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By Kaspa Thompson

May we remember the beauty of the Earth and of all living things
May we remember how much we have already lost
May we remember that what we do today can change the future

Stepping out into the city, sitting in the road
occupying the places that we are not allowed to be in
May we find peace in the midst of chaos
May we find energy in the midst of peace
May we find equanimity in the midst of noise and surrounded by the police
May we find compassion for all beings

Having taken refuge and knowing we are loved
May we make space for all of our feelings without being overwhelmed by them
May we meet our own anger and grief with compassion and understanding
May we meet the frustration and fear of others with love

In the midst of our own difficulty may we remember that protest is not a right shared around the world
May we remember the different ways that we are policed in this country depending on the colour of our skin, our accent and the clothes we are wearing

There will be days when we are exhausted. There will be days when we are upset with ourselves and everyone else. Sometimes we will remember to be kind to ourselves and others through all of this and sometimes we won’t. The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are present and sending their merit and love and compassion towards us just the same.

May we remember that Buddhas act spontaneously with love and vigour
May we be inspired by their example.

In love and grief for the Earth. Tell the Truth. Act Now. Go Beyond Politics.

I saw a photo of a striking walking meditation shared on Facebook. It was an XR Buddhist action in Boston in the United States. I reached out and asked them if they had any more images, and could share some words about their actions. Jan Surry responded:

“The experience of walking mindfully in silence. The challenge of doing nonconventional action requires strong concentration on each step. Touching the Earth. Standing and walking together to remember and share our deep focus on the climate emergency and on climate justice. It feels good to stand up together and walk for what’s important.

Ringing the mindfulness bell in public – wake up!  Join us in our deep care and compassionate action.

We hand out a card which describes climate injustice and how XR is working for justice and climate change.  We practice silently sending Metta to each person we encounter. A silent heart offering to  acknowledge the suffering each of us and all our children and grandchildren will know.

Our care for all beings generates our action. This meditative practice is very powerful.”

Contact jsurrey@aol.com to find out more

XR Buddhists are keen to spread the word about the work that we do, and to welcome new people to our group. We had the idea of starting a monthly “induction” session where newcomers could come along and meet some of us, find out what we do, and how you can get involved.

We want to make these sessions interesting and relevant so have created a survey to see what people would find helpful for us to include. So, if these sessions might be of interest to you – you might be new to XR Buddhists or just haven’t made it to any events yet – please complete the survey by November 15th if you can. It’s just 4 questions and should take about 5minutes. Thank you

Click here to begin

Buddhists Across Traditions presents four talks throughout Black History Month: Honouring our Ancestors, Healing Ourselves, Nourishing Ourselves and Celebrating our Ancestors.

For Black History Month-UK (October) we have curated a series of compelling events, assembling a diverse array of powerful, pioneering international Afrikan descent monastics, elders, teachers and practitioners from various traditions (Mindfulness, Buddhist, Afrikan spirituality & psychology) coming together to honour, learn from and celebrate Afrikan heritage contributions.

For joining details see our events calendar, or the Buddhists Across Traditions Facebook page.

XR Buddhists promote these events in the spirit of friendship and solidarity. Some XR Buddhists are members and facilitators within Buddhists Across Traditions.