let the lotus of compassion

enfold the world

 WHO WE ARE
Buddhist Global Relief is
an interdenominational community
of Buddhists and friends of Buddhism
who seek to give concrete expression
to the Buddha's great compassion
as an ongoing project in the contemporary world.

BGR is an all-volunteer organization.

 OUR HISTORY
BGR was born in response to an essay by Ven.
Bhikkhu Bodhi challenging American Buddhists
to face the immensity of suffering that
besets humanity in our present-day world.

In May 2008, a number of Ven. Bodhi's friends

and students joined hearts and hands to
create BGR as a vehicle for addressing the plight
of people afflicted by

Poverty
Disaster
Societal neglect
The special challenge facing Buddhism
in our age is to stand up as an
advocate for justice in the world,
a voice of conscience for those victims
of social, economic, and political
injustice who cannot stand up and
speak for themselves. This, in my view,
is a deeply moral challenge
marking a watershed in the modern
expression of Buddhism.

--Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi

Buddhadharma (fall 2007)
 MISSION
Our mission is
to provide relief to the poor and needy
throughout the world
regardless of nationality, ethnicity, gender, or religion.

Bearing in mind the Buddha's frequent stress

on the value of giving food,
BGR especially focuses on providing food aid
to those afflicted by hunger and chronic malnutrition.
 GLOBAL HUNGER

We address the global problem of hunger.

According to the World Food Program, each year...

10 million people die of hunger
or hunger-related diseases.
Over half of them are children.

Each day...
over 100 million people wonder
where their next meal will come from.
WHAT BGR DOES

We fight hunger and

poverty in the
developing world. We
support projects aimed at
developing better long-
term methods of food
production to ensure its
beneficiaries a constant
supply of food.
BGR provides grants to
organizations in
impoverished communities
to meet the need for
nutrition, clean water,
education, and supporting
infrastructure.
BRG aims at long-term
solutions. We seek to
promote better long-term
methods of food
production, management,
and distribution.
BRG does not proselytize.
We respect the religious
beliefs of those whom we
serve and seek to work in
harmony with people of all
faiths to alleviate poverty.

Photo: Jeremy Barnicle/Mercy Corps

In giving food, one gives five things to
the recipients: one gives life, beauty,
happiness, strength, and mental
clarity.

In giving these five things, one in turn

partakes of life, beauty, happiness,
strength, and mental clarity, whether in
this world or in the heavenly realm.
-- Anguttara Nikaya 5:37
 EXTENDING A HELPING HAND
We assist victims of sudden disaster
who need emergency food aid.

We enable those hurt by chronic food shortages

to develop stable strategies of food security.

We seek to...
...provide emergency food relief.
 ...meet the need for clean water.
Photo: Swiatek Wojtkowiak FAO
...support education.
...enhance local infrastructure.
 OUR PROJECTS
BGR raises funds
for food relief and related projects from both
private donors and philanthropic organizations.

We work in partnership
with agencies, institutions, and relief organizations
already operating on the ground.
 CAMBODIA
Critical rice support to girl scholarship recipients
and their families
(Partner: Lotus Outreach International)
 VIETNAM
Providing meals for hospital patients
(Partner: local Red Cross)
 SRI LANKA

Microfinance women's livelihood projects

(Partner: Sarvodaya Women's Movement)
 MYANMAR

Relief for families affected by Cyclone Nargis

(Partner: Save the Children)
 SRI LANKA
Relief for internally displaced persons
(Partner: Sarvodaya)
 NIGER

Critical nutritional care

to pregnant women and young children
(Partner: Helen Keller International)
May I be a good doctor for those who
suffer from illness,
a guide for those who have gone astray,
a lamp for those who dwell in darkness,
a source of treasure for those in
poverty and need.

-- Vows of
Samantabhadra,
Avatamsaka
Sutra
BGR'S LEADERSHIP

Founded by Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi,

American Buddhist scholar-monk.

Advisers are lay and monastic Buddhist

teachers and scholars, such as
Ven. Heng Sure,
Ven. Thich Tri Hoang,
Rev. Joan Hoeberichts,
Andrew Harvey,
Prof. David Loy,
Michael Roehm, and
Prof. Jan Willis.

All staff are volunteers.

 BGR'S CORE VALUES

Faith: conviction in the power of goodness

Compassion: breaking out of the cocoon of self-
centeredness
Service: heeding the call of compassion
Moral rectitude: following the Buddhist ethical code
Self-cultivation: doing inner work to sustain our
outer work
Integrity: appropriately using funds entrusted to us
Prudence: using funds effectively and efficiently
Respect: honoring customs, beliefs, traditions of those
we serve
Collaboration: cooperating with each other, our
partners, and the people we serve
As an experience of suffering
shared by many, global hunger
should awaken our
compassion, opening our hearts
to the pain of the world. As a
manifestation of social injustice,
it should prick our sense of
conscience, compelling us to
alter the forces that subject whole
populations to such a cruel fate.
--Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi
 Please join us
www.buddhistglobalrelief.org