Part of BoWZT’s mission is to support socially engaged practice as an expression of the reality we live in. As Thich Nhat Hanh said, “Engaged Buddhism is just Buddhism. When bombs begin to fall on people, you cannot stay in the meditation hall all of the time. Meditation is about the awareness of what is going on, not only in your body and in your feelings, but all around you.”
We take inspiration from Robert Dairyu Chotan Aitken, Roshi (1917-2010), and his wife, Anne An Tanshin Aitken, two of Boundless Way Zen Temple’s ancestral teachers and pioneers of engaged Buddhist practice in the United States. According to Robert Aitken, the “monastery walls have broken down and the old teaching and practice of wisdom, love and responsibility are freed for the widest applications in the domain of social affairs.”
In this bodhisattva spirit of liberating all beings, Boundless Way Zen Temple has an ongoing Racial Justice Group whose mission is to open a supportive space to explore the connection between Zen, racial awareness, and engaged practices. Additionally, we have formed an Inclusivity and Engaged Practice Advisory Committee to ensure that efforts to promote inclusion and engaged practice remain front and center in Boundless Way Zen Temple now and over the long term.
Boundless Way Zen Temple members across our organization participate in a wide range of engaged practices, and we invite you to join us. Among other things, our sangha members:
- Lead Zen meditation groups in Massachusetts prisons;
- Lead Zen meditation groups for those experiencing homelessness at a Soup Kitchen and YMCA in Worcester;
- Advocate and run clothing drives for those suffering from homelessness in Waltham;
- Serve as resources for imprisoned people through Critical Resistance;
- Join other social justice demonstrations;
- Advocate for climate justice with Extinction Rebellion, FRRACS, and other local environmental groups;
- Volunteer in disaster zones with the American Red Cross Disaster Action Team;
- Serve on the Reparative Panel practicing restorative justice with the Brattleboro Community Justice Initiative;
- Present a traveling anti-war show;
- Volunteer with Baby Basics;
- Support “A Better Chance,” which serves students of color in many communities.
If you would like more information about any of these engaged practice opportunities, or if you are a member who would like to propose an initiative of your own, please email.
