It was my turn to start the ball rolling with this months Field of Merit Newsletter. Each month there is an original article written by one of us. Unfortunately I ended up using a photograph I’d intended to use here in my article. Well here is the photograph anyway and if you would like to read the article that goes with it you can access it via the Newsletter Archive.

The post is not only about the joys of eating Dandelions and other vegetation plentiful at this time of year or about foraging in general. Though it might have been since I am enthusiastic about eating what grows out in the wild. I always have been enthusiastic however not a very active practicing forager. There is a reason for that. And it is the same reason why you don’t see campaigning on Jade. Yes, sometimes there will be a link to something that desperately needs spiritual merit injected into it.

It is good to work to relieve suffering, including taking up a cause. Many effective campaigns are started by people whose lives have been touched by an incident which propels them to help others in similar situations. In a way, and it’s a long story, Jade Mountains is the answering of a vow I made when I was 13. My brother had seriously gone off the rails mentally and had been taken to hospital. I decided I would find an answer or solution to his plight. Simple as that. The Teachings and practices of Buddhism are what I found. Eventually. So here I am doing my best to point to a way out of suffering, or rather to transcend suffering. Buddhist practice transforms the lives of those who take it up and keep going without falter. Fundamentally it is a life of faith which can influence the lives of beings universally. The spiritual difficulty of championing a cause comes when one can’t put it down!

My mission, if I have one of those, is to help point out a way to put things down. Not to encourage people to pick things up! While at the same time engendering compassion.