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 meetings are 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

  • September 22

  • October 6

  • November 3

  • December 1

THE EBPG would like to highlight the following four items:

1. Monday, September 15, 7:00 PM ET - How Three Loopholes Allow Canada to Arm Israel  Join a webinar to learn more about this!   Also, you can support MP Kwan's bill to close the US loophole that allows Canadian arms to flow to Israel through the United States

There are many petitions circulating for embargos and ending arms transfers to Israel and the country's current humanitarian law violations.

2. Saturday, September 20 - Global Day of Climate Action  On September 20, we’re drawing the line. Communities are mobilizing across the country, demanding that Prime Minister Carney and the Canadian government pick a side: injustice, violence, and climate destruction— or a just and safe future for all of us. Find your local province wide event here: www.drawtheline.world/canada

  • Vancouver: Public Library, Georgia, 2pm. March to Science World. Please fill in this form if you can help. Read more

  • Victoria: BC Legislature, 12pm

3. Tuesdays - September 9, 16, & 23, 7:00 pm -Talking About Climate Solutions & Hope (Vancouver). From RegenerateBC: Want to do something about climate change but not sure what to do? Join us to enjoy 3 free workshops on effective communication strategies. The sessions cover seeing through climate disinformation, effectively communicating with family and friends, and strategies for engaging with politicians. Unitarian Hall, 949 West 49th Ave, Vancouver. Register here

4. Zain Haq deported to Pakistan seven months ago for nonviolent climate activism. Zain was arrested for minor mischief charges related to defending old growth forests, resisting the TMX pipeline and sitting on a sidewalk demanding that B.C. declare a climate emergency. Despite former Immigration Minister Marc Miller intervening to stop Zain’s deportation, it was re-initiated by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) last fall. Zain and Sophie’s spousal sponsorship application, which had been pending for two years, was rejected two days before Zain boarded his flight to Karachi.

Sophie (Zain’s wife) has launched an official House of Commons petition, sponsored by Elizabeth May, to publicly pressure the Minister in the lead-up to Parliament resuming on Monday, September 15. The good news is that Mark Carney’s Immigration Minister, Lena Metlege Diab, has the power to reunite Zain and Sophie with a single e-mail.

Petitions like the one Sophie just launched aren’t effective without lots of signatures. Parliament resumes this Monday, and Sophie has a goal of securing 500 signatures before then. She’s currently at 286 and is steadily rising.

Can you take a minute out of your day to add your voice to the growing chorus of people advocating for Zain’s return to Canada?

WESTCOAST CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK - Welcome to the BC Climate News Roundup  

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.

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.

LIQUIFIED CLIMATE DISASTER BROCHURE an initiative from West Coast Climate Action Network:  A 4-page colour brochure on 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.”