Current Activities & Projects
Taking action based on faith, practice, and study to "be the change"
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ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITIES
Second Saturday Gatherings
These gatherings are the traditional study/discussion meetings. At these monthly gatherings we chant, we welcome, we support, we study, we reflect, we recommit. They are conducted in-person and electronically to accommodate people (members and guests) who want to participate from around the country and the globe. Study materials include a range of Buddhist works plus a variety of relevant culturally-specific material that allow us to examine and utilize Buddhism from an African-centric perspective. Participants rotate facilitating discussions monthly.
Wednesday Evening Chanting Practice/ODaimoku - every Wednesday
Developing deeper and wider spiritual connections
Saturday Morning Chanting/Traditional Daimoku - every Saturday
Supporting our determinations to advance
Nichiren - Straight, No Chaser - every Sunday
Reading and reflecting on different Gosho (writings) of Nichiren Daishonin
Do Drop Inn - The last Sunday of the month
Real talk in real time about real stuff.
For more information about these gatherings, including specific date and local time of the meeting, the meeting ZOOM link, and current study material, email us here.
Annual Retreat
Annual Retreat
This is event has evolved into a week-end affair. It was originally designed specifically for BAD members to concentrate on celebrating our emerging community and on creating an agenda for the upcoming year. As we have grown over the recent years, our Retreat has become a national event with Buddhists of African Descent from across the country, providing a unique opportunity for all of us to come together in-person. It is a special time with carefully chosen themes for us to reflect, study, and have fun. Our goals are to enhance our personal connectedness, to honor and reinforce our collective wisdom as Buddhists of African Descent, to elevate our practice and to strengthen our commitment to our collective mission as Bodhisattvas of the Earth.
Annual Kwanzaa Celebration
We annually host a Kwanzaa celebration, which is open to the public. The event allows us to highlight and refresh our commitment to actualizing our Bodhisattva Pledge, which undergirds our collective practice and mission. This pledge is based on the Nuzo Saba, the Seven Principles upon which the Kwanzaa celebration was founded. Each principles is the basis for reflection on a designated day throughout the typical seven-day, end-of-the-year celebration. As a community event it affords us the opportunity to publicly affirm and assert our determination to be vanguards in revolutionizing and elevating our lives.
PROJECTS
Book– Compilation of Narratives of Buddhists of African Descent (publication forthcoming)
Book– Compilation of Narratives of Buddhists of African Descent (publication forthcoming)
This is a collection of the stories of Nichiren Buddhists of African Descent. These stories are of everyday practicing Buddhists experiences, which cover the broad spectrum of human endeavors, relationships, and circumstances. They reveal how our practice of fiercely chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo enables us to realize our inherent power to embellish our lives and to open our hearts to transform our circumstances. This volume will add to the literature about the rich African/African American religious cultural heritage. For more information, click here.
BAD's Organizational Model (in process)
The notion of an egalitarian pluralistic organizational structure resonates with our humanistic values and cultural orientation. However, what that might look like for BAD is still taking shape. To that end, we are currently working with consultants to articulate and implement a culturally-based, non-hierarchical, collectivist model.
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