This is a working document, aiming to become an invitation to members of Bodhi College to join a new Community Group of Bodhi College.
The Elephant Group has been meeting informally since January 2026 within the Bodhi College sangha. The name comes from John Peacock’s article The Elephant in the Dhamma Hall: What is the place of politics in Buddhism? (March 2024). This initiative was prompted by the gathering of the Bodhi College sangha in December 2024.
Comment
mh: I added the reference to the sangha gathering. It seems important as an origin.
The background
We are a small group of Dhamma practitioners — currently, white British men over 50 — who are concerned about events locally and globally: war, structural violence, genocide; climate change, depletion of natural resources, collapse of biodiversity, ecological overshoot; inequality and poverty, suffering of migrants, far-Right populism and power; and more. Issues like these evoke difficult - often, markedly different - feelings and impulses. They also prompt inquiry: what, for example, counts as right action, right speech and right livelihood in a a world where these are issues?
Comment
mh: ‘concerned about’? Or perhaps ‘engaged with’? We seem to have accepted ‘engagement’ as a self description, rather than ‘activism’. And we might say that we hold an intention of engagement, even when we are not manifestly, publicly ‘activist’?
We take much of our inspiration from the teachings of Early Buddhism, as is characteristic of Bodhi College. We recognise too the significance of later traditions. Specifically, we understand that dukkha is not only the product of personal greed, hatred and delusion, but also arises from living in societies that are highly extractive, unequal, and unsustainable and in which greed, hatred and delusion are powerfully institutionalised.
Comment
mh: In place of . . . greed, hatred and delusion, but also arises from living in a society that is highly extractive, unequal, and unsustainable I inserted . . personal greed, hatred and delusion, but also arises from living in societies that are highly extractive, unequal, and unsustainable and in which greed, hatred and delusion are powerfully institutionalised
Our intention
We seek to explore:
Comment
EK: (2) below feels quite tricky. My own view is that early Buddhism was rooted in a very different conception of the relationship between individuals, society and nature than what we currently believe. The possibility of human society destroying the ecosphere was not on the table. This demands a more radical rethinking rather than “understanding and deepening the traditional teachings”. For (3), I’d prefer to keep this less specified, and as something to explore in our proposed meetings. [!Comment] mh: In this version 2.1.1 I’ve tweaked 1/2/3 below in several places. Responding to Ewan’s reflection on 3, I inserted ‘for example’. I feel the examples are helpful.
- How Dhamma teachings can help to form our views, intentions and actions in response to social, political and environmental upheaval and distress.
- How engagement in a changing and often chaotic world can help us to reflect on our experiences through traditional teachings, as well as where we might feel the need to reframe some of them in a world in which some things - specifically, forms of power and social organisation - have radically evolved since the time of the Buddha.
- What personal training an engaged practitioner might wisely undertake — for example, around equanimity, views (ditthi), right occupation, grief, privilege, the risk of turning sorrow into yet another form of dukkha; etc. How may we mobilise Dhamma teachings to deepen our personal resilience as well as our ability to engage in the world from a place of friendliness and compassion?
We acknowledge that we all hold views and cannot completely escape them; but that we can remain curious about the frameworks we take for granted, and be open to perspectives that differ from our own. Dialogue that brings these differences to the surface is often not comfortable, but we would like to find ways of exchanging in which discomfort is not confused with unsafety. We feel the health of a group like this depends on trust, and a commitment, as far as possible, to turn up, to be fully present, and to cultivate common ground, mutual regard and where appropriate, support for each other: which we could see as aspects of kalyāṇa-mittatā.
We also acknowledge that difficulty in life is not only about the Big Things: ‘politics’, so-called. It also exists in everyday relationship: family, livelihood, community. We regard these as counting as engagement — ’the personal is political too.’
Proposal
At this point we are reflecting on what this group might realistically contribute to the Bodhi College sangha and its secular Buddhist programme, and we warmly welcome others who feel drawn to explore these questions with us.
Comment
EK: I’d be inclined to pause on this proposal and go into the first meeting without too much already on that table so that new members feel things are really open. [!Comment] mh: Responding to Ewan, I’ve tweaked this paragraph, retaining the proposal but making it clear that this is something concrete to be explored rather than a prior intention that members are being asked to sign up to.
In order to provide a concrete starting point for an enlarged group we offer a framing for a programme of exploration, built around the eightfold enobling path. Proposal - An eight-fold path of engagement. We are not dogmatic about this, but feel that it may help to have something concrete to explore and respond to.
Risks and protocols
We recognise some risks and consider some protocols. Risks and Protocols.
Comment
EK: Do we actually need a summary as well? [!Comment] LT: Probably not [!Comment] mh: I removed the reference to a summary. It didn’t exist!