Portland Shambhala at the People’s Climate March

For those of you who were at the center at Harvest of Peace, or were able to hear the Sakyong’s address at another center or at your home, you might have heard the Sakyong mention an event that was going on that weekend: the People’s Climate March. This event happened worldwide- with estimates between 300 and 400 thousand people at the New York March. There was a march here in Portland, and a few of us Portland Shambhalians went to represent our center and our beliefs in the sacredness of the world and duty to protect it. I was there with the flag of the Kasung, which you can see in pictures, and joined by Doug McCanne and Jay Stewart. I’m sure a few more of you were there hidden in the crowd.

It was a great and mostly positive event, the organizers were trying to promote a big tent concept, with nobody being left out. There were representatives of many faith communities, including some other Buddhists, like the Dharma Rain Zen Center. There were a large number of speeches and talks before the march itself started, including a surprise visit by the Governor. Some of the speeches spoke about treating the earth with dignity, but of course some chose to pin blame and were a little more aggressive in nature. But the overall tone of the event was largely positive. I would estimate the crowd to be around 5 thousand. We started at the Waterfront and marched north along it, turning around at about the Burnside bridge and heading down Naito Parkway. I got a few questions about the flag I was bearing, and explained its significance as a symbol of protection- the trident is a traditional symbol of abolishing of the three poisons of passion, aggression and ignorance.

It felt very good to go to this event as a proud Shambhalian and proclaim that we believe in protecting our sacred world. I hope it is not the last time we get involved in such work!