News
October 6, 2025 — BCD, in partnership with the Insight Meditation Center of Washington will be holding a virtual Town Hall on Immigration. “Buddhist Voices for Immigration Justice: Compassion in Action” will be held on Thursday, November 20, 2025, 6:00-7:30pm EST. Our panelists: Tara Brach, whose teachings include a full, compassionate engagement with our world; Lama Rod Owens, an international influencer with a focus on the intersection of social change, identity and spiritual practice; Dr. Marisela Gomez, grassroots activist and advocate for spiritual practice with community organizing; Lenni B. Benson, Professor of Immigration and Human Rights Law at New York Law School. The Town Hall will feature an audience Q&A as well as a Call to Action with practical next steps for advocacy and opportunities to stay connected. Register for this event: https://imcw.org/event/?eventId=1665
October 6, 2025 — BCD regional groups are organizing for the October 18, 2025 No Kings demonstrations. So far, BCD contingents are assembling at several locations:
Atlanta, Georgia: Brenda Collins (bcollins12@hotmail.com) will be at the Liberty Plaza entrance with a BCD sign at near the Parking Lot to lead the BCD contingent. The rally will be held from 12pm – 3pm at Capitol Ave SW, across from the State capitol building.
Westchester, New York: Seth Segall (sethzuihosegall@gmail.com) is organizing the Westchester BCD contingent. The Westchester group will meet at 4:00 PM at the entrance to Harbor Island Park in Mamaroneck, NY on the southwest corner of the intersection of Mamaroneck Avenue and West Boston Post Road. Look for the big BCD banner! The group will also meet for a potluck lunch prior to the demonstration. Those interested in lunch, should contact Seth.
New York City: Karsten Struhl (kastruhl@tiac.net) is facilitating the NYC BCD contingent and will have a BCD sign at the assembly point. The NYC march begins at Duffy Square (47th and Broadway). The group will meet at 10:40 a.m. under the awning of the Richard Rodgers Theater at 226 W. 46th Street, south side of the street between 7th and 8th avenue. The BCD group will join the march at 11 am.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: John Murphy (jmartinmurphy@yahoo.com) is organizing the BCD contingent. The rally will start at 12:00 p.m. at Philadelphia City Hall, 1400 John F. Kennedy Boulevard. Participants will march east to Independence Mall, where the rally ends at 3 p.m. Look for the BCD sign, and feel free to bring your own signs.
Portland, Oregon: Beverly Daggett (daggettbeverly@gmail.com) is coordinating a BCD contingent to join as part of a larger interfaith group. The group will gather at 10:30 am at Pioneer Courthouse Square near a purple pillar-like banner reading FAITH for a short interfaith program and service. Look for BCD signs, and feel free to bring your own signs. At 11:20 am the faith groups will march together to the Battleship Memorial on Waterfront Park behind a banner that reads: People of Faith: Standing Up for Compassion, Truth, and Justice. There, at noon, there will be a big No Kings event (speakers, music, etc.). Finally, at 1:00 pm the continent will march through the downtown streets.
Sonoma, California: Vicky McKay (vmckay@sonic.net) is coordinating a BCD contingent and will have a BCD sign at the assembly point. The Sonoma March will begin at Sonoma Plaza, 453 1st St E, Sonoma, CA 95476. The BCD group will join together leaving at 12:45 pm, from the Sonoma Market Place Shopping Center located at 201 W Napa Street, Sonoma, CA, to walk down Napa St towards 1st St East & the Sonoma Plaza starting point.
Washington, D.C.: Kathryn Koehl (kathrynkoehl@hotmail.com) is coordinating a BCD contingent that is meeting at the Vienna metro at 10 am and then talking the metro to Federal Center SW and walking to the SE corner of Pennsylvania Avenue NW & Third Street NW in front of the Capitol Reflecting Pool at 11:20 pm.
Shazzie Bauer (shazzie29@gmail.com) invites Washington area BCD members to join a No Kings Pre-Rally on October 18th from 9:30am – 11:00am at Iona in Tenleytown- 4125 Albemarle St NW, Washington DC. The contingent will meet up at Iona to connect, make signs, nosh. and end with a brief meditation. They will depart for the No Kings rally at 11:00 am via the Tenleytown Red Line Metro. Feel free to bring food to share.
If anyone else is organizing a BCD contingent, please contact Seth Segall (sethzuihosegall@gmail.com) so it can be listed here.
September 26, 2025—The first episode of BCD’s New Horizons in Engaged Buddhism interview series has launched. Host Julia Sagegien’s September 25, 2025 interview with Rev. Seth Zuihō Segall is now available in video format on YouTube and as a Substack podcast. In addition, we have created a new website page for posting BCD videos. Julia will he hosting new live interviews each month. Her next interview will be with Daiken Nelson Roshi on October 30th at 7:00 p.m. You can join her live Zoom interviews here.
September 26, 2025—The first episode of BCD’s New Horizons in Engaged Buddhism interview series has launched. Host Julia Sagegien’s September 25, 2025 interview with Rev. Seth Zuihō Segall is now available in video format on YouTube and as a Substack podcast. In addition, we have created a new website page for posting BCD videos. Julia will he hosting new live interviews each month. Her next interview will be with Daiken Nelson Roshi on October 30th at 7:00 p.m. You can join her live Zoom interviews here.
September 6, 2025—The Buddhist Coalition for Democracy has joined an amicus curiae brief to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit along with other Buddhist, Methodist, Episcopal and Jewish faith organizations requesting that Mahmoud Khalil remain released on bail and not be deported.
September 5, 2025—The Coordinating Committee of the Buddhist Coalition for Democracy endorses participation in the October 18, 2025 No Kings demonstrations. To find out where demonstrations will be occuring near you, go to https://www.nokings.org
September 4, 2025—We are pleased to announce that BCD member Karen Hirsch has added a Buddhist Resources for Challenging Times page to the Resources section of our website. This section is a work-in-progress—a growing on-line library of audio, text and video resources intended to contribute to BCD members’ resilience in these increasingly difficult times. Karen practices in the Plum Village tradition and is honored to initiate this project with teachings from Thich Nhat Hanh and several of his students that seem to her particularly relevant for these times.
The webpage includes a submission form for members to suggest new resources to add to what we hope will be a continuingly growing library of resources. Karen hopes members from all the diverse BCD member lineages will submit the resources they find most helpful, and that this resource page will provide a unique opportunity for members to learn and benefit from each other.
July 15, 2025—The Buddhist Coalition for Democracy supports the Apache people in their effort to protect their sacred territory of Oak Flat from copper mining interests.
Oak Flat is sacred high-desert land critical to Apache religion and culture about 60 miles east of Phoenix. In recent years copper was discovered beneath Oak Flat and the transfer of that land to a giant multinational mining enterprise was authorized by the federal government in 2014.
Apache Stronghold, an organization of Apaches and their allies, has reached out to faith communities for support in their efforts to protect their sacred land. A lawsuit made it to the Supreme Court, but the justices decided not to hear the case in May, 2025. Baring any last-minute legal developments, the land will be transferred in mid-August.
On July 19th at 2:00 PM Eastern Tine there will be a multi-faith on-line prayer circle in support of the Apache efforts to preserve their sacred heritage. You can register to join in that multifaith call here.
We were informed about this story by the Oak Flat Buddhist Working Group which consists of members affiliated with the Dhammapada Sangha, Plum Village, the Upaya Zen Center and Spirit Rock.
The Buddhist Coalition for Democracy expresses profound dismay at the passage of the incongruously-called One Big Beautiful Bill, viewing it as an ugly historic betrayal of the vulnerable and a decisive move toward structural cruelty disguised as reform. For a tradition rooted in compassion, mindfulness, and the interdependence of all beings, the bill represents a stark departure from values that support a just and inclusive society. At its core, the legislation represents a massive transfer of wealth and dignity—from the poor, the sick, and the undocumented—to the wealthy and powerful. Under the pretext of fiscal responsibility and national security, it slashes vital programs while expanding the machinery of detention and exclusion and increasing the national debt to the detriment of future generations. For Buddhists committed to compassion and interdependence, this bill codifies the poisons that the Dharma warns against: greed, anger, and delusion.
The bill guts Medicaid funding by over a trillion dollars, imposes onerous work requirements on those already struggling to survive, and accelerates eligibility checks in ways that will purge millions from care and cause their death. Simultaneously, it channels billions into a grotesque militarized border infrastructure, surveillance systems, and detention capacity—all while delivering enormous tax breaks and regulatory favors to the ultra-wealthy. This is not merely an economic realignment; it is a moral inversion undermining the principle of Right View, which calls for open inquiry and relief from suffering in all its forms. Instead, public resources will be diverted to entrench privilege and punish need. The result will be more illness, more hunger, and more fear. The bill is not a reflection of democratic consensus or moral clarity—it is a spectacle of tyranny, performed at the expense of the voiceless. It fosters alienation, deepens mistrust, and ultimately sows the karmic seeds of instability and spiritual decay.
The Buddhist Coalition for Democracy endorses participation in the Good Trouble Lives On demonstrations scheduled around the country on July 17th. To find a demonstration in your area, click here.
Hundreds of Buddhist Coalition for Democracy members participated in No Kings Day demonstrations all around the country on June 14th. Photos of members particpating are being added to our Photo Gallery page. If you want a photo of you or your group carrying signs that identify you as BCD members to be added to our photo gallery, email them to photos@buddhistcoalitionfordemocracy.org.
The Buddhist Coalition for Democracy has joined together with 35 other religious organizations as a party to an amicus curiae brief in the case of Mahmoud Khalil v. Donald Trump, William Joyce, Yolanda Pittman, Caleb Vitello, Kristi Noem, Marco Rubio, and Pam Bondi before the United States Disrict Court for the District of New Jersey. The amicus brief petitions for Mahmoud’s release from unlawful detention. You can read about Mahmoud’s detention here and can donate to his defense fund here.
The Buddhist Coalition for Democracy endorses the Multifaith Mondays Witness to Democracy vigils in Columbus Circle in New York City. Vigils are held every Monday from 5:30 to 6:00 pm at the USS Maine Monument on the southwest corner of Central Park. These gatherings serve as a space for reflection, connection, and public witness, reminding us of the shared moral responsibility across faith traditions to uphold justice and human dignity. For more information, click here.
We are pleased to report that on April 30, 2025 Vermont District Judge Geoffrey Crawford ordered the release of Mohsen Mahdawi from prison on bail pending the court’s ruling on the habeas petition challenging his detention.
The Buddhist Coaltion for Democracy signed on as a party to an amicus brief challenging his detention, but when Mohsen was released from detention the brief became moot.
The Buddhist Coalition for Democracy expresses support for Mohsen Mahdawi and condemns his illegal detention and pending deportation under the Alien Enemies Act. Mohsen is Visionary Advisor to the Columbia University Buddhist Association and was formerly president of the Association. The Buddhist Council of New York, the Interfaith Center of New York, and the Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi have all expressed their support for Mohsen. Vermont Senators Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch and Vermont Representative Becca Balint have called his detention “immoral, inhumane, and illegal.”
You can donate to Mohsen’s legal defense fund here. You can learn more about Mohsen’s detention here and here.