Bearing Witness. Gaza.

Hello MBZ1 studio,

You may have heard me talk about Roshi Bernie Glassman. He was Jeff Bridges’ meditation buddy, and he founded a homelessness-to-work bakery that sold brownies to Ben & Jerry’s and he founded the Zen Peacemakers Buddhist organization.

Bernie died in 2018, and a photo of him leading a November Bearing Witness Retreat at Auschwitz hangs above our mantle at the Mindful Boston studio office.

The Zen Peacemakers organization continues to do the contemplative art practice of bearing witness. I’ll be keeping you informed of their meditation events as we navigate the next few years.

Bearing Witness is where meditation meets social justice.

Zen Peacemakers is hosting a zoom call meditation next Friday Sept 5th at 12 noon Boston time. It will be a silent call. 60 minutes of sitting in silence together bearing witness to what is happening in Gaza.

I will be joining the call.
Let me know if you want to join the call as well. It definitely counts as mindfulness labwork! The practice of Bearing Witness has deep roots as a contemplative art. If you have any questions, we can discuss its history during our next members meeting, or just use the comments section below.

Here’s the description from their website:

https://hive.zenpeacemakers.org/networks/events/189562

Friday, Sept. 5th

12pm Eastern Time, please join Geoff Shōun O’Keeffe, Executive Director for

Zen Peacemakers Bearing Witness to Gaza

Silent Meditation

As Zen Peacemakers, we practice seeing our world from a position of stillness and non-judgment, witnessing life's beauty and joy alongside the horror and suffering, without looking away. From that intense experience our hearts call us to act.

Please join us virtually Friday, September 5th at 12:00 pm US Eastern Time, to sit together in silence for one hour, to acknowledge all those suffering in Gaza.

Duration: 60 minutes

A link to join using Zoom will be sent after you register. https://hive.zenpeacemakers.org/networks/events/189562

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(Note: You do not need to become a ZP member in order to attend this event, but please consider joining the community. Membership is free unless you choose to become a supporting member)

Important Note on Registering: Please know that the meeting will be recorded. By participating you give your consent to be recorded and to have the recording shared. If you do not want to be recorded, email info@zenpeacemakers.org