Engaged Buddhism Group revives at KCC

October 30, 2025

At our first meeting this past Sunday, ideas grounded in the Buddhist ethics of compassion, wisdom, and equanimity towards all swirled around us.

Much of the discussion focused on “undoing duality” – the silos we put ourselves in – such as how to:

  • Un-do the forces of division and hatred, replacing competition with cooperation
  • Recognize interconnection, not just with people but with the earth, too
  • Make kindness popular and shift from self-interest to caring for others
  • Make good quality information available to all, especially on the internet
  • Dissolve the fear and arrogance that prevents people from connecting with their intrinsic contentment
  • Eliminate racism, prejudice, and discrimination
  • Converse with people who hold ideological differences and break bread across divides
  • Work for shelter, food security, and provide true care for people in mental health crises

A distinct sense of NOT wanting more work, yet WANTING more connection arose. We need sangha members’ support as we navigate the strong emotions brought up by our involvement with the world. We rely on sangha to remind us of our wisdom. We yearn for ways to remember our abilities and to lean into joy.

We mentioned a few of the ways KCC sangha members are involved in Engaged Buddhism. We have a clothing drive for un-housed people and a food drive for an immigrant housing community. We have a group wrestling with the ideas of Joanna Macy, an environmentalist Buddhist. We have the “Needs and Care” group which helps sangha members with meals, rides to doctors and other appointments.

We also spoke of ways people are engaging outside KCC and how those interested can get engaged, with a few notable mentions being:

Questions arose about how we can do this work – what skills would we need to learn in order to be able to practice Non-violent Communication, or to practice de-escalation at a protest, or de-radicalization of a family member? What would help us develop “emotional literacy”? What would help make dharma tools available to all? How could we connect with other organizations doing good work?

Differences of opinion also arose. (Hooray! an opportunity to practice!) One of the areas of disagreement was on how to advertise this work to the larger sangha.

While for some “everything is political,” for others there is a desire to keep KCC away from any semblance of politics. In a divided world, does silence feel “welcoming to all” or does it imply acceptance of the un-just powers that be? Not wanting to overwhelm the KCC listserv with issues about which sangha members can have vastly different opinions, we are leaning towards re-starting the Engaged Buddhism email list. But if somebody wanted to create a list of people willing to be “point people” on different issues, that could be a handy tool too.

We also have a big bulletin board in the basement where community members could post upcoming activities they consider of interest. The bottom line is, if you want something to happen, you will need to be the initiator.

I, Cynthia, am happy to continue hosting these meetings on a monthly or every-other-month basis.

Join us on Sunday November 30th after our regular programming for the next meeting of Engaged Buddhism.

If you’d like to be added to the Engaged Buddhism emailing list, please email