Last evening, many of Upaya Zen Center's sangha gathered for a time of silent meditation, followed by a powerful talk by head priest Genzan Q Quennell. Genzan's talk focused on the tragedy in Orlando and the "power of speech to turn the destiny of a nation" (Dogen).
He finished his talk with reading the names and ages of all those in the LGBTQ & Latinx community who were killed in the Pulse Club.
Click here to listen to the podcast of this dharma talk.
We at Upaya stand in sorrow at the horrific loss of life, and in solidarity with all those who are calling out for an ending of violence and the passing of sane and compassion-based gun legislation.
Some of the beautiful people killed in Orlando.
Click here to read more responses from the Buddhist community to the Orlando tragedy.
Thank you, dear friends at Upaya, for this statement and for Genzan's beautiful and powerful talk last night.
In statements like this, I believe it is crucially important to note that nearly all the victims were Latino/a as well as members of the LGBQT community, and that we need some major reflection on the climate of hatred and intolerance that is currently being stoked in the U.S. While identity politics can at times be problematic and may (at least on the surface) seem antithetical to dharma teachings related to self=lessness, we cannot deny that certain groups of people are targeted for violence simply for being who they are, whether that is a sexual orientation, ethnicity, or something else. In the spirit of seeing 'things as they are,' I believe that naming this is essential to moving toward some kind of healing down the road.