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Report: BPF's 2006 Membership Gathering Garrison Institute, Garrison, New York "Peace in Ourselves, Peace in the World: June 22-25, 2006
From Thursday evening, June 22, until Sunday afternoon, June 25, more than 50 BPF members met at the Garrison Institute along the banks of the Hudson River in New York for BPF's first membership gathering in 10 years. The theme was "Peace in Ourselves, Peace in the World: Wholehearted Practice in Difficult Times." States represented by BPF members included California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. The event featured dharma talks from BPF founder Robert Aitken Roshi (via a live telephone connection to the Palolo Zen Center in Hawai'i) and Hozan Alan Senauke; workshops on topics as varied as prison dharma to values-based fundraising; and shared contemplative practices from traditions ranging from Theravadin to Zen to Tibetan to Quaker. Several special guests were on hand, including Richard Deats, former director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, who spoke to the group about his participation on a recent FOR delegation to Iran, and Iraq war vet Aidan Delgado who shared how his Buddhist practice had informed his decision to apply for conscientious objector status. Aidan also led a workshop and discussion about how Buddhist communities (and others) can reach out more effecitvely to soldiers and vets in a collaborative effort to end the war. One of the highlights of the gathering was a Saturday afternoon Open Space session, facilitated by Viki Sonntag of the Seattle BPF chapter. During this time, we generated topics and questions that were particularly "juicy" for us, and formed small groups to discuss issues such as Buddhist economics, "using art to evoke peace and compassion," and ways that the BPF central office and chapters could be in closer relationship with each other. Perhaps the most meaningful outcome of the gathering was the friendships that we cultivated with each other. As we return to our homes, we look forward to continuing these connections in our regional areas and finding creative ways to build more peaceful societies with the buddhadharma as our vehicle. More reflections on the gathering, workshop notes, dharma talk transcripts, photos, and audio clips will be posted on this web page in the coming weeks -- stay tuned! Audio Recordings, Transcripts, and Notes from the 2006 Membership Gathering
Photos from the 2006 Membership Gathering We've posted a sampling of photos below. Please click here to visit the complete Photo Gallery for the 2006 Gathering
Jo (Chicago), Jose (New York), Robin (West Virginia), John (Michigan),
Michael, Charis, and Alan of the BPF staff in the Garrison dining hall
Anchalee and Maia give an overview of BPF's new Strategic Plan [photo by Alan Senauke] Click here to see more photos of the 2006 Gathering
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