One Big Sit: We, the Mahasangha, as the Next Buddha
Inviting all siblings in the Dharma, Buddhists of all traditions, Engaged Dharma activists of all affinities...
Thich Nhat Hanh once said, “It is possible that the next Buddha will not take the form of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a community...”
Might we come together in this One Big Sit to embody this profound sentiment?
May we gather outdoors, touching Earth, to declare that this planet is our place of practice, that we embrace the responsibility to care for it, and that we are here only because Earth is.
May we, of varied traditions and activist engagements, gather en masse to embody the truth of non-separation, that all phenomena, all engagements are interconnected, and that to be in this inter-relatedness is to have clarity, equanimity in the middle of the messy pot of causes and conditions.
May we, with sincerity and humility, show up for all of it: One Big Sit for justice, racial justice, gender justice, climate justice. One Big Sit for liberation, liberation of all who are oppressed, liberation of all beings. One Big Sit for just peace in our backyard and around the world. One Big Sit for love, love for ourselves, love for our communities and ancestors, love for our practice and lineage, love for our planet...
When we gather in this One Big Sit, may we collectively experience what we, the Mahasangha, as the next Buddha might look like, how it might feel like... Who knows where we can go from there, what will unfold, what seeds we’ll be planting.
Event Details: We will gather in Washington Square Park on the North West Green. Please bring a cushion or chair to sit on, and a reusable water bottle. We hope to provide some drinks and snack to folks to support the outdoor/long form nature of the programming.
PROGRAM:
2:00 – 2:30: Arrival/Meet & Greet
2:30 – 3:00: Land Acknowledgement & Altar Building
3:00 – 3:30: Meditation
3:30 – 4:00: QiGong & Walking Meditation
4:00 – 4:30: Connection with Nature
4:30 – 5:00: Open Share
5:00 – 5:15: Dedication of Merit & Altar Dismantling
5:15 – 6:00: Community Building
Special note: We will be co-creating a COMMUNITY ALTAR honoring Nature. In that spirit, please do not bring anything of monetary or sentimental value as an offering. Rather, bring in an object from the environment or from home, such as a leaf, flower, rock, acorn, seed, or even a container of river water for our altar ritual.
One Big Sit is organized by practitioners from various sanghas in NYC. Co-sponsors (list in-formation) include Black Breath Sits, Brooklyn Zen Center, Buddhist Action Coalition, Buddhist Council of New York, Extinction Rebellion Mindful Rebels NYC, Fire Lotus Temple-Zen Center of NYC, Racial Justice & Dharma, Thich Nhat Hanh Program for Engaged Buddhism at Union Theological Seminary, Village Zendo.
Info, RSVP, volunteer here: https://actionnetwork.org/events/one-big-sit-mahasangha-nyc/.
