Generosity

Acknowledgments to our donors

Most generous Bodhisattvas, dear respected Friends on our path,

we look back at an eventful year, our tenth year at the EIAB here in Waldbröl. With all of you we share many wonderful experiences, and together we have proceeded powerfully on the path of Engaged Buddhism. You will all have heard that our teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has returned to Vietnam, his native country, where he wishes to spend the last phase of his life; he has done so in full awareness and in great dignity. This, too, has been a very important event for our community, especially because Thay Phap An has negotiated this return untiringly with the government of Vietnam.

In many aspects we have re-invented ourselves during this past year; we were guided by our deep desire to support the greatest possible number of human beings to lead joyful, healthy and sustainable lives.

In 2018, we had about 4600 bookings. Our visitors came from about 35 different nations and spent about 17.000 nights here at EIAB. Especially our low-threshold retreats at New Year’s and in the summer have given many visitors the opportunity to learn and practice a mindful way of life and to take home many new rituals of our practice with a confident smile.

It was a broad range of people who have found us: from university professors of psychology to CEOs of Dax enterprises to long-term unemployed people or friends who find themselves in very simple employments. They have all gone home with new strength and courage.

A number of schools and universities have come to visit us to get an impression what mindfulness means. This will lead to follow-up projects.

Spiritual work for prison inmates was taken up again by EIAB, and we now cooperate with a number of prisons in the German-speaking countries.

Many of our brothers and sisters continue their German language lessons diligently, so they can interact with our guests even more skillfully and offer them the Dharma in German.

We have also made some of our rooms available to the participants of German language lessons here in Waldbröl after the rooms they had been using were destroyed by a fire.

An important project on our path is the construction of a new meditation hall. On February 19^th, 2018 the Fourfold Sangha of the EIAB celebrated the cornerstone ceremony for the new “Thich Nhat Hanh – Hall of Peace” as well as the beginning of the next phase of the reconstruction of the Ashoka Building. Since then we have been pleased to see this great endeavour progressing; the first, necessary conversions and additions are already visible, and we are impressed and happy to observe this.

The refurbishment and extensive reconstruction of the Main Building does cost a lot of money. But we can see how new living space is created; we come closer to our goal of offering beneficial courses to even more visitors and to gain rooms for more nuns and monks from Plum Village. Last year alone, four new German brothers and sisters were ordained.

What we as a monastic community manage to make a reality in Waldbröl is only possible because so many friends support us - by coming to our retreats and courses, by their active service and collaboration and also by their manifold donations.

Now in the early year 2019, we would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to you all for your support and encouragement. During the last year, you have continued to help us with your generous donations so that we can proceed in our work to fulfil our beloved teacher Thay’s deepest wishes. His wish to share the Buddha’s teachings with people from all over the world and to liberate them from suffering strengthens our daily practice.

“FOR A BETTER WORLD”

- this is our task that we can work on every day thanks to your donations.

And we will continue to do so during this year: Giving and taking has always been an important element of our teaching and our practice. With all our heart we therefore beg you to support us with our building project as generously as you have done before and in this way practice “boundless giving” (dana paramita) as taught by the Buddha.

With our celebration of the Vietnamese New Year in February, the year of the Earth-Pig has begun, with its promises of happiness, prosperity and contentment. In such a year of the Pig, also the sangha’s importance is strengthened once again.

We will certainly share many opportunities to experience this.

For the year 2019, we wish you and your family harmony, love, happiness and health. May you and your family, may the community of all sentient beings experience peace and wellbeing.