About us
We are a bunch of people who value the planet we live on; wish to meet all living beings based on love; demand respect and justice; and seeks altruistic wisdom.
We are part of many networks. First and foremost, we are living beings on Gaia - or the Earth. We are also people who have contributed wonderfully through culture, art, research and different communities of faith and outlook; and who are responsible for destroying the environment we depend on. Most of us are also members of one of the groups in the Buddhist Association (BF) where we feel at home and do the daily practice.
Through the Buddhist Federation of Norway, we are a member of the Council for interreligious and interconvictional dialog (STL); The Cathedral of Hope (HK); and The European Buddhist Union (EBU). We draw inspiration from and collaborate with various groups concerned with social justice and ecology. According to Paul Hawken, we are thus part of the world's largest movement ever (Paul Hawken, (2008), Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Social Movement in History Is Restoring Grace, Justice, and Beauty to the World).
Awareness is revolutionary
Our vision
In order to live well on this planet for seven generations or more to come, we must take care of the environment and live sustainably.
We agree with John Elkington who in 1997 wrote about 3 P's (in English): People; Planet; Profit/prosperity. By that we mean:
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People: We must take care of each other and prevent all discrimination, oppression and unfair treatment wherever it occurs.
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Planet: We must take care of the planet as a living system with many different living systems that all have their own value and should not be considered only as resources.
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Prosperity: All people must be given the opportunity to work and earn a living based on their own abilities, in healthy surroundings, for a respectable wage and thus be able to live healthy, decent lives.
Transformation
In order to take care of the environment and live sustainably, we must learn to transform vision and knowledge into altruistic wisdom in order to develop and manage research, technology and change. We draw on the ancient Buddhist wisdom tradition which emphasizes that we are all mutually conditioned; that we can be refined as human beings by facing the pain and suffering we encounter in life; and the best way to do this is with love, respect and wonder. Altruism is about finding healthy ways of thinking, speaking and acting so that it serves both oneself, others and society as a whole. Altruistic wisdom is about cultivating wisdom in ways that benefit everyone.