The Great Cloud Sangha offers gratitude to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Jacksonville (UUCJ). Since partnering with our founders, Dr. Roger Cochran and Dorothy Merrick in 2013, UUCJ has kindly welcomed the sangha into its space.
According to the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), "Many congregations have Buddhist meditation groups; we have over 100 local UU sanghas," of which Great Cloud Sangha is one. The UUA also quotes Tibetan Buddhist leader Lama Surya Das on Unitarians' shared values in his Buddhist Voices in Unitarian Universalism:
Buddhism and Unitarian Universalism value many of the same things, including experiential practice, self-inquiry, mindful awareness cultivation, insightful wisdom development, and loving-kindness, combined with active compassion in the world. This is the heart of sacred activism — empowering, educating, edifying, elevating, transforming and liberating.
We are truly fortunate to have the warm and collaborative support of UUCJ for more than a decade. It illustrates the sincerity of Universalist principles such as acceptance of one another; encouragement to spiritual growth in their congregations; a free and responsible search for truth and meaning; the goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all; and, respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we both are a part.
A photo of the Great Cloud Sangha zendo at night, in the Duncan U. Fletcher room on the campus of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Jacksonville.