Hospitality
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Food and interdependence: Responsibility in food donation
Giving food to monks and nuns is a form of practicing generosity (dāna) and this is a custom still present today in Theravāda Buddhist countries. It is a practice that originates from ancient Indian Buddhism, which in turn retained this practice from the Brahmanical traditions of the time of the historical Buddha, where the person renounced or left the social obligations of caring for the family, property, and all social responsibilities to dedicate their lives exclusively to religious practices. This type of contemplative life doesn’t allow for work or an activity that allows you to support yourself, so you depend on the support of other people to feed yourself and…
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BIAPT Conference 2023, Practical Theology Hub Event: S.H. Cedar, S. Horne, and Patricia Palazzo Tsai (Video)
Today we are thrilled to release the video of the Practical Theology Hub Event on hospitality which was held at BIAPT’s annual conference 2023 and features S. H. Cedar, Steven Horne, and Patricia Palazzo Tsai. Please note that parts of the video have been edited in order to protect the identities of non-speaking participants. Check it out below or on our YouTube Channel.
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Exchanging self for others: the ongoing process of hospitality in Mahāyāna Buddhism
Before we begin, I would like to propose a brief exercise. Please consider this as an invitation to experience something different, but feel free to not engage in it if you do not feel comfortable with it. Let us imagine ourselves, with all the conditions we currently have at our disposal: food, drink, a roof over our heads, education, access to health system, a community we are part of, and also our abilities to benefit other beings. Even though we have all that, our minds are focused on the problems we have in our daily lives – papers to write, our jobs to keep, taxes and debts, conflicts with family…
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Refreshments, Art, and Play: Reflections on Community Service
When visiting the UK last summer my wife was surprised by our experience of churches. They had art exhibitions, offerings of cake, tea and coffee, and perhaps the most impactful for my wife were the areas within church buildings where children could play with toys and read. One church we visited was running a Beatrix Potter exhibition – by its very nature child-centric – that combined many of the above noted elements (refreshments, art, and play) leaving a deep impression. These features appeared to the two of us to be services for the public good, which were offered regardless of the religious beliefs or intentions behind the organisers or the…
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Welcoming the Stranger: Aligning Hospitality, Justice and Charity with Righteousness
This article explores hospitality, the theme of BIAPT’s 2023 annual conference to be held on 11th to 13th July 2023. If you want to explore these sort of themes further, please consider joining us for the conference. For details visit the conference website here. In the Tanakh (the Bible) there are many instances where we are commanded to treat the stranger with charity, justice and righteousness. Why? Perhaps it is based on the idea of reciprocity, a payback for having been guests, presumably quite good guests: “Because you were strangers in a strange land” (Exodus 22:20) This seems reasonable; the good guest becomes, hopefully, the good host. After all, every…
