New Buddhist Shop – Dharma Gifts & Supplies
Check out this new Buddhist shop here: BuddhGang Shop.
New Step
Friends, this is a new step. You know me — I’ve been sick much of my life, often weak, and so I don’t work for money. I’ve avoided selling things because I don’t like turning Dharma or friendship into transactions.
Jesus taught me not to chase wealth, and the Buddha sharpened that lesson: what matters is generosity, not the accumulation of empty things. Mara twists relationships into bargains and ugly exchanges, when they should be kalyāṇamitrata — good friendship. I would rather beg, and I still do. Good friends donate when they can, and it all goes to my partner Lynn. I’d rather trust in generosity, and when friends can give, they give. That’s the path I’ve walked for a long while now.
Here’s the first t-shirt design we’ve released, and it carries meaning. On the back is the Victory Banner, taken from W. Y. Evans-Wentz’s old book on the life of Milarepa — the great victor. On the front is the Bunny, the image from our very first design back when we sold shirts. It’s potent and timely now: a fluffy rabbit holding a spiked mace. Softness and sharp strength together.
Thich Nhat Hanh once said one of the thousand arms of Avalokiteśvara might sometimes pick up a weapon to defend beings. In his book on Reconciliation, he even used bunny imagery to warn against spiritual bypassing: the point of meditation is not to hide like a rabbit in its hole forever. Sometimes you must come out — and then it’s useful to be like this bunny, gentle but armed, ready to act.
But the gears have shifted. The platform that once helped us grow (through our participation in the Facebook Faith Partnership Program, which was dismantled some years ago) is now actively censoring and muting the message.
Things Change, so: Buddhist Shop, BuddhaGang Style
When I put out the begging bowl, it doesn’t reach far. The AI watcher watches and suppresses the flow. That’s how it has been trained. Friends who could support often don’t even see the request (or the need). So Lynn is opening this shop and I’ll be sharing about it, like this.
What’s in this Buddhist shop?
Buddhist supplies. Stupas, statues, amulets, malas, small reminders of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Shirts and art that carry the Buddhagang vow. In this Buddhist shop, you’ll find that you can use in your home, on your altar, or as gifts — things that can help to keep this work moving.
What does the shop support?
The Buddhist shop here supports Lynn. She is my bodhisattva partner, best friend, lover, and the one who carries the household with strength and wisdom. When you buy something here, the money goes to her. She manages the home, pays the bills, cares for the kids. She’s even carried debts on her back to help me see my children when travel was costly. This is how I channel generosity: to her hands.
I do not run a business. I do not handle money. Even subscriptions on my social media go to her. I live with expensive diseases, I read and write in spurts when I can — mornings mostly — then collapse into the couch weak and strange. That’s the truth of my experience.
So here it is: the Buddhagang Shop. Another way for friends to support the effort’s survival and growth. And I’ll still be begging. That won’t stop. But now there’s also something tangible to share: Dharma art and supplies that keep memory alive and give back to those who give to us.
Every purchase helps Lynn hold the family steady, which means I can keep doing what I can: reading, writing, teaching, connecting the dots. This is for survival, for the household, for the vow.
We’ve Got Big Plans And No Funding
If the shop begins to bring in some steady income, then the next step is outreach — more social media attention, more travel, more ways to spread the Dharma. That means ads, which we can’t afford right now when we’re always barely scraping by. But if we can invest in outreach, the Buddhagang can grow more effectively and contribute more to the welfare of beings. So I’ll keep striving on in my own weird way. Buddhagaaaaang! The Prem saga keeps rolling.
With love,
Prem Das
Here’s one of the statues you can find in our shop.
