The Special General Meeting held last Sunday 22nd of April 2018 was a very successful meeting. Of course the absolute good news of the day is that Ajahn Brahm is once again our Spiritual Director. The constitution was changed to enable us to form subcommittees from our membership and that will help enormously in the day to day running of the Society. Most importantly it will help to improve Governance and make the Good Offices of our Society more professional. It will also help to improve the involvement of our volunteer base. The committee now have the ability to adjust its structure and share its load in a better healthy way.
It was heartening to see the large turnout on the day. This continued when the support flowing in from our external membership and those who could not attend became apparent. The proposed motion passed without incident with a unanimous vote from the 148 full members present and with 170 votes for, and just one against in the proxy count. We believe the pathway is now clear for the committee to adjust our structure and spread the load of running the Society more effectively. Hopefully Ajahn Brahm will be a beneficiary of these changes so that he can focus his attention more on the things he sees as important as the Spiritual Director.
It is important for our Society to be able to communicate the Buddha’s teachings to the world in such a way that we do not become the propagator of just another “feel good — do good” message that gets lost in the noise of the world. We need to find ways of communicating the Truth of the Buddha’s message, not just to make the world a better place (which is always good) but to be able to communicate and display the simple message of the stillness to be found in the present moment. Then to show that “being that stillness” is powerful because it has its roots in the truth of the present moment. This is where we can truly see our human condition in relation to the world! This awareness is where we can come together in the world with compassion to live in Peace and Harmony. This awareness means we are not lost in our views and opinions, our desires and our hatreds. This still place of Truth between the extremes of the past and future is where we can truly understand our human condition. It is the “Middle Way” reflecting the Buddha’s teachings.
We are so fortunate to have our Buddhist Society set up so well with the Buddha’s four great assemblies’.
• The Assembly of Monks,
• The Assembly of Nuns,
• The Assembly of Lay Women
• The Assembly of Lay Men.
We have our monastics practicing diligently to realise these deep truths. The teachings from our Monasteries under Ajahn Brahms Spiritual Leadership are really starting to take root as they flow into our lay communities around the world. The stillness is starting to sing! We can all experience these beautiful teachings that go right to the heart of Truth. The BSWA is in many ways is a guiding light of the world.
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!