Engaged Buddhist Practice
Engaged Buddhist Practice takes our meditation practice off the cushion into the world through social and ecological service and action. Mountain Rain sponsors periodic workshops, study groups and guest speakers in support of engaged Buddhist practice. The group puts out an occasional newsletter with information, links, initiatives, and messages from sangha members who wish to link-up to participate in specific Engaged Buddhist activities.
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Our next meeting is 7:00 pm
December 15
THE EBPG would like to highlight :
16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence
On December 6, 1989 14 young women, all engineering students, were murdered in their classroom at Polytechnique Montréal . Their names are listed HERE
As we mourn their loss and remember their lives, we reaffirm our commitment to fight the hatred that led to this tragedy, and the misogyny that still exists today. The Canadian Parliament designated December 6 as The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
The 16 days include these special dates:
November 25: International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women This day was designated in 1999 by the United Nations General Assembly. The date of November 25 commemorates the lives of the Mirabal sisters from the Dominican Republic who were violently assassinated in 1960.
December 6: National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women In Canada this day honours the 14 women killed in the Polytechnique Montréal massacre on December 6, 1989, and calls for action against gender based violence.
December 10: Human Rights Day This day marks the anniversary of the United Nations adoption and proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948. This document affirms the rights and dignity of all people and is amilestone in the history of human rights.
Vancouver area events:
Battered Women’s Support Services - BWSS - 16 days of activism
Vancouver City - city wide flag lowering to half mast Dec 6
Surrey - Holland Park, candlelight vigil Saturday Dec 6 6pm-7pm
SFU Sexual Violence Support and Prevention Office MEMORIAL EVENT. Friday Dec 5 12:15pm - 1:30pm
Learn more
• Get the stats. Facts, stats and the impact of Women and Gender Equality Canada: Gender-based violence
• Learn about 16 ways you can help to end GBV
• Test your knowledge on GBV
• Check out It’s Not Just, our youth awareness campaign to end GBV
• Watch a movie, video or documentary related to GBV such as those available on the National Film Board website (various languages; viewer discretion is advised for some films)
• Attend an event in your community to show your support to victims and survivors of GBV. Consider donating to a local shelter if you can
Take action - Adopt these simple but powerful actions all year long:
Listen: be open to learning from the experiences of others
Believe: support survivors and those affected by violence. It is very important that you say the words “I believe you” and “This is not your fault”
Educate (yourself and others): learn the facts about GBV, know what your workplace policies say about violence and harassment, take a course, participate in an event.
Speak out: add your voice to call out violence
Intervene: find a safe way to help when you see acts of GBV. Name what you see. Express your concern and ask how you can help. Intervening can also mean providing support and resources
Act: give your time or donate to organizations working to end GBV
The climate crisis has caught up with us –
-but Canada’s largest pension fund still hasn’t caught up to the risk. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) quietly abandoned its net-zero target earlier this year – while nearly one-third of its board of directors held direct ties to fossil fuel companies.
This isn’t just bad optics. It’s a failure of governance that puts our retirement security and the planet at risk.
It’s time to demand a fossil-free board. More information HERE
WESTCOAST CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK - Welcome to the BC Climate News Roundup
BC Climate Events Calendar on the WE-CAN Website.
A 4-page colour brochure on LNG- an initiative from West Coast Climate Action Network which is being given to every MLA in Victoria. If you would like copies, you can either download it and print it locally, or send $$ and they’ll print it for you at $1 per copy + postage. Let them know how many you want – their Ladysmith printer has a 50% off sale during April.
“Peer-reviewed research shows that LNG’s climate pollution is as bad as or worse than coal. Natural gas is not a ‘transition fuel’. That is a wrong understanding. BC’s proposed projects will produce 380 MT of climate pollution a year, six times more than BC’s 62 MT. Our need is to reduce our climate pollution, not increase it.” inon LNG, which is being givin to every MLA in Victoria.If you would like copies, you can either download it and print it locally, or send $$ and they’ll print it for you at $1 per copy + postage. Let them know how many you want – their Ladysmith printer has a 50% off sale during April.
“Peer-reviewed research shows that LNG’s climate pollution is as bad as or worse than coal. Natural gas is not a ‘transition fuel’. That is a wrong understanding. BC’s proposed projects will produce 380 MT of climate pollution a year, six times more than BC’s 62 MT. Our need is to reduce our climate pollution, not increase it.”
We hope that the resources below will inspire you to write and send letters to your MLA.
Let’s support each other in practicing right speech, voicing our concerns regarding current social/environmental/climate issues. Let’s find ways to express wisdom and compassion in response to the issues that concern us most deeply.
Home on Native Land - Whose Land is This, Anyway?
Welcome to Home on Native Land, a self-guided course about Indigenous justice in Canada. Through a series of 10 videos, cartoons & lessons, you'll take a walk down the back alley of history — and the frontlines of legal action — with Anishinaabe comedian Ryan McMahon.As B.C. prepares to deliver on its promise to get gas out of northeast reserves and ship it to buyers overseas, the LNG sector is set to have huge impacts on northern ecosystems and communities
Squamish environmental group challenges Woodfibre LNG, FortisBC wastewater permits
Climate impacts of expanded fracking and liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Canada
Eco-grief: How to cope with the emotional impacts of climate change. University of Calgary
Click here for PDF of low-waste and refill shopping options in the Metro Vancouver and Sunshine Coast areas.
Art to End Fossil Fuels This Art Kit is a resource to make and use art to end fossil fuels, including how to order (or download) and use the new poster art newspaper. Order your poster art papers-click link: HERE.
West Coast Climate Action Network To receive WE-CAN News directly each week, click here
Who to send your letters to - Find MLA by community -
BC SOCIETY FOR POLICY SOLUTIONS - a progressive public policy research institute that looks at issues facing British Columbia and proposes bold and achievable policy solutions that centre social, economic, racial and environmental justice in BC. We face an emerging global trifecta of authoritarianism, growing inequality and a capture of our public institutions by wealthy elites—pushing us towards a breaking point for democracy and erosion of human rights. This makes existing crises on the climate and economic insecurity fronts worse—insecurity is in the air, by design.
IDEAS TO MEET THE MOMENT offers an overview of bold and achievable ideas that are already here. Ideas that if acted upon could help our province take much better care of the people who live here, and the land that we live on.
