The Clear View Project is a new initiative of Buddhist-based resources for relief and social change. The work comes out of founder Hozan Alan Senauke’s long experience in the world of socially engaged Buddhism in Asia and the U.S.
Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote from the Birmingham Jail: “We are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.” This vision echoes the Buddha’s view of dependent origination, that life on this planet is contingent on the collective action and understanding of each of us. Each of us must take responsibility for the world. The Buddha’s moral teachings can be expressed in a single great vow: not to live ones life at the expense of other life.
The Clear View Project aims to put these teachings in action. In Burma and along Burma’s borders, we are helping monks to live in safety and continue both their essential practice and their compassionate action for freedom in Burma. We are providing aid to the families of Burmese political prisoners. In line with what the Buddha called the “four requisites” — food, shelter, clothing, and medicine — we are supporting children in Burma’s monastic orphanages. Along with material support, he will provide social teachings and skills necessary for building democracy in this long-suffering nation.
Clear View has also been in dialogue with Buddhist practitioners and social activists among India’s ex-untouchables. These are “new” Buddhists fulfilling the spiritual and social vision of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, one of the founders of modern democratic India, himself a Buddhist convert from Dalit background. We hope to work with friends in India, co-organizing retreats that combine meditation and teachings of nonviolent social change.
At home and abroad there are numerous communities that cry out for spiritual tools of transformation. Alan’s work with teachers and leaders from every spiritual tradition takes the form of a vast web of resources for liberation. With a clear view, a view that is tested and shared widely, we can follow the path of freedom and keep our eyes on the prize.
For further information, please contact alan@clearviewproject.org.
From time to time, Alan will also post his current writing here, which may or may not pertain directly to Clear View’s intentions. Thanks for reading.
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