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
February 9
March 9
To begin 2026, the EBPG would like to highlight some inspiring updates on climate and nature from around the world.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day - January 27th
Augusta Lokhorst, chair of the EBPG, would like to dedicate this post to the memory of her friend Frances Hoyd who survived Auschwitz, was active in holocaust education and lived into her 90s. - zichronah livracha (זיכרונה לברכה) may their memory be a blessing.
Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed internationally on January 27th, designated by the UN to commemorate the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945. Some countries and Jewish traditions have separate dates like Yom HaShoah (a movable date in Spring) for different observances.
On January 27, 1945, the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where more than one million people were sent to gas chambers and to their agonizing deaths during the Holocaust, was liberated. In 2005, that day was designated as the annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Each year, Canadians and individuals all over the world take this opportunity to remember victims and survivors of the Nazi regime, reflect on the dangers of antisemitism, racism, and hatred, promote Holocaust education throughout the world and commit to preventing future atrocities.
Key Dates:
International Holocaust Remembrance Day: January 27th (Annual).
Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day in Jewish Tradition): A lunar date, often in April or May. In 2026 - Mon, Apr 13, 2026 – Tue, Apr 14.
In 2020, the Mayor and Council of the City of Vancouver passed a motion that the International Holocaust Remembrance Day would become one of Vancouver’s official observances. At this particular time in history, Antisemitism is on the rise around the world, in Canada, and in Vancouver. We needn’t look far to see that hatred has flourished in the digital age. As we continue to develop our anti-racism and equity strategies to ensure that Vancouver is a more inclusive and fair place, it is more important than ever that the lessons learned and the horrors of the Holocaust remain present in the public consciousness so they are never repeated.
Learn more
For more information on the Holocaust and to advance reconciliation, anti-hate, and equity strategies, visit the following sites:
Yad Vashem - The world Holocaust Remembrance Center
Reporting incidents and getting help
Learn more about what hate crimes are and what you can do if you are victim or a witness to a hate crime with videos created by the Province of BC. They are available in several languages. Phone 3-1-1 with questions and concerns, including reports of racist incidents or experiences with City of Vancouver staff, programs, or materials. We will follow up on incidents involving City staff, programs, and services.
Call the Racist Incident Helpline to speak with a trained professional who will help you navigate resources available to you in your community. Free, confidential and available in over 240 languages. 1-833-457-5463 (1-833-HLP-LINE).
Report Hate Crime - City of Vancouver
Report Hate Crime - Province of British Columbia
Get information on how to take action if you have experienced or witnessed a racist incident.
Get free legal services if you need help with a provincial human rights complaint
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.”
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
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.
