September 9, 2005: Buddhists to Hold All-Day Meditation Vigil at Monument Circle in Downtown Indianapolis to Increase Awareness of Global Warming

Date: September 9, 2005

Time: 8:00 am to 2:00 pm

Location: Monument Circle, Indianaoplis

The Indiana Chapter of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship will gather on September 9th at 8:00 a.m. on the northwest side of Monument Circle in Indianapolis. Please join us for all or part of the event. We will alternate between periods of sitting and walking meditation and will remain silent throughout. One person in the group will remain standing (this role will rotate) with those sitting to hand out flyers to passers by. We plan to make public statements at 2:00 pm (we have invited the local media). Please bring water, a cushion, something to place under you (we will be sitting on concrete) and appropriate attire for the weather. There is no rain date or location; we intend to be there regardless of weather. We will bring fresh juice for participants to drink during the event.

Zen Master Robert Joshin Althouse will join us at the event on Monument Circle. He is the former director of the Zen Peacemaker Order and the current director of the Chicago BPF Chapter. We are blessed that Joshin plans to travel with us to Bloomington Friday evening to present a public lecture as part of the Chalice Lecture Series at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington. On Saturday, Joshin will lead an Inner Disarmament workshop at the church. Please join us for these events (see included flyer for details). Please contact Jon Kongsa Peters at (812) 335-2115 or Shodo Spring (812) 219-1711 for more details. Note that Jon will be out of the country from August 3rd until the 21st. Find below a copy of our press release. Please copy this information and distribute it widely.

Press Release

Indianapolis, IN —Members and friends of the Indiana Chapter of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF), an international organization based in Berkeley, CA, are holding a meditation vigil on Friday, September 9th from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Monument Circle to bring awareness to the issues of global warming and climate destabilization. A public statement will be made at 2 p.m.

A recent Pentagon report (www.ems.org/climate/pentagon_climatechange.pdf) and the National Academies of Science of thirteen countries (including the United States) have given detailed warnings that severe climate-related environmental upheaval could disrupt or end global societies within our children’s lifetimes. Human activity, largely the burning of fossil fuels, since the Industrial Revolution has significantly increased the amount of so-called greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere. We must act today to mitigate and reverse the negative consequences of global warming. The effects are already being seen around the planet.

Jon Peters, a clinical social worker, member of the Zen Peacemaker Order, and organizer of the event stated: “Our daughter was seriously ill when she was born and my wife and I were told several times that she might die. In addition to listening to the best medical information and making careful decisions on her behalf, for weeks we just sat by her side. Though it caused us tremendous suffering, we stayed at her bedside for months until her wellness had increased and she was able to leave the hospital. We are taking time today to sit with our mother Earth, to be conscious of her suffering. It is no more appropriate to run from the pain of our shared global situation than it would be for parents to abandon their sick child. In fact, we do this for the wellbeing of our children. We invite you to join us.”

Co-organizer and Buddhist priest Shodo Spring said, “It’s a central Buddhist teaching that everything that is born must die. Still, when I think about the end of my own species, I have to stop. I have to sit down and remember to breathe again, find a way to breathe in the face of this monstrous thought: that our descendents and even my own grandchildren will probably die from the loss of oxygen when the trees die, or in violence resulting from the political upheavals as global warming destroys food supplies. I can hardly bear it. And when I think that we could save them if we act immediately, could slow down or even stop the damage, if we would only, all of us, be willing to change the way we live...I am stopped.”

ABOUT THE VIRTUAL MARCH ON WASHINGTON

There is currently a non-political virtual march on Washington being conducted online. Many people have joined the march including: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.; Walter Cronkite; Senator John McCain; Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; Senator Joseph Lieberman; and Al Gore. For more information about the march, visit: www.stopglobalwarming.org

ABOUT THE BUDDHIST PEACE FELLOWSHIP

The mission of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF), founded in 1978, is to serve as a catalyst for socially engaged Buddhism. BPF's programs, publications, and practice groups link Buddhist teachings of wisdom and compassion with progressive social change. BPF is an affiliate of the Fellowship of Reconciliation and the International Network of Engaged Buddhists. More information is available at: www.bpf.org