Welcome to the bumper end-of-year edition of Community!

The main theme of this edition is the feeling and emotional side of practice. Buddhism can become something of a dry intellectual pursuit without enlivening with practices that generate joy, such as dana, or metta practice. It is in the balanced development of the emotional and the intellectual that skillful practice lies.

The factors of enlightenment include the positive emotional side of our natures as well as the intellectual. They include joy and relaxation as well as mindfulness and investigation.

Festivals and celebration also have a role to play in developing joy and gratitude (You may have detected a somewhat festive flavour to this edition!)

The question is - what should Buddhists do at Christmas?

Do we shun it as a ‘Christian’ festival? Or because it seems to promote non-Buddhist values of materialistic excess? Actually it seems to me that Christmas has the makings of quite a nice ‘Buddhist’ festival.

First of all it did not start as a Christian festival, but as an ancient winter solstice festival celebrated in Northern countries. The Christian faith adapted this festival as it did with so many other ‘pagan’ events and holy sites.

Strangely enough it seems now as though the Christian veneer has worn very thin and the underlying ‘pagan’ customs have become dominant. Mistletoe, holly, Father Christmas, feasting, giving gifts, and drinking all come from pre-Christian roots.

However, Christmas seems to me to offer us good practice in giving appropriately - dana - and in accepting gifts graciously and without attachment. (Accepting is often more difficult than receiving, especially when you have opened the third pair of Mickey Mouse socks or an hideous ornament from Aunt Flo).

Actually, though, many people go to great lengths to find gifts which they think will be suitable - (including Aunt Flo) - and reflecting upon the good intention behind the giving is a positive and skillful response.

This is also a time for the extended family to get together. Respect for family life is another traditional aspect of Buddhism that can be positively developed at Christmas time.

So the challenge that I think we face is to avoid feeling trapped by habit and popular culture and to steer our Christmas away from excessive indulgence in food, the TV and possessions, and towards a more relaxed and kindly festival where we develop generosity and gratitude to friends and family.