On 5th December Amida Trust became one of the founder members of the Institute for Spirituality, Religion and Public Life established by Leeds Metropolitan University to foster research and public interest in the relation between spirituality and civic involvement.
Leicestershire is establishing an interfaith forum. The Amida Trust representative will be Amida-shu member Tony Stellmacher, one of the Trust's trustees who lives in the county.
Dhamavidya attended by invitation the Convivium of Buddhist teachers in UK held at Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey in Northumberland organized by the Network of Buddhist Organisations 11-13 March 2008.
Our week of reflection on culture and the arts got off to a good start this evening as members of The Buddhist House community, including Dharmavidya, attended an event offered by the local Baha'i community at which film-maker Mark Bamford showed hie film The Hero and talked about the influence that being Baha'i had had upon his life and work. The meeting was also attended by novelist Rod Duncan. Much intense discussion resulted. What makes a work of art spiritual? How does spirituality change an artist's approach? Is there a danger is spirituality using art? Is art intrinsically spiritual? What is the nature of creativity? These and many more questions will fuel our inquiries over the coming nine days.