Carrying on

The Saturday meeting for activists who want to employ public meditation in demonstrating for social justice has inspired me to work harder to make more connections between practicing Buddhists and activists. There are many Buddhist organizations in Portland that I've never visited, and one is Miao Fa, a Mahayana temple with origins in Taiwan that is currently combining services with some Theravadan practitioners from the Thai tradition. I am moved by the evidence of devotion. The building is meticulously cared for, full of beautiful hand-embroidered cloths, with a garden, a koi pond, and many gracious areas for meditation. 

Sue and I chatted with a monk with a Canadian accent who told us that gender is the hot-button issue in their community at present. There is a law against ordaining women in Thailand, but in Australia a woman has now been ordained in the Thai tradition, and there is a split among Theravadan men between those who favor women's ordination and those who oppose it. "Women in China are now earning money independently, and they are funding nuns rather than monks, and so it looks like in some ways women are taking over." 

I have left some more conventional photographs of the space in the other place but I think this closeup of a kneeler is my favorite.