Sangha Business Cards

Sangha Business Cards

Date Posted:
January 2006

One evening at Lama Zopa Rinpoche's apartment in the USA, six Sangha members were sharing stories about strangers in grocery stores, book stores, gas stations, etc., who come up to them and either tell them how happy they are to see them or ask them why they are wearing robes. One of the Sangha asked Rinpoche, "What is the best way to reply to a child who asks me why am I wearing robes?" Rinpoche asked each of the Sangha what they would say and then Rinpoche offered his reply.

If someone asks you why you are wearing robes, you can say:

“I follow the Buddha, who has compassion for all, who has shown the complete path to achieve perfect complete happiness and freedom. The foundation of our practice is not to harm others or ourselves and to help benefit others as much as we can. For that purpose, I shave my head and wear robes, which is the easy way to practice Buddhism. The meaning behind this is to achieve freedom from the cycle of death and rebirth and from the cause of all afflictive emotions, such as ignorance and attachment, which bring all the pain and confusion in this life.”

You can elaborate or take the essence of this message, depending on the circumstance and situation, who you are speaking to. Of course, if you know something better to say, then say that, otherwise you can say this. This is just to give you an idea of what to say, it’s not like you should only say that or just read a card.

Each time you explain that you are ordained and why, it gives you the opportunity to awaken other sentient beings’ minds and to enlighten them. It gives you the opportunity to free them from all sufferings and to bring them to ultimate happiness: enlightenment.

The Sangha members then mentioned the idea of carrying "business cards" with their name, a beautiful picture of the Buddha or His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the contact details for the closest FPMT Dharma center on the front. On the back they said they could print Rinpoche's explanation. Rinpoche said that this would be beneficial for them and others.