At Aro Ling we were delighted to be part of a series of events being organised by different faith communities in association with the Interfaith Council of Wales. We hosted an Interfaith Fire Ceremony to celebrate Buddha Day. It was a joyful occasion. The weather was perfect for an outdoor event, and everyone enjoyed taking part in the celebration. First I gave a short talk on the significance of Buddha Day for Buddhists, and the format of the ceremony itself. The fire was created over a mandala, and oil was poured onto it as an offering throughout the ceremony. A thread-cross was burned at the end of the ceremony. The woven threads symbolise the elements earth, water, fire, air, and space, using the colours yellow, white, red, green, and blue. The elements represent physical and psychological qualities. The threads are woven to decrease distortion of the elements, and to increase the enlightened qualities.
After the ceremony, while the fire was still lively, those attending were invited to place messages in the fire. The symbolism of burning messages is to let go of something unhelpful, such as a grudge or an irritation, and to effectuate something helpful, such as a good wish for someone, or a personal aspiration.
On the 12th of October I attended two meetings in Cardiff Bay: one at Ty Hywel with the Welsh Assembly Government Faith Communities Forum and then following that in the conference room at the Lightship with the Interfaith Council of Wales.
I am starting to get used to these meetings. It felt a bit overwhelming when I first accepted the post of Chair of the Buddhist Council of Wales as I have never had a job that involved a lot of meetings, but everyone is friendly and the meetings are professional and efficient. I am starting to think of many of the Interfaith Council members as friends.
The Ty Hywel meeting was the first I had attended chaired by the First Minister, Carwyn Jones. The most interesting item on the agenda for me was the proposals for organ donation becoming an opt-out rather than an opt-in scheme in Wales. Chris Jones, Medical Director for NHS Wales, gave a presentation. I was pleased to hear that the proposal is for a 'soft' opt-out which means that the next of kin will still be consulted.
There was also a presentation on hate crime research. They are looking into 'hate crimes' and 'hate incidents' with regard to prejudice on the grounds of disability, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity and religion. If any readers living in Wales have suffered in this way, do complete the survey. It is totally confidential.
On 7th July I was visited by Andrea Adams, Secretary of the Welsh Government Faith Communities Forum, and her associate Jo Glenn. They were visiting me because I am currently Chairperson of the Buddhist Council of Wales. Andrea Adams is visiting representatives of all the faiths who are part of the Assembly's Faith Communities Forum, as part of her orientation to her new rôle as Secretary.
Andrea and Jo asked many interesting questions and I thought they would make an interest series of posts. They clearly had researched the principles of Buddhism and were interested to find out about my thoughts on various issues. I was very conscious of my responsibility as Chairperson of the Buddhist Council of Wales, to attempt to answer the questions with consideration of the broad spectrum of Buddhism in Wales. The topics discussed—presented over the next few posts—appear in no particular order.
Buddhists and organ donation:
This is a serious and pertinent issue. I believe that the Welsh Assembly Government are considering changing the law so that organ donation becomes an assumed opt in by default – that is it will become necessity to carry a card to state that if you are not willing to donate organs.
I stated that I believed that many Buddhist would regard organ donation as the ultimate act of generosity and that in general terms it would present no problem in the Buddhist community.
I did add however, that because a tenet of Buddhism is rebirth, the state of mind of the practitioner at death—and possibly immediately after death—was very important. It is considered important to die with a peaceful and quiet mind. Some Buddhists believe that the body should be left quietly for a period of time after having been declared medically dead, as consciousness may not immediately lose connection with the body. In view of this a Buddhist's attitude to organ donation may depend on the timing – on how immediately after death organs would need to be harvested. Some may feel that there may be the possibility that there remains an awareness of what is happening to the body for a while after death, so that if organs are removed immediately it could be distressing to the mind-stream of the deceased.
Taking these consideration into account I said that consequently I felt that the decision about organ donation had to be individual and personal.
On Tuesday June 7th HRH Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall came to Cardiff to officiate at the opening of the Fourth Welsh Assembly government at the Sennedd. I was fortunate to be invited to attend in my role as Chairperson for the Buddhist Council of Wales. It is the first time I have ever attended such an event and was rather amazed by all the pomp and ceremony.
The only people I knew at the event were colleagues on the Interfaith Council so I innocently sat with them in the front row on one side of the hall. I did not realise that this would mean that I was part of the 'meet and greet' at the end of the ceremony. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, led by the Presiding Officer, Rosemary Butler, approached one side of the hall and Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, and the First Minister Carwyn Jones shook hands with those of us in the front row on the other side. Prince Charles asked me about my Buddhist robes and shook my hand.
After this we had lunch at the Millennium Centre in the presence of the Royal party - though my table was a long way away from them. I had the great pleasure of sitting next to John Clifford, Mayor of the Vale of Glamorgan for the meal. He is a delightful gentleman. Nearby also was Katie Dalton, the President of Wales NUS. We enjoyed interesting conversation. The food in three courses was delicious, beautifully presented and its serving was expertly executed.
Yesterday was the meeting of the Buddhist Council of Wales. Myself and my husband, Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin Tridral have been attending the meetings for a few years as Aro Lineage representatives. I have been working on their website a little as well. Yesterday I was elected as Chair – a post that lasts for up to three years.
My first duty as Chair was to attend a function at Cardiff Castle this evening. This was described as a 'meet and greet' with Jon House, the Chief Executive of Cardiff Council, Judith Woodman, the Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Communities, Housing and Social Justice, and a representative of Cardiff Police whose name I did not catch, with representatives of various faith communities in Cardiff.
The main part of the evening took place in the magnificent banqueting hall of Cardiff Castle. Judith Woodman and Jon House gave information on the work of Cardiff Council to benefit the communities of Cardiff and invited those of us present representing faith communities to keep in touch with them to voice the needs of religious communities in Cardiff.
After their presentations and questions and answers, we were treated to a short tour of the castle. We visited the Marquis of Bute's bedroom, the small dining room, the drawing room and the library. Our guide was most informative and entertaining.
The photograph of Cardiff Castle was taken by 'ö-Dzin in December. I believe that we walked up the steps of the circular tower to access the Marquis of Bute's bedroom.
