BRATTLEBORO — Stress takes a toll. Release some of that stress on Saturdays with a group of like-minded meditators.
The Brattleboro Zen Center has been holding in-person meditations, 1 to 1:35 p.m. Saturdays, at Wells Fountain.
It’s a way to engage with the climate crisis. Member Vera Riley, who initiated the action, notes that the crisis is born of greed and ignorance. “Sitting, we face our own greed and ignorance, and can develop peacefulness that may ripple outward,” she said.
The group chants briefly and then sits in silence for a half-hour. John Woodland, active with 350.org, finds support for his activism in the action: “It feels good to incorporate a spiritual dimension to the work.”
Alison Bundy also appreciates the pause for contemplation. “When I slow down enough, I can remember that I belong to the earth,” Bundy said.
The group welcomes all interested in joining this peaceful action, either with them in-person, or from wherever they are. No experience with Zen or Buddhism is necessary. Brattleboro Zen Center founding teacher Hakusho Ostlund writes, “While meditation isn’t the solution to all the world’s problems and sitting for a specific cause should never be an excuse to abstain from more overt ways of social engagement, I believe there is great power in ritual action.”
