Since the launch of the upgrade in August this year, many of you have kindly supported the Buddhist Channel (BC) through donations, or have given us a lift in kind by using the materials posted on the site and “doing something with it”.

Over the weekend, we have had a little “technical” spring cleaning. One part of the exercise was to have a stock take of our current position. Looking through at the statistical jargon churned out by the server’s web statistics, we were a little surprised at how much the site has grown.

The web statistics have indeed quite a story to tell. For starters, an average of 15,040 pages is downloaded everyday. That makes about 4 pages of Buddhist materials read every second.

At any moment, someone from some where in the world accesses the site every 15 seconds. We are discovered 30% of the time via Google Search, while about 6% comes via Yahoo. About 36% of our readers bookmark the BC as their home site.

If you think that Buddhism is an eastern dominated faith, in the realm of the BC think again. 36% of our readers are from North America and 33% more from continental Europe. If ever there is a vehicle to drive and encourage the practice of Buddha Dharma in the western hemisphere, the BC would be it.

In terms of dollar support, for every US$ 1.00 donated in November 2006, it brought in 214 readers. So it matters very much to us, whether you make a US$5.00 donation via Paypal, or a hundred dollars in any other denomination. All monies received are ploughed back for system maintenance and of course, to help support the news team.

Sometimes, as the case in November, we channeled parts of the sum donated to other worthy causes, such as the production of the e-edition of the late Venerable K Sri Dhammananda’s last book, “Where is the Buddha?”

As a result of that exercise, a kind gentleman from Japan, Yoshiko Demura took the initiative to translate the book into Japanese. By early January 2007, 5,000 copies of the Japanese edition in print will be distributed to Seikyouzi Temple in Yamaguchi, Aranna Vihara in Osaka, Housenzi Temple in Kyoto, Buppou Gakusya Temple in Shizuoka, Houzouin Temple in Tokyo, Zentoin Temple in Tokyo, The Japan Theravada Buddhist Association in Tokyo and other community schools in Tokyo.

Others see the BC in different light but their proposition to use its content for a specific purpose can be enlightening. Take for instance Venerable Song-hue from Seoul, South Korea. He runs a “Shelter”, which is basically a meditation center that offers study of Buddhist sutras and Dharma teachings for local college students and foreign expatriates. In the long run, he aims to turn his “shelter” into one-stop center for needy teens who wish to take up judo, meditation and practical studies such as computer lessons and English.

In the immediate term however, he follows the articles in the “Personality” section of the BC with a special interest in Hollywood and Asian movie stars who have taken Buddhism as their guiding light. He advises never to under estimate the power of pop culture on the young. And so he intends to translate the selected articles into Korean and distribute them to the youths. “At least they’ll (the youths) take a peep into something Buddhist,” he says of his initiative.

Efforts such as these, from people like Yoshiko Demura and Venerable Song-hue give life to the channel. Readers are not just “visitors” and the Dharma materials downloaded are not merely “hits”. Articles posted onto the site may just be digital text on a LCD monitor, but when customized in other forms, such as printed booklets in local languages, it becomes conduit for Dharma outreach. It gives the meaning “going global, acting local” a sense of reality.

What ever it, we are most happy to see that there are people out there who are using stuff published on the BC for good causes. We just don’t know what else that might trigger other kinds of actions. It could an e-card, or that quirky wallpaper, or even that mundane travel advisory about a situation in Bhutan.

Most important of all, we would like to make it known to you that we truly value your support. By keeping us going, you also play a big part in keeping the Dharma wheel well oiled. It’s a virtuous cycle that only dedicated hearts and devoted minds can appreciate.

Again many thanks for your support from all of us here in the Buddhist Channel, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. May the Buddha Dharma ever protect and guide you and your loved ones wherever you are.