FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Heidi Enji Hoogstra
[email protected]
Website: http://www.geocities.com/portlandbpf/cymd.html
Change Your
Mind Day: A Buddhist Festival
Saturday, June 4,
2005
12:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Colonel Summers Park
SE 17th and Taylor,
Portland, Oregon
Introduction to Buddhist thought and practices
Teachings and activities for Children
Tabling by Buddhist Communities
Local
teachers from various Buddhist traditions will give introductory talks
and lead participants in meditation and chanting. Change Your Mind Day (CYM
Day) is designed to introduce Buddhist practices in a
friendly public setting, free of charge.
This will
be the second year that CYM Day will be held
in Portland, Oregon. We will join around 50 cities throughout the United
States, Canada,
Ireland, Australia,
and New Zealand
in this celebration of Buddhism.
June 4, 2005 will mark
the twelfth Change Your Mind Day event to be held in New
York City where it
was created by Tricycle: The Buddhist Review and attracts thousands of
participants. Presented by Tricycle,
this year the festival is also co-sponsored by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship
and The Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for
American Buddhism.
The
celebration in Portland begins with
108 bells at 12:30 pm. Local restaurants will offer donations of
food to be available to Buddhist monastics and volunteers starting at 11 am.
Monks from some traditions must eat
their one meal of the day before noon. While teachings are offered in the park
shelter from 12:30 to 5:30 pm, in another area volunteers from
several Buddhist traditions will offer activities and teachings for children. Representatives from local communities will
be available to field questions about their particular temple or group.
More and more Oregonians are
expressing interest in Buddhism, Buddhist meditation practices and
philosophy. CYM Day
offers a unique and friendly opportunity to experience them. The festival is planned and presented by
volunteers from several Buddhist groups in the Portland
area.
Here in Portland,
participating groups so far include:
Portland
Buddhist Peace Fellowship
Nichiren
Temple of Portland
ZCO
and Great Vow Monastery
Portland
Insight Meditation Community
NW
Dharma Association
The Portland
Miao Fa Chan Temple
Dharma
Rain Zen Center
Portland
Sakya Center
for Tibetan Buddhism
Buddha
Powers Temple,
Owen Adhisila
Portland
Shambhala Meditation
Center
Tibetan
Prayer Flags: Prayers of Peace Around the World
Oregon
Buddhist Temple