May it be for each of you a journey of transcendence. As you undertake this journey with intentionality, may you be filled with the wisdom and compassion that so marked the Buddha’s benevolence on Earth. Indeed, let us dedicate the fruits of our joint consideration here to the overall capacity of humanity to receive well Buddha nature.

The Theraveda and Mahayana Sects

As many are recognizing, the first four months of 2016 have been fairly intense. Further, the year is proving to be profoundly pivotal. In the midst of chaos, confusion, and destructive potentials all around the globe, you are faced with the dilemma of working out of your own enlightenment while working for the benefit of the entire planet. Of course, most of you want to work on the planet’s behalf. Yet often the complications in your own lives make it seem impossible to keep before you the welfare and benefit of all sentient beings.