Work As Spiritual Practice: Introducing Reginald Ray’s Threefold Model

In today’s FBA Podcast, Mahabodhi kicks off a series of talks on the theme of ‘Work As Spiritual Practice’ with “Work As Spiritual Practice: Introducing Reginald Ray’s Threefold Model”. Based on Ray’s book, ‘Buddhist Saints in India’, this is a framework for considering the spiritual benefits and challenges of three roles or life styles within Buddhism: The solitary retreatant, the sangha builder who works within Buddhist institutions, the lay practitioner or social activist whose commitments take them to work out in the world. According to Ray, each plays a crucial role in the health of the Sangha. After exploring the different life styles, Mahabodhi talks about his experiences as the ‘retreatant’ writer. A talk in a series addressing the relevance of Buddha’s teaching to contemporary issues at the Manchester Buddhist Centre 2011.