Find out how the UK charity is using digital advocacy to share secular principles in support of emotional and mental wellness.
The mental health crisis is one of the biggest challenges facing the Western world today according to the Pure Land Foundation. Global mental health is in a critical condition, and young people in the Western world are uniquely afflicted by it.
A study by Harvard Medical School and the University of Queensland showed that one out of every two people will develop a mental health disorder in their lifetime. The World Health Organisation estimates that an overwhelming 970 million people suffered from poor mental wellbeing.
In the UK, Mind estimates that more than 1 in 4 people will experience some kind of mental health problem every year, while in the US, the American Psychiatric Association reported that 29% of adults are estimated to be diagnosed with depression in their lifetime.
Mental health: A Gen Z crisis
In the UK Gen Zs are particularly affected by this global crisis. The Resolution Foundation reported that people in their early 20s are more likely to be out of work due to poor mental health compared to people in their early 40s.
Additionally, The Lancet Psychiatry Commission also reported that young people in the UK are facing an “alarming” spike in ill mental health, to which factors such as intergenerational inequality, social media harms and the climate crisis played a part.
In the UK, there is also a decline of organised religion among Gen Z, and yet, there is a propensity for them to look for meaningful alternatives. Young people are intuitively searching for answers to improve their mental health and wellbeing. The hashtag “spirituality” has over 6.3 million TikTok posts and billions of views.
Searching for spirituality
The Pure Land Foundation acknowledges that the young people at the sharp end of the mental health crisis are increasingly looking toward spiritual practices and precepts to support their mental health and wellbeing and are engaging with spirituality-related content online to learn.
Having previously supported an array of projects and events since being founded by philanthropist and patron Bruno Wang in 2015, the charity is now focused on producing educational and visually engaging content. It is doing this to maximise its reach and impact to audiences through platforms such as YouTube and social media.
From bite-sized learning animations to audio-based meditations, to videos with globally renowned practitioners of spiritual principles, the Pure Land Foundation is building a powerful platform to help people engage with beneficial teachings and ideas steeped in principles drawn from and inspired by Buddhism.
The aim of this content is to answer some of the most pressing questions around mental health issues today.
Answering the Internet’s biggest questions
At its heart is the Pure Land Foundation’s soon-to-launch core content, which is a permanent and growing collection of animated videos designed for YouTube and social media.
Each video poses a question that is surfaced through a deep dive to discover the most common questions that Gen Z are asking Google to answer about mental and spiritual health. Each video then provides an answer to the question, but presented through the lens of secular precepts and principles inspired by Buddhism.
The maiden episode tackles the subject of “What Is Empathy Burnout And How To Manage It?”. The concept will already be familiar to those dedicating their lives to helping others, such as NHS nurses or health practitioners, teachers, or even those who care deeply within their personal friendships and family relationships.
The maiden video explains how Buddhist teachings show that empathy burnout is not a personal failing, but instead, a natural part of human existence. The video then provides tips to manage this phenomenon so that those dedicated to a life in the service of others can flourish without compromising their own wellness.
Meditations on what matters
As part of its transformation, in August 2024, the Pure Land Foundation also launched an audio series on YouTube called “Why Buddhism Is True” which seeks to unlock the answers to popular questions about mental health and wellness.
The series explores the work of popular American author and journalist Robert Wright’s, and his bestselling book, Why Buddhism is True. It reveals how humans are hardwired in “our search for something better”, due to the genes we carry from our ancestors who were largely in survival mode.
The series is the first in a bigger series of “meditations” that will help to introduce new audiences to popular thinking and writings about spiritual and mental wellness.
On the teachings of love
Another video series that the Pure Land Foundation is poised to release imminently is the “Series of Love”, which captures the findings of author David Cadman, who is a Harmony Professor of Practice at the University of Wales, Trinity St David.
The author and academic has received longstanding funding from the Pure Land Foundation, and he has written several books on the teachings of love and its connection to the principles of neuroscience, psychology and cosmology.
This extensive video series sheds light on how the absence of love in our social structures has an impact on our lives, urging viewers to reflect on their responsibility to foster harmony and love. Audiences will learn about how to adopt life-affirming and life-improving practices, and about the science behind love itself.
Collaborating with a rebel monk
In October 2024, the Pure Land Foundation will host a one of a kind discussion with Japanese monk Osho Taigu.
A truly unique speaker, Osho Taigu is a chief monk at the 540-year-old Fukugonji Temple in the Aichi Prefecture of Japan, who had previously rebelled against the very same temple he grew up in. He then went on to start his own business at the age of 32, before returning to the temple by the age of 40.
The Pure Land Foundation will be creating engaging video content in collaboration with Osho Taigu to better introduce Western and Gen Z audiences to the monk’s message and spiritual philosophies on mental health and wellness.
Building upon firm principles
The Pure Land Foundation has supported institutions, charities, programmes and academics that promote social, spiritual and emotional wellness, with an emphasis on art and music. First launched in 2015, the charity’s core belief has always been that spiritual philosophies, particularly Buddhist teachings, can provide powerful solutions to mental health issues and promote better emotional wellbeing.
The Pure Land Foundation has always believed that one’s inner universe is often reflected in an outer reality; and that whilst one can’t control the world around them, they can, with the guidance of precepts inspired by Buddhism, control the way they respond to the external problems that they encounter. Doing this will help one relieve their inner suffering and will then be able to support better emotional wellbeing and mental health.
Drawing from a legacy of successful projects
The Pure Land Foundation’s past projects have included a series of high profile talks in collaboration with The China Exchange, The Pure Land Series, which included inspirational speakers and prominent figures such as Goldie Hawn, Bianca Jagger, Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson. The series covered important topics such as mindfulness, the healing power of music and arts and the impact of war.
In the creative world, The Pure Land Foundation has also been a supporter of BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival, with the aim of increasing the visibility of LGBTQ+ narratives to enrich the UK’s cultural landscape.
The Pure Land Foundation has also supported numerous academic initiatives, including The Harmony Project, which is a charity that produces nature-based curriculum and educational materials for schools in the UK and around the world.
With its new digital-first transformation and advocacy mission, the Pure Land Foundation is directly advocating for the benefits of precepts and teachings drawn from Buddhism as a conduit for better mental wellness.
However, its original charitable work also continues. In fact, the charity is perpetually funding external projects that embody artistic, creative and spiritual solutions for the benefit of humankind.
A digital-first future
Through this effort, and many more future collaborations, the Pure Land Foundation is determined to embrace its digital-first advocacy position to help to improve spiritual, emotional and mental wellness in the UK.
