Buddhist Coalition for Democracy

BCD Women in Solidarity Group
2026-03-05 19:00 - 20:00, 2026-04-02 19:00 - 20:00, 2026-05-07 19:00 - 20:00, 2026-06-04 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | 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]

BCD Engaged Buddhist Book Club
2026-03-10 19:15 - 20:30, 2026-03-17 19:15 - 20:30, 2026-03-24 19:15 - 20:30, 2026-03-31 19:15 - 20:30, 2026-04-07 19:15 - 20:30, 2026-04-14 19:15 - 20:30, 2026-04-21 19:15 - 20:30, 2026-04-28 19:15 - 20:30 and 8 more dates
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.

Ten Percent More Engaged (Monthly BCD Group)
2026-03-18 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-04-15 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-05-20 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-06-17 19:00 - 20:30
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 General Membership Meeting
2026-03-19 20:00 - 21:30
This first 2026 on-line general membership meeting marks the one year anniversary of the founding of BCD. BCD will present information on BCD’s growth and development, current programming and activities, and future directions. There will be ample time for members to comment, make suggestions, and raise issues. Members are encouraged to read the 2025 Annual Report before the meeting
To join the meeting, click on https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85646166538?pwd=[REDACTED]
Or use Meeting ID: 856 4616 6538 and Passcode: [REDACTED]

BCD Live Event: New Horizons in Engaged Buddhism: Host Julia Sagebien interviews Mushim Patricia Ikeda
2026-04-09 19:00 - 20:00
In this episode of New Horizons in Engaged Buddhism, Host Julia Sagebien interviews Mushim Patricia Ikeda. Mushim is a Buddhist teacher, author, social justice activist, and mother based in Oakland, California. She teaches at the East Bay Meditation Center, where she leads the award-winning yearlong mindfulness program for social change agents, Practice in Transformative Action. Mushim is the recipient of the Gil A. Lopez Award for a peacemaker of color from the Association for Dispute Resolution of Northern California, and the recipient of an honorary doctor of sacred theology degree from the Starr King School for the Ministry. She has been featured in two documentary films: “Between the Lines” (on Asian American women poets) and “Standing on Faith: Women and the New Religious Activism in America,” distributed by the Pluralism Project at Harvard University.
There will be time at the end of the interview for audience questions and answers.
To join, click here.

BCD Live Interview: New Horizons in Engaged Buddhism: Host Julia Sagbien interviews Tara Brach
2026-04-23 19:00 - 20:00
In this seventh live interview in the New Horizons in Engaged Buddhism series, host Julia Sagbien will interview renowned Insight Meditaiton teacher Tara Brach. Tara is a spiritual teacher, psychologist and author of the internationally bestselling books Radical Acceptance, Radical Compassion and Trusting the Gold. She blends Western psychology and Eastern spiritual practices, mindful attention to our inner life, and a dedication to creating a more just, equitable and loving world. Tara is the founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington and, together with Jack Kornfield, has co-founded Banyan and the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training Program, which serves participants from 74 countries around the world.
To join this live interview, click on: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/8246019794?pwd=[REDACTED]
Or use Meeting ID: 824 601 9794. Passcode: [REDACTED]
To receive information about future New Horizons in Engaged Buddhism interviews, contact: newhorizonsinengagedbuddhism@gmail.com

BCD Poetry as Witness: A Contemplative Circle of Nature and Word (Recurring Monthly Group)
2026-04-30 19:00 - 20:30, 2026-05-28 19:00 - 20:30
Poetry as Witness is a monthly online contemplative circle of Nature & Word designed as a space for literary expression, mindful witnessing, and relational reflection.
The circle is facilitated by Lorena Saavedra-Smith, BCD member, poet, pacha philosopher, and ecopsychologist. Originally from Perú, Lorena is a lifelong storyteller and keeper of Andean ancestral wisdom.
This circle invites both experienced writers and first-time participants to engage with poetry as a practice of presence.
• Providing contemplative space for authentic expression
• Encouraging mindful, non-reactive speech
• Cultivating moral imagination through shared language
The circle emphasizes presence over performance and listening over reaction.
Each session begins with a brief meditation to ground participants in shared presence. A suggested monthly theme will gently orient the gathering and allow participants time to reflect and prepare writing connected to interconnectedness, nature, or lived experience. A short selected poem will open the evening and anchor collective reflection.
To get on this group’s mailing list, write to poetryandnaturegroup@gmail.com.
To join on Zoom, click on: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87407397997?pwd=[REDACTED]
Or use Meeting ID: 874 0739 7997 and Passcode: [REDACTED]
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Live BCD Event: New Horizons in Engaged Buddhism: Host Julia Sagebien interviews Kaira Jewel Lingo
2026-05-14 19:00 - 20:30
In this eighth live interview in the New Horizons in Engaged Buddhism series, host Julia Sagbien will interview Kaira Jewel Lingo. Kaira Jewel is a senior Dharma teacher in the Plum Village Zen lineage and teaches Vipassana in the Insight tradition. She is a member of the Plum Village North American Dharma Teachers’ Council of Elders. She has been practicing mindfulness since 1997 and teaching since 2007, and completed the four-year Spirit Rock teacher training in 2020. Her work continues the Engaged Buddhism developed by Thich Nhat Hanh, drawing inspiration from her parents’ lives of service and her father’s work with Martin Luther King Jr.
After living as an ordained nun for 15 years in Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastic community, Kaira Jewel now teaches internationally in the Zen and Vipassana traditions. Based in New York, she is faculty in a Buddhist Eco-Chaplaincy training and a guiding teacher of One Earth Sangha. With her partner, Adam Bucko, she is founding a center for engaged contemplation, The Beloved Community for Engaged Spirituality, in the Hudson Valley of upstate New York. She is the author of We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons in Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption and co-author of Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy, and Liberation.
There will be time for Q- and-A with Kaira Jewel after the interview.
To join this live interview, click on: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/8246019794?pwd=[REDACTED]
Or use Meeting ID: 824 601 9794. Passcode: [REDACTED]
To receive information about future New Horizons in Engaged Buddhism interviews, contact: newhorizonsinengagedbuddhism@gmail.com
Save the Date: The next live New Horizons in Engaged Buddhism interview will be on June 25th at 7:00 p.m. when host Julia Sagebien will interview Joshin Byrnes from the Breadloaf Mountain Zen Community.
