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Hiroshima/Nagasaki Days: How to Organize a "Contemplative Action"
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In August 2003, the Pioneer Valley Buddhist Peace Fellowship Chapter, in Western Massachusetts, created an all-day series of events to commemorate Hiroshima/Nagasaki. The elements that went into the planning provide helpful examples of how to organize a "Buddhist" social action that brings together awareness and action. We hope these details are helpful to your planning process.

1. Create a contemplative atmosphere; link reflection to action.
One hallmark of Buddhist social action is the intimate connection between reflection and action. In downtown Northampton, we created a public contemplative space and invited passersby to join a metta meditation with local Vipassana teacher Arinna Weisman. With the cooperation of the downtown Unitarian Universalist church, we set up zafus and zabutons in a circle under a tree on their lawn, right on Main Street. Only a few steps away, our colleagues from AFSC (American Friends Service Committee) set up a display of photos from Hiroshima and Nagasaki that graphically depicted the destruction of the bombings. Throughout the afternoon, dozens of people who were walking along the sidewalk stopped by to quietly look, sometimes answering their children's questions about Japan and the war. The combination of the photos plus the opportunity to quietly reflect on them created an atmosphere that deepened understanding about the devastation of nuclear weapons, and inspired people to act from their understanding.

In the evening, we held a potluck dinner open to the community with the monks and nuns from the Peace Pagoda, who then led us on a walk to a nearby pond at dusk. We held a candlelight vigil as a circle of nearly 70 people spoke mindfully about their reflections of that day. At the conclusion, one BPF member who was a cellist offered beautiful music as the sky darkened. We watched silently as two other members launched in a canoe to float peace lanterns on the quiet lake. It was an emotional and moving end to the day.

You may also want to find out about the Jizos for Peace project, initiated by Jan Chozen Bays. Jan's vision is to visit Japan in 2005 on the 60th anniversary of the bombings, with a Jizo for each of the hundreds of thousands of people who have died. See www.jizosforpeace.org or contact the Great Vow Zen Monastery, PO Box 368, Clatskanie, OR 97016, USA.

Seattle BPF member Rick Harlan also provides a wealth of information on other spirit-based actions in response to nuclear weapons on BPF's online discussion forum:
www.gomegapath.net/bpf/sociallyengagedbuddhismgeneral/message.nhtml?
profile=sociallyengagedbuddhismgeneral&UID=10017

2. Provide information and an opportunity for action.
Along with opportunities for meditation and reflection, have information available so that people can educate themselves about the effects of nuclear weapons and atomic energy. Three issues you may want to highlight, along with some sources for more information and suggested actions:

1. Stopping development of new nuclear weapons
2. Nuclear Waste: Demand proper management of waste
3. Depleted Uranium (DU): Raise awareness of health dangers to troops

Physicians for Social Responsibility: www.psr.org/home.cfm?id=nuclear_weapons
Abolition 2000: www.abolition2000.org
GRACE Nuclear Abolition Project: www.gracelinks.org/nuke

Along with the information, you can make it easy for people to channel their concerns into action. At the 2003 event, we provided postcards addressed to legislators to call for a stop to the building of new nuclear plant. We also had blank postcards addressed to President Bush so that people could write their own message. At the end of the day, we had collected nearly 200 signed cards to mail.

3. Encourage children's participation.
Children are our best hope for creating a nuclear-free future. A number of events can be organized throughout the day for their participation, such as singing, storytelling, and folding peace cranes (see www.sadako.org/foldingcranes.htm for instructions). At the Pioneer Valley event, we invited the mayor of Northampton to read to children from the book Sadako and a Thousand Paper Cranes, by Eleanor Coerr (Puffin Books, 1999). Sadako was two years old when the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. As she grew up, Sadako was a strong, courageous and athletic girl. In 1955, at age 11, while practicing for a big race, she became dizzy and fell to the ground. Sadako was diagnosed with leukemia, a consequence of radiation exposure. Her best friend told her of an old Japanese legend which said that anyone who folds a thousand paper cranes would be granted a wish. Sadako hoped that the gods would grant her a wish to get well so that she could run again. She started to work on the paper cranes and completed over 1000 before dying at the age of twelve.

4. Build coalitions.
Actions have the most impact when groups of people with common concerns organize and act together. Speak with other groups in your area-Buddhist sanghas, faith groups from all traditions, environmental groups, peace and justice organizations—to see how you can coordinate your activities. In the Pioneer Valley, a coalition of local groups, including BPF, planned ahead of time so that each day from August 5–9, a different community would host a different type of event. Some sponsored speakers, some planned peaceful marches. All the organizations composed a joint press release so that the media would take notice of the large number of events happening.

You can build coalitions with friends overseas as well. Tadatoshi Akiba, the mayor of Hiroshima, Japan, serves as President of Mayors for Peace. Mayor Akiba has a profound understanding of the dangers posed by nuclear weapons. His experiences have shown him that nuclear weapons are intrinsically related to other security concerns: fundamental challenges such as hunger and poverty, refugees and human rights, and environmental protection. Mayors for Peace launched its "2020 Vision: An Emergency Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons" campaign last November. The Campaign aims to build an "overwhelming presence" of the world's mayors, NGO representatives, and citizens at the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference at the U.N. in April 2005. Contact your own city's mayor and invite him or her to publicly endorse this initiative. For more details about the Mayor for Peace initiative, see www.abolition2000.org/groups/mayors or contact:

Steve Leeper, Transnet - Transitional Resource Network
1046 Vance Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30306
Tel: 404-898-0586, Email: leeps@mindspring.com

For more information about the Buddhist Peace Fellowship
visit www.bpf.org or call 510-655-6169.