Occupy Oakland

Buddhist Peace Fellowship has been moved to be closely connected with the Occupy Oakland encampment happening just 2 miles from our national office in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street.Early in the morning on Tuesday, October 25th, hundreds of police in riot gear raided Occupy Oakland, arresting 95 people and destroying the camp. At 6pm that evening, thousands of people took to the streets in peaceful protest. They were met with tear gas and rubber bullets.The next night, Wednesdsay, October 26th, thousands of people regrouped in Oakland, peacefully reclaiming Oscar Grant / Frank Ogawa Plaza. At the end of a 3-hour General Assembly meeting, 1480 people voted to call for a citywide General Strike on November 2nd.The military-style response to Occupy Oakland is so disturbing that it made top headlines in news across the world. BPF folks who were there were incredibly impressed with the crowd's commitment to nonviolence in the face of severe police repression. We are continuing to find ways to respond as an organization, both locally and to share our responses nationally. Oakland is not the first Occupy site to see violence against peaceful protestors, and it won't be the last. While this kind of state violence may be surprising to some, it is a daily reality for many in the US and around the world.

Ways that Buddhists are involved Occupy Oakland

Daily meditation happened while there was an encampment from noon to 1pm daily at Oscar Grant / Frank Ogawa Plaza at 14th & Broadway in Oakland.Senbazuru - 1,000 Paper Cranes for Occupy Oakland made paper cranes for peace, beauty, and compassionOccupy the Present Moment at Occupy Oakland General Strike - Buddhists participated in a variety of ways at the Occupy Oakland General Strike, 11/2/11Why BPF Supports the Occupy MovementHow Buddhists are Getting Involved in Occupy- Wall Street, Oakland, and beyond

Reflections from Buddhists at Occupy Oakland

Bringing Shantideva’s Prayer Home at the General Strike in Oakland - Mushim Patricia Ikeda, 11/2/11Occupy the Present : Justice & Love triumph at Oakland's general strike - Video from David Nelson at Oakland's General Strike, 11/2/11Paper Cranes - The police destroyed the camp, but the cranes survived. By Dawn Haney, 11/1/11The World is Watching Oakland - On the ground reflections from BPF staff member Jacks McNamara on Oakland's police repression & the peaceful response from Occupy Oakland, 10/27/11Sat in silence - reflections about participation in daily meditation, 10/26/11Notes on Racism at Occupied Oakland - reflections on anti-racist organizing from BPF staff member Dawn Haney, 10/18/11

Photos of Meditators at Occupy Oakland in the Media

The noon meditation group initiated by the Buddhist Peace Meditation Fellowship at Occupy Oakland in Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, October 31, 2011: one two three