Karunika Adela Iglesias, a member of Nalandabodhi’s Comunidad Hispana, writes, “Collective karma shapes the ethical, social, and even health outcomes of communities, influencing both suffering and well-being. That is to say, through our actions as a group, we shape the contours of our mind and the world we inhabit.”
“We are made of the love and kindness that other people have selflessly given us, and other beings benefit from the love and kindness we provide them,” writes sangha member Justin Hellier.
Sangha member Alicja Bardin writes from Poland: “I have often thought about people I know but don’t have daily contact with. We are connected, interconnected by circumstances, places, other people . . . After all, being connected is not the same as being in constant touch.”
Mitra Lee writes, “Usually we focus on ourselves, on our own well-being, our goodness or badness, and our perceptions of pleasure and pain, right and wrong, like or dislike. In the practice of the four immeasurables, we train to extend our attention beyond ourselves and our habitual, conditioned thoughts. They help us to open a place for others in our mind and, beyond this, to see others as the same as ourselves.”
In a heartfelt offering, Francis Olivier shows the gift of being vulnerable: “It was during that night that I realized how difficult I’ve been, how unpleasant at times I’ve been in the world. Despite this, my friends in my community have always put up with me. Always supported me.”
“When I can relax and let go, when I can cease clinging to myself as being independent and separate from the environment, I see that everything is alive with interconnection,” writes Nick Vail. “There is no ‘me,’ and there is no ‘out there.’ There is only vibrant, spacious interdependence.”
