Dear Friends, Students
and well-wishers,
Greetings from the great continent of Africa. From my
heart, I extend to each of you warm blessings. I also thank
you for your
love and support this past year. We have all made a difference
in
the lives of people in many parts of the world. May this
continue
into 2007 and may each of you have a happy and spiritually
nurturing New Year full of inspiration and right action.
As
we welcome the New Year, we take time to reflect.
Life is good. Life is beautiful and life is a
blessing. It is a wonderful journey full of happy
moments and sad moments and sometimes even painful or
difficult moments as perhaps most of you have
experienced during this past year.
The question is: how can we capture the essence of the
past year and make it a positive influence for the new
one? We have the opportunity to find meaning and
goodness from the past.
We live in a world full of apparent imperfections.
Sometimes we get hurt in one way or another or we feel
pain. In order to learn from these experiences, we can
look at them closely. Taking time to self-reflect will
help you to set the New Year in a positive direction.
Start the New Year with an act of forgiveness. Think
of someone you need to forgive and make peace with him
or her. Find courage in your heart and say "I forgive
you and wish you well." When you forgive others, you
create a lot of space in yourself for your happiness
to flow freely.
We are human. Because of this, as we interact with our
friends and family, it is very easy to get hurt or to
do things that hurt the feelings of others. If you know
that you have intentionally or unintentionally hurt
somebody, now is a good time to have courage to say "I
am sorry." First say it to yourself and then follow it
with a genuine act of expressing it. If necessary,
have courage to ask "Will you please forgive me?" with
genuine concern and willingness in your heart.
Accepting responsibility is a way of expressing your
strength and wisdom and your life will be more
meaningful to you.
Think of one or two positive changes that you can make
in your life that will help to make life easier for
yourself and others around you. Your willingness to
change your behavior positively will open the doors
for happiness and peace in your life.
I will celebrate the New Year in Africa, in Kenya,
helping some people who are in unfortunate conditions.
My first trip of 2007 is on the 2nd of January. I am
going to Sudan to help some suffering people there. I
will return to the US on the 9th of January and hope
to send you an update then. Be well in happiness and
peace.
January 1st 2007
Therevadha Buddhist Center, Nairobi, Kenya
with love and blessings
Bhante Wimala
