Past SZBA Statements and Calls to Action
Gathered here today as Zen Buddhist priests and custodians of the dharma, we pledge to face, acknowledge, understand and hold the weight of our collective karma so that we may practice and teach with clarity, vulnerability, and honesty. Read More
SZBA Statement on Recognition and Repentance
Call to Action: Systemic Racism
In deep grief over the recent murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, the Soto Zen Buddhist Association acknowledges the deep-seated, systemic, and structural racism that poisons life in the United States of America. We vow to continue the work we are currently engaged in and call for a fresh and coordinated effort to dismantle racism at every level of our culture, society, government, our Zen communities, and our own hearts. Read More
SZBA Statement in Response to the attack on Congress of January 5th
As Zen Buddhist clergy, we condemn the attack on the United States congress on January 6th. We acknowledge the anguish and rage it has brought. At the center of our tradition is the understanding that violence leads to violence, compassion to compassion, ignorance to ignorance, and insight to insight. Although countless conditions led to the attack at the capitol, we see that the violence at the capitol was deeply tied to the white supremacy that has characterized this nation since its inception. Read more
Statement On Separating Immigrant Families
As Western Buddhist leaders, we unreservedly condemn the recently imposed policy of separating immigrant children from their parents at the US-Mexican border. Read More
Every version of the Buddha’s ethical precepts begins with this principle: Do Not Kill. Buddha and all the great spiritual teachers — Jesus, Mohammed, the Hebrew prophets, Gandhi — tell us that life is sacred; that violence only begets violence. The logic of cause and effect, karma and its fruit, are inescapable even when you dress them in the emperor or president’s clothes of punitive and retributive justice. Read More