[Noxassope]

If you look at forums like this, you find an almost total absence of critical engagement with social structures and the reality of daily life for the people of the world. We live in a world where (roughly) the richest 500 people are as wealthy as the poorest 500 million; 30,000 children a die because they're too poor to buy the necessities of life (and, I believe, they're too poor because we're too rich);

so? how do you propose to change this situation?

the horrors which climate change is going to unleash on the world are at the edge of human imagination, they are so awful

sounds very superstitious to me. although common sense tells me cutting down trees makes the local environment hotter, there is not evidence to date for man made climate change that is larger than the variations in sunspot activity that influence the temperature of the earth. in its history, the world has had hotter periods than now

So why, or how, can this, and the 10-mile-long list of similar or worse facts, pass by without comment?

Buddha taught the world follows the stream of ignorance & craving resulting in Dependent Origination. the most well intentioned advances in medical technology have resulted in increased population. the world follows in natural course to where ever it is heading. the Buddha taught to be liberated from this world rather than be emotionally attached to it

On the subject of Christian aid (as opposed to Christian Aid!), I'm not and have never been a Christian but I went to a (very expensive) school run by Benedictine monks, who, in addition to training the sons of the rich to take their place at the head of the social pyramid, also worked in the slums of Peru and in a particularly grim part of London in a remarkably selfless way. They did what was right (education and medical assistance) and whist I've never been able to understand how they could support, through their school, such an unjust social system, they did work hard to ameliorate some of the worst consequences of that support without making any attempts to proselytize.

As I mentioned in my original post, elitism & charity go hand in hand; just like Christianity, colonial exploitation & slums in Peru go hand in hand.

I honestly don't know but it seems to provide evidence that Bhikku Bodhi is on the right track.

if it is believed Bhikku Bodhi is on the right track then generally that is the wrong track. Bhikku Bodhi's pow is non-sequitur

as Buddhists, we examine causes & conditions. the causes & conditions for the Western charity movements are well documented, namely: human atrocities, poverty, slavery, child labour, etc, of the Industrial Revolution, colonialism, Great Depression, war, etc. when Western Buddhists wish to do charity work, for the purpose of doing human good rather than promoting Buddhism, they often do it with a Christian charity. this is not a competition between religions. there is no need to reinvent the wheel.

for example, in Sydney Australia, if you wish to be a telephone crisis counselor, you do it with 'LifeLine', a Christian charity group. now, the head of this charity group, called 'The Wesley Mission', is one of the largest owners of commercial office real estate in the Sydney CBD. i have heard the Church of England is another major property owner in the CBD. so once upon a time, 200 years ago, these English church groups invaded Australia, took the land from the indigenous people (who mostly died of introduced diseases anyway), built office buildings and then used some of the rental income to finance their charity wings

so Bhikkhu Bodhi expect Buddhists to complete or act on this scale?

which events caused the problems in Japan, Korea & China? Japanese imperialism? or the prior Western imperialism, with British atrocities in China & American threats to colonize Japan? which events caused refugees in Indochina and societies unable to recover from disasters in Bangladesh and in several African countries? colonialism? Cold War?

From the beginning, World Vision's activities have been focused on giving people – especially children – opportunities to alleviate their suffering and to improve their lives. In 1947, American missionary Dr Robert Pierce travelled to China and Korea and encountered people who regularly had to go without food, clothing, shelter or medicine. During the Korean War in the early fifties, he helped set up orphanages to care for children who’d been abandoned or orphaned.

Upon his return to the US, Pierce began raising funds to continue and expand his work in Asia. The strength of the public response was such that, in September 1950, World Vision was founded, with Pierce as its president.

World Vision was established in Australia in 1966. During that decade, World Vision expanded its operations to meet the needs of refugees in Indochina and of people recovering from disasters in Bangladesh and in several African countries. Where long-term assistance was needed, children began to be sponsored by Americans, Australians and others.

In the 1970s, World Vision's focus broadened from assisting the individual child to include community development. Since the 1980s, the “welfare” approach has gradually changed to a more collaborative relationship. Poor, marginalised people and communities work with World Vision to improve their lives and take control of their futures. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a private humanitarian institution founded in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland, by Henry Dunant. Its 25-member committee has a unique authority under international humanitarian law to protect the life and dignity of the victims of international and internal armed conflicts.

Until the middle of the 19th century, there were no organized and/or well-established army nursing systems for casualties and no safe and protected institutions to accommodate and treat those who were wounded on the battlefield. In June 1859, the Swiss businessman Jean-Henri Dunant traveled to Italy to meet French emperor Napoléon III with the intention of discussing difficulties in conducting business in Algeria, at that time occupied by France. When he arrived in the small town of Solferino on the evening of June 24, he witnessed the Battle of Solferino, an engagement in the Austro-Sardinian War. In a single day, about 40,000 soldiers on both sides died or were left wounded on the field. Jean-Henri Dunant was a shocked by the terrible aftermath of the battle, the suffering of the wounded soldiers, and the near-total lack of medical attendance and basic care. He completely abandoned the original intent of his trip and for several days he devoted himself to helping with the treatment and care for the wounded. He succeeded in organizing an overwhelming level of relief assistance by motivating the local villagers to aid without discrimination. kind regards