Buddhist Coalition for Democracy Blog
No Unsacred Places
“There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places.” —Wendell Berry The desecration of Big Bend National Park in Texas began last week. The area is currently being invaded by federal contractors who are clearing out land to begin the...
A Buddhist Case for Confronting Injustice
Since my early childhood I have been prickly about the injustices that I observed growing up in a brutal right-wing dictatorship and the inequalities I perceived going to church and elsewhere. How could there be so many people who went hungry, lived in primitive...
All Hands on Deck
The midterms are only 91 days away, and if the Democrats retake the House of Representatives, it will mark the beginning of the end of the Trump regime. Pro-Democracy forces need to stay laser-focused on helping the Democrats succeed. Why? Not because the Democratic...
Trump’s War Against Immigrants
In some future time when we look back on the damage done during the Trump era we will have much to mourn: the backtracking on climate change; the damage to science, medicine, higher education, healthcare, and free inquiry; the senseless war in Iran, the colonization...
What’s Happening in the BCD Meditation Group
For nearly a year, a small group has gathered each Wednesday through the Buddhist Coalition for Democracy and merged with the Reflective Meditation daily online sangha. We meditate together, but we don’t meditate away from the world. We bring the world into practice....
Semiquincentennial Reflections
Two hundred and fifty years ago, a new nation was born, based not on blood-and-soil, but on the aspirational belief that all persons are created equal and endowed with unalienable rights. These rights were not initially extended to all —slaves, indigenous peoples, and...
Protect Haitian Immigrants Now
Last Thursday the U.S. Supreme Court struck down lower court rulings that paused ending temporary protective status (TPS) for Haitian refugees. This means some 355,000 Haitians currently residing in the United States face immediate deportation. The Court majority...
On Taking Sides
In 1931, in the midst of an economic depression in which millions of people in the US were suffering from unemployment, poverty, and hunger, coal miners in Harlan County, Kentucky fought for better wages, safe conditions, and recognition of their union, the United...
Back in the U.S.A.
I was out of the country the last several weeks enjoying northern Italy. While I was away I was aware of the news back home, but my attention was mostly focused elsewhere. Now I’m back. A lot happened during my absence, but in a real sense, not much has changed. In...
What Are we for?
In turbulent times it’s easier to know what we’re against than what we’re for. The old union anthem “Which Side Are You On?” urges us to stand up against the “other side.” This is the opposite of Zen Master Bankei’s advice to “not side with yourself.” A colleague of...
A Look back at May Day
May Day has come and gone. I couldn’t stay home from work because I’m retired, and I couldn’t stay home from school because I’m not a student, but I abstained from shopping and attended my town’s local May Day Strong demonstration—one of 5,000 across the country. The...
To Sip the sun
When first I drew a borrowed breath of air, And squalling claimed my lease on mortal clay, I knew it not—but Fate had scribbled there A juicy clause to chart my pilgrim way. Not crowns, nor gold, nor love’s entrapping snare, Nor ancient scriptures of elders wise; ’Tis...
Poetry As Medicine for belonging
There was a time when I had all the words, and none of them could say what I was carrying. I could explain where I came from. I could move between languages. I could make sense of my story in ways that sounded clear to others. But there was a feeling that didn’t...
Has Trump Jumped The Shark?
The expression “jumped the shark” derives from a 1977 Happy Days episode in which Fonzie jumped over a shark while water skiing. The expression marks an inflection point when something—be it a TV series or a presidency—has passed its prime and entered a period of...
A Sense of Kinship
When was the last time you heard or used the word kinship? What does it mean to you? The common definition is that kinship refers to people who are kin, whether through blood or marriage. It can also be defined as people who are tied together by social groups. In the...