<2005 Calendar>

BPF launches theme for the year, “Cultivating Peace, Dismantling War,” with “Inner and Outer Disarmament,” an article by Alan Senauke.

BPF supports relief efforts for victims of the December 2004 Asian tsunami by directing our members to Buddhist-oriented relief agencies and serving as a pass-through account for grassroots projects in Thailand,Sri Lanka, and India.

Jan 16-23: BPF, with other groups in the Fellowship of Reconciliation, issues a “Call for Reflection, Dialogue, and Action” during the U.S. presidential inauguration week to highlight nonviolent alternatives to war. BPF Chapters in Washington, D.C., New York City, San Francisco, and Barcelona, Spain organize events. BPF offers an alternate "inauguration pledge": a vow to cultivate peace in the new year.

Winter BASE (Buddhist Alliance for Social Engagement) group begins in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Feb 19-21: Executive Director Maia Duerr represents BPF at United for Peace and Justice’s 2nd National Assembly in St. Louis, MO.

March 1: The U.S. Supreme issues a decision in the Simmons case, declaring that the death penalty for juveniles is unconstitutional. BPF’s Prison Program contributed to an amicus brief for this case in 2004.

March 9: Chicago BPF chapter holds a bearing witness vigil at Indiana State Prison for the execution of Donald Wallace, Jr.

March 11: BPF Madison, Wisconsin, chapter sponsors a talk by Claude Anshin Thomas, Vietnam solider and Zen monk.

March 20: Tallahassee BPF Chapter organizes an Interfaith Day of Meditation for Peace in front of the historic Old Florida Capitol.

March 25: San Francisco Bay Area BPF chapters hold all-night meditation vigil at the Eyes Wide Open exhibit, organized by the American Friends Service Committee to remember all those killed in Iraq.

Green Gulch BPF Chapter (CA) organizes a letter-writing campaign in the wake of the murder of Colombian peace activists in San Jose de Apartado.

First meeting of BPF’s Chapter Council, with seven regional representatives from around the world, intended to establish a closer working relationship between the BPF office and chapters.

Spring Turning Wheel published

Maia Duerr and Associate Director Diana Lion are featured speakers at the “Women in Buddhism” conference, Smith College, Northampton, MA.

April 9-10: Seattle BPF chapter holds a bearing witness vigil at the Eyes Wide Open exhibit.

BPF launches letter-writing campaign to U.S. Congressional representatives in support of legislation for the National Peace Tax Fund, a form of conscientious objection to war.

May 1: BPF-NYC chapter participates in March for Nuclear Disarmament, New York City.

May 1: BPF sends letter of welcome to Pope Benedict, with an invitation to interfaith dialogue.

BPF Board/Staff retreat in Berkeley, CA. We welcome new board members Joshin Althouse, Sozan Schellin, and Jesse Maceo Vega-Frey, and develop a fundraising mission statement to guide our development work in alignment with our values.

May 9-20: BPF partners with George Lakoff’s Rockridge Institute to host the Spiritual Progressives Online Conference; BPF staff Alan Senauke helps to host the forum.

June 4: BPF chapters, in partnership with Tricycle magazine, organize “Change Your Mind Day” events in Portland, OR; Tampa Bay, FL; Washington, D.C., and other locations.

Maia Duerr attends a gathering on Liberation Spirituality and spiritual activism hosted by stone circles, at the Garrison Institute, NY. Maia also meets with BPF NYC chapter for a conversation on engaged Buddhism.

BPF’s Youth Program, led by Tempel Smith, holds Teen Retreat, attended by more than 25 young people.

BASE (Buddhist Alliance for Social Engagement) celebrates its 10th anniversary.

Summer Turning Wheel, “Crossing Borders”

BPF launches “The Dharma and the Military” resource guide on website, with information for young people thinking about choices in relationship to military service. BPF offers to start and store files for those who wish to document their Buddhist practice and beliefs, in the event they choose to apply for Conscientious Objector status.

July 16: BPF Chicago hosts the event “One Big Table” to raise awareness of hunger and as a benefit for America’s Second Harvest network of food banks.

July 23: BPF hosts “Creating the Conditions for Peace” symposium in conjunction with Tikkun’s Spiritual Activist Conference in Berkeley, CA. More than 130 people attend.

Prison Program hires two coordinators: Hong Chingkuang and Michael Callahan.

Aug 6-9: At least 14 BPF chapters across the world commemorate the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Locations include: Los Alamos, NM; Livermore Nuclear Lab, CA; Nevada Desert Test Site; Tampa Bay, FL; New Haven, CT; Sydney, Australia. Visit photo gallery here.

BPF launches Nuclear Disarmament Resource Guide on website.

Aug. 12-14: Board member Joshin Althouse leads “Inner Disarmament” workshop in Oak Park, IL.

Aug. 31: BPF-Pioneer Valley (Massachusetts) hosts BPF member Andrew Jilani, who shares about his experiences working with tsunami survivors in Aceh, Indonesia.

Mushim Ikeda-Nash joins staff as the Acting Associate Director of Programs, while Diana Lion begins an extended medical leave.

Sept. 2: BPF issues statement on Hurricane Katrina and suggests progressive relief organizations and rebuilding agencies in need of support. A few days later, BPF posts article by Maia Duerr, “Waking Up to the Tragedy of New Orleans,” addressing issues of race, class, and privilege. The article is soon re-printed at Antiracismnet.org and in Common Ground magazine.

Sept. 5: Cleveland BPF chapter co-sponsors the fourth annual Cleveland Peace Show.

Sept. 9: BPF Bloomington, IN, chapter holds vigil and press conference to raise awareness of global warming.

Sept. 11: BPF New York City chapter participates in 9/11 commemoration ceremony.

Sept 22-26: BPF participates in four days of compassionate action in Washington, D.C. to call for peace in Iraq. Events include a candlelight vigil organized by the D.C. BPF chapter; a marching contingent called the Buddhist Peace Delegation comprised of more than 200 people; and a Buddhist Peace Affinity group that delivers a letter to President Bush and takes part in civil disobedience on Sept 26 in front of the White House. BPF helps to bring Bhante Suhita Dharma to Washington and to speak at an Interfaith Service. Visit photo gallery here (photos by Joan Schwartz).

Fall Turning Wheel, “Buddhas Among Us”

BPF Board President Anchalee Kurutach travels to Nagpur, India, to participate in the International Network of Engaged Buddhists’ conference.

Oct. 21: Maia Duerr visits hurricane evacuees in Baton Rouge, LA, representing BPF as part of a delegation organized by the Interfaith Alliance.

BPF’s Prison Program mobilizes Buddhist communities to participate in National Weekend of Faith in Action to End the Death Penalty, organized by Amnesty International.

Nov. 5: BPF Madison, WI, chapter hosts "A Language of the Heart" workshop in Nonviolent Communication.

Nov. 10: Mushim Ikeda-Nash represents BPF at Festival of Faiths in Louisville, KY. for a screening of the film "Acting on Faith: Women and the New Religious Activism in America."

Nov. 12: Mushim represents BPF at "Faith and Feminism: An Interfaith Dialogue" sponsored by the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Nov. 16-20: Maia Duerr visits Honolulu BPF chapter and meets with Robert Aitken Roshi.

Nov. 17: Trial of Peace Activists arrested for civil disobedience in front of the White House in September, including BPF member Johnny Barber from Boca Raton, Florida.

Nov/Dec: Michael Callahan, Prison Program coordinator, visits New York and Boston BPF chapters and does research for the Coming Home Project.

BPF Prison Program helps to organize support to grant clemency to Stanley “Tookie” Williams.

Dec. 10: UN Human Rights Day, BPF's action alert

Dec. 12: BPF holds bearing witness vigil at the execution of Stanley "Tookie" Williams at the gates of San Quentin Prison, California.

Dec. 28 - Jan. 2: End-of-year Teen Retreat at the Land of the Medicine Buddha retreat center, organized by BPF's Youth Program.

Winter Turning Wheel, “Disarmament”

Buddhist Peace Fellowship
PO Box 3470, Berkeley, CA, 94703, 510/655-6169
Wisdom and compassion for social change