After social media
MAKING GOOD USE OF SUBSTACK
➡︎ Photo by ål nik on Unsplash
by Ramsey Margolis
Most of the people I know who use social media do so to connect with family members they only rarely get to see in person. Often there’s a distance between them, and this might be a physical gap or an age gap. Facebook, they tell me, is more of a chore than something they enjoy doing, even when connecting with people who were in their class at school, so long ago.
The word toxic can be overused, but when describing social media it feels appropriate. So what can people who do have a need to connect with others around the country, and around the world, on issues that matter to them? How can we keep in touch virtually in wholesome ways?
Here at Tuwhiri we’ll be focussing on Substack
Why is this? A small imprint with roots in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia, as we develop our presence in the USA and Europe, Tuwhiri hopes to connect with more people globally who want to engage with us, crafting a civilised and meaningful presence together.
Our intention is to encourage readers to not just buy our books, but to engage with our authors and their teachings as well.
Substack, we believe, offers a very real opportunity to communicate and collaborate at a distance in better, more wholesome ways.
With the ethic of care uppermost, as we connect we can find deeper meaning in a difficult world. Download After Social Media, a short piece in which this is discussed. We’re keen to receive your responses.
What do you think about Substack? Paid subscribers can leave a comment; if you’re not yet a paying subscriber send us an email. And, of course, start by liking, following, and (if you’re not doing so already) subscribing to News from Tuwhiri. ⁂
Supporting Tuwhiri
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For the cost of a coffee a month, as a paid subscriber you’ll be supporting Tuwhiri’s work hugely. Here’s Fred Herman:
I supported your work because I believe it’s part of the ongoing experiment of Buddhist thought and practice as it grows and changes both personally and globally.
Thank you Fred.
Thank you everyone else too. ⁂
REVAMP NOW ON SALE IN THAI
Change, Adjust, Move Buddhism
The Thai translation of Revamp took longer to produce than we had expected. It’s now available in ePub and PDF formats. This would not have happened at all without the support of a small number of you, and you know who you are. Thank you, all!
You can buy this book through our website. ⁂
Please consider asking your library
to put a copy of your favourite Tuwhiri
book(s) onto their shelves
CREATIVE UNCERTAINTY – A DISCUSSION
Bonfire of the certainties
The focus of the 2002 Sea of Faith conference in Timaru, Aotearoa New Zealand, was ‘Creative uncertainty’.
Keynote speakers brought in from elsewhere in the world were the British Christian theologian Don Cupitt, who spoke on The uncertainty of life, and Stephen Batchelor – yet to refer to himself as a ‘secular’ Buddhist – who addressed attendees on The practice of negative capability, Buddhist reflections on creative uncertainty.
The final session of the conference was titled, intriguingly, Bonfire of the certainties. Batchelor and Cupitt were joined on the panel by Lloyd Geering, and they clearly had a good time exchanging ideas. You can listen to this conversation on Tuwhiri’s blog. ⁂
If you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, why not
recommend it to a friend? Here’s a link.
ONLINE DISCUSSION GROUP
Secular Buddhist Network gathering
➡︎ Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash
An online group for people interested in developing a secular understanding and practice of the dharma meets online on the third Thursday of each month.
Each meeting starts with a short meditation, and this is followed by a discussion of issues related to a secular approach to the dharma.
Wherever you are, you’ll be welcome! The next meeting is on Thursday 15 May at these times:
9 am to 10.30 am Hawaii Standard Time
12 pm to 1.30 pm Pacific Daylight Time
1 pm to 2.30 pm Mountain Daylight Time, Central Standard Time
2 pm to 3.30 pm Central Daylight Time
3 pm to 4:30 pm Eastern Daylight Time
8 pm to 9.30 pm Irish Summer Time, British Summer Time
9 pm to 10.30 pm Central European Summer Time
5am to 6.30 am Friday Australian Eastern Standard Time
7am to 8.30 am Friday New Zealand Standard Time
If you’re in another time zone Time Buddy will help you find the meeting time. ⁂
We’re so, so grateful to you
When you read this newsletter, buy a book, let others know about Tuwhiri, or decide you’re going to pay for your newsletter, know that you’re part of the community which helps us to publish innovative secular dharma books. ⁂
Ngā manaakitanga
Tuwhiri’s editorial board