The So-Wide Learning Initiative

These are challenging times. People are looking for better ways to understand life. How avoid the excesses of crass, destructive materialism while remaining rational? How to develop a more reflective, balanced pattern of living?

The Buddhist tradition offers much that can help to meet these needs. It deserves to be better and more widely understood tha it is at them moment.

The Society for the Wider Understanding of the Buddhist Tradition ('So-Wide') exists to that end. It promotes a range of activities:

	The first requirement is to improve understanding as such. We need to strengthen Buddhist Studies to train more people who can explore and explain the Buddhist tradition in all its diversity and depth. Oxford is a good place to do this. So the initial project is to raise funds to create the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies and to set it up on a sound basis for the future.
	Then it is important to support collaborative projects that bring together a wide range of Buddhist Studies people, from different specialisms and institutions. We also need to apply methods, insights and analyses derived from the Buddhist tradition to other academic disciplines and projects that apply the resources of the tradition to contemporary issues and problems in society.

That is So-Wide's mission. This site introduces it.

It is work in progress. For the moment, much relevant material is still posted on understandingbuddhism.org This explains the background to the OCBS project. It presents the Development Programme and fundraising needs.

Irrespective of the funding situation So-Wide is now solidly established. This reflects a great deal of voluntary work over the past 3 years.

So-Wide's first annual report, submitted to the Charity Commission last year, summarises the position. It includes the minutes of a public meeting held in May 2004. More material of this nature is also available.

In addition, preparatory work has been undertaken on a range of specific projects. Some working papers are accessible here.

Interested in reading Buddhist texts in the original? Why not join our Pali Summer School?