AWAKENED ACTION: Making the Future in the Present
2025-11-14 - 2025-11-16
This special gathering is a time to explore how in this very moment, we make the future in the present. Today, we find ourselves moving against attempts to step backward into greater and greater harm. In this important time together we will explore through teachings, story, practice, meeting each other warm hand to warm hand, the treasures of imagination and revolutionary joy, the gift of moral beauty as resistance against moral injury, the liberating power of wise hope, the brave stepping toward the good, and the special skill of discovering the way forward in a pace that is sane, but with the commitment to go!
Five remarkable women will guide us in this time together… renowned writers Terry Tempest William and Rebecca Solnit, lawyer and Buddhist teacher Valerie Brown, beloved Zen teacher and social activist Roshi Joan Halifax, and on Saturday evening, climate diplomat Christiana Figueres who hopes to join us from Brazil, where she will be part of the COP30 in Belem.
Detailed schedule and registration at:
https://www.upaya.org/program/awakened-action-making-the-future-in-the-present-online-2025/

BCD Coordinating Committee Meeting
2025-11-14 17:00 - 18:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Event

Buddhist Voices for Immigration Justice: Compassion in Action
2025-11-20 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom Event
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

BCD Engaged Buddhist Book Club
2025-12-03 08:00 - 17:00, 2025-12-03 18:15 - 18:30, 2025-12-09 18:15 - 18:30, 2025-12-16 18:15 - 18:30, 2025-12-23 18:15 - 18:30, 2025-12-30 18:15 - 18:30, 2026-01-06 19:15 - 20:30, 2026-01-13 19:15 - 20:30 and 3 more dates | Zoom Event
This weekly book club is hosted by Kat Symington Muendell. Each week, members will discuss a book or article related to engaged Buddhism.
Email Kat at bcdbookclub@gmail.com for the weekly reading assignment.
To join, click on: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85776917873?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 857 7691 7873
Passcode: [REDACTED]

BCD Live Interview: New Horizons in Engaged Buddhism host Julia Sagebien interviews Francisco "Paco" Lugoviña Roshi
2025-12-04 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom Event
In this third of a series of monthly live interviews with engaged Buddhist thought leaders, host Julia Sagebien interviews Francisco “Paco” Lugoviña Roshi about his vision for engaged Buddhism. The interview will last 30 minutes and be followed by an opportunity for question and answers by viewers. Roshi Paco is a Dharma heir to Bernie Glassman Roshi and a board member of the Zen Peacemakers organization. He co-founded the Hudson River Peacemaker Center: House of One People, in Yonkers, New York. He has worked with gang members and youth and participated in Bearing Witness Retreats and pilgrimages to Tibet, Auschwitz-Birkenau, India, Sri Lanka, Rwanda, as well as on the streets of New York and other US cities.
You can join via Zoom here

SDGs (the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals) & Buddhism: What can we do now for our future?
2025-12-13 17:00 - 19:00
We, the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, Higashi Honganji, Nichiren Shu, and Soto Zen International Centers in the Bay Area, have come together to form the Bay Area Buddhist Association (BBA).Together, we are organizing an interdenominational Buddhist event to explore how Buddhism relates to the United Nations SDGs.
Join us for the next event in our ongoing series exploring the deep connection between Buddhist principles and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDGs are 17 global goals adopted by 193 countries of the United Nations to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure peace and prosperity for all by 2030. They call for inclusive, sustainable action that leaves no one behind.
Speakers:
Rev. Kiyonobu Kuwahara, Jodo Shinshu
Rev. Myokei Caine-Barrett, Shonin, Nichiren Shu
Rev. Konjin Godwin, Soto Zen
Register at
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDmhavOhCIX7GQu5b58wmZYrQkVuHxS4WRKNm1B3r4QomwLA/viewform

Actualizing Unfaltering Engaged Practice In Our Time – LOVE with Frank Ostaseski and Sharon Salzberg
2025-12-14 13:00 - 14:30
Join us in the continued commitment to social and environmental engagement and justice in this very complex time, to exploring the roots of structural violence in our social systems, and to engaging in the world in a courageous way based on contemplative practice and views that actualize non-separateness, interbeing, equity, compassion, justice, integrity, courage, dignity, and unshakable awareness.
This monthly series is stewarded by Roshi Joan Halifax, Sensei Kodo Roen, and Sensei Wendy Dainin Lau.
We are so grateful that Frank Ostaseski and Sharon Salzberg are enthusiastic to do this program online.
Frank Ostaseski (Ko-i Jido) is an internationally respected Buddhist teacher, visionary cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project, and founder of the Metta Institute. Frank was empowered as a Dharma Holder (Hoshi) by Upaya’s Abbot Roshi Joan Halifax.
Sharon Salzberg is a pioneer in the field of meditation, a world-renowned teacher and NY Times bestselling author. She has played a crucial role in bringing meditation and mindfulness to the West and into mainstream culture since 1974, when she first began teaching.
Register at
https://www.upaya.org/programs/register.php?id=2835

Mindful Conversations: Inner Connection and Interconnection
2025-12-17 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom Event
For members who want to engage in a process of mindful reflection together, BCD now offers a monthly Mindful Town Hall on the third Wednesday of every month, from 7 to 8:30 pm New York time.
This gathering differs from a traditional town hall. It is not a forum for debate or opinion-sharing. Instead, it is an opportunity to reflect on our internal responses, how events are landing within us, and to discover meaning through shared presence. It includes a 15-minute meditation, breakout rooms (usually in pairs), and group dialogue.
Together, we co-create a respectful, supportive space that honors both our common ground and our diverse experiences. The blend of meditation, small-group sharing, and collective dialogue is designed to foster connection—within and between us, enriched by our differences.
Serge Prengel will facilitate these sessions.
There is a 4-minute video describing this event on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qju2WyneiUs
To register please visit: https://lu.ma/eou0h1i1

BCD Live Interview: New Horizons in Engaged Buddhism: Host Julia Sagebien interviews Dr. Sharon Suh
2025-12-18 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom Event
In this fourth in a series of live interviews with engaged Buddhist thought leaders, host Julia Sagebien interviews Dr. Sharon Suh. The interview will last 30 minutes and be followed by an opportunity for question and answers by viewers. Dr. Sharon A. Suh is professor and scholar of Buddhism at Seattle University. She received her BA from Trinity College in Asian Studies, M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity School, and Ph.D. from Harvard University. She specializes in Buddhism, race, and gender and the intersections of trauma and mindfulness. Sharon is President of Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women, serves on the board of directors of The Center for Mindful Eating, and served on the board of directors of Yoga Behind Bars. Dr. Suh’s remarkable book, Emerging Dharma: Asian American Feminist Buddhists on Practice, Identity and Resistance, has just been published.
To join via Zoom, click here.

BCD Coordinating Committee Meeting
2026-01-09 17:00 - 18:00 | Zoom Event
Meeting for members of the BCD Coordinating Commitee

Ten Percent More Engaged (Monthly BCD Group)
2026-01-21 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-02-18 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom Event
BCD offers a monthly gathering for those who want to engage in mindful reflection and find practical ways to be more involved in making change happen.
Our gatherings take place on the third Wednesday of each month from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. EST.
We start with a meditation, after which we briefly share what came up for us. The bulk of the meeting is devoted to exploring ways in which we can be more involved and effective in reaching out and making change happen… in a way that is realistic and productive.
A concrete example of the types of discussion we have is: How we can use social media more effectively individually and as a group.
We conduct our gatherings in a respectful, supportive space that embodies our aspiration for mindfulness and democracy in action.
The gatherings are facilitated by Serge Prengel.
To register and receive monthly reminders of meetings, click here: https://tinyurl.com/bcdengaged

BCD Live Interview: New Horizons in Engaged Buddhism: Host Julia Sagebien interviews Roshi Sinclair Shunyru Thompson
2026-01-22 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom Event
In this fourth in a series of live interviews with engaged Buddhist thought leaders, host Julia Sagebien interviews Roshi Sinclair Shunryu Thompson about his understanding of engaged Buddhism. Shinryu is a dharma heir to Roshi Enkyo Pat O’Hara and the Abbot of the Village Zendo. He is also a member of the Phajjsi Qollut Jalsu Zen Center in La Paz, Bolivia, which he helped co-found in 1992. Shinryu teaches Latin American History at New York University and is the author of books on Native American politics, colonialism, and revolution in the Andes. The interview will last 30 minutes and be followed by an opportunity for questions and answers by viewers.
Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/8246019794?pwd=[REDACTED]

Tricycle Event: "A Response to Minneapolis"
2026-02-05 13:00 - 14:00 | Zoom Event
Tricycle: The Buddhist Review is sponsoring an on-line event entitled “A Response to Minneapolis.” The will feature a talk by BCD Coordinating Committee member Seth Zuihō Segall, and a meditation led by BCD Meditation group teacher Linda Modaro. There will be time for Q&A.
The event is free of charge.
You can sign up for the event here.

BCD Women in Solidarity Group
2026-02-05 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom Event
This is a group for women to express and discuss their own lived experience within the safety of a women’s-only space. The group’s focus is on matters relevant to engaged Buddhism. Topics may include patriarchy within Buddhist groups, activist groups, and society at large. Depending on the interests of the members, the group may discuss writings by Buddhist women and/or invite outside speakers. The group is facilitated by Kanchi Mary Richards and meets the first Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m.
Click here to be on the BCD Women in Solidarity mailing list and stay informed about upcoming groups: bcdwomeninsolidarity@gmail.com.
To join the meeting, click here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87096192102?pwd=[REDACTED]

Buddhist Monks' Walk for Peace Interfaith Service at Washington National Cathedral
2026-02-10 13:00 - 15:00 | YouTube Livestream
The Buddhist Monks’ 2,300 mile Walk for Peace from Fort Worth Texas to Washington, D.C. ends this week.
They will hold an interfaith service at the Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday, February 10th at 1:00 pm.
It will be livestreamed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5lbugF8PHY

BCD Engaged Buddhist Book Club
2026-02-10 19:15 - 20:30, 2026-02-17 19:15 - 20:30, 2026-02-24 19:15 - 20:30 | Zoom Event
This weekly book club is hosted by Kat Symington Muendell. Each week, members will discuss a book or article related to engaged Buddhism.
Email Kat at bcdbookclub@gmail.com for the weekly reading assignment and Zoom link and to get on the Book Club mailing list.

BCD Live Event: New Horizons in Engaged Buddhism: Julia Sagebien interviews Ellen Korman Mains
2026-02-26 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom Event
On Thursday February 26th at 7:00 p.m. EST, Host Julia Sagebien will conduct a live interview with Ellen Korman Mains as part of BCD’s New Horizons in Engaged Buddhism series. The daughter of a Polish-born Jewish Holocaust survivors, Ellen studied with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche from 1971-1987 and studied the Way of the Bow with Sensei Shibata Kanjuro, Bow Maker to the Emperor of Japan. Since 2006 she spent over two years in Poland researching the Holocaust, promoting dialogue, and deepening ancestral connections. She is the author of Buried Rivers: A Spiritual Journey into the Holocaust. Julia will interview her about how we can move on from trauma patterns to finding our own best way of healing and repairing the world. To join the live interview and participate in the question-and-answer period, click here.
