End the War in Iraq!
Join the Buddhist Peace Delegation
in Washington, D.C.
September 23 - 26, 2005 |
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The September 2005 Peace Mobilization 
This past spring, United for Peace and Justice, a major coalition made up of over 1,000 groups including the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, started planning a major weekend of mobilization in Washington, D.C. for September 24-26, 2005.
The mobilization will coincide with the meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, whose economic policies place corporate profits ahead of basic human needs worldwide. One theme of the weekend is to make the link between military spending abroad and economic injustice at home, as well as to draw attention to the decimation of the Iraqi economy through privatization and "free trade."
Many people in different parts of the country have been imagining how a Buddhist presence might happen during this weekend, including Roberta Wall, Louise Dunlap, Bill Jenkins, and the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. We want to contribute a strong and compassionate voice for peace, and to offer a spiritual refuge for those attending the weekend.
We are also forming an affinity group made up of dharma practitioners who would like to receive training in nonviolent direct action during the weekend and share other practices such as meditation, chanting, council circle. This is similar to what BPF members did in Seattle during the WTO, and many found it to be a very rewarding experience.
The Buddhist Peace Delegation is comprised of members of:
- Buddhist Peace Fellowship (nationwide)
- Community of Mindful Living/Order of Interbeing (nationwide)
- Kunzang Palyul Chöling (Maryland)
- Nipponzan Myohoji (Massachusetts)
- Peace and Compassion Buddhist Community, UBC Louisville (Kentucky)
- Sisters of Compassionate Wisdom
- Upaya Zen Center (New Mexico)
- Zen Peacemaker Circles of Northampton, Albuquerque, and High Mountain Crystal Lake Zen Center
- Zen Peacemaker Family
- and many more
BPF members (with Cornel West) await arrest in front of the White House
Please make a gift to help us cover the costs of organizing for this weekend,
and to support our on-going work for peace and justice.
Logistics
Schedule of Events in DC
Download a PDF file of the Buddhist Peace Delegation events here
For updates, see the United for Peace and Justice website
Friday, 9/23 |
7 pm: Candlelight Vigil and Meditation on Peace, hosted by the Washington DC BPF chapter. Location: St. Stephen and the Incarnation Church, 1525 Newton St., NW, at 16th St. Visit the WBPF website for more details.
Download a flyer for the vigil here.
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Saturday, 9/24
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11 am: Gather for Massive March, Rally & Festival
Location: Washington Monument. March steps off at 12:30 pm.
The Buddhist Peace Delegation Contingent will be marching together. We will begin by meeting at 11 am at Constitution Ave. and 15th St. NW for sitting meditation, led by Tara Brach and others. Look for us with the Buddhist Peace Delegation and BPF large banners. Download a flyer here.
All-day: Operation Ceasefire: A Free Music Festival and Peace and Justice Festival on the Mall.
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Sunday, 9/25
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11 am - 1 pm: Nonviolent Direct Action training session. To be held at the Clergy and Laity Concerned about Iraq (CALC-I) tent on the mall. All those who plan to participate in Monday's (9/26) action should attend.
Afternoon: Buddhist Peace Delegation affinity group will meet (time and location to be announced).
3 pm: Scenario Orientation for the Monday Direct Action. To be held at the CALC-I tent. It is vital for everyone willing to risk arrest to be at this gathering so we can go over the events of the next day, provide some legal and other essential information, and join with or form up affinity groups for those who are coming as individuals.
6 pm: Interfaith Tent Revival for Peace and Justice, hosted by Danny Glover, Location: Washington Monument Grounds. Bhante Suhita Dharma will be speaking and offering a Buddhist perspective to the service. Bhante is an African-American senior Buddhist teacher, from Los Angeles. He has a degree in social work and has worked extensively with homeless people, people with AIDS, prison inmates, and a broad range of social service projects in the United States and abroad over the past 40 years.
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Monday, 9/26 |
Grassroots Lobby Day. UFPJ member groups and allied organizations are encouraged to organize meetings with Representatives in their Congressional District. Click here to learn more.
"Remember and Resist, a Call to Action."
9 am: Gather at the Metropolitan AME Church at 1518 M Street NW to prepare for Nonviolent Direct Action, including Civil Disobedience. Building on many traditions of nonviolent action and civil resistance, this action in front of the White House will bring together people from different communities and constituencies. We are forming a Buddhist affinity group to take part in this action and support each other. Some people in the affinity group will risk arrest; others will support them. If you would like to be part of the Buddhist affinity group, please email maia@bpf.org.
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Background Readings and Other Information
From the Buddhist Peace Fellowship
BPF letter to President Bush Calling for Peace in Iraq,
to be presented to the White House on September 24, 2005
BPF’s Guide to Civil Disobedience/Affinity Groups
Two Years Later: Why Iraq Still Matters (March 2005)
Maia Duerr, BPF Executive Director
Iraq, Abu Ghraib, and Karma (May 2004)
Alan Senauke, BPF International Liaison and Senior Advisor
BPF Statement on the Start of War in Iraq (March 2003)
7 Principles of Dharma Activism (PDF file)
Diana Winston, former Associate Director of BPF
From other organizations
Phyllis Bennis, Institute for Policy Studies
Iraq Body Count
Estimates civilian casualties by carefully monitoring and cross-checking world media reports.
"Invading and Occupying Iraq: The Impact on Your State"
A series of well-designed factsheets from the National Priorities Project showing how $87 billion could be spent instead in each of the 50 United States.
"Torture, American Style"
Pamphlet from Historians Against War featuring short historical essays on the U.S. government's long complicity in human rights abuses, from Nicaragua to Vietnam to Guantanamo to Abu Ghraib
Please make a gift to help us cover the costs of organizing for this weekend,
and to support our on-going work for peace and justice.
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