Like misty moonlight,
watery, bewildering -
our temporal way
- Issa, Translated by Sam Hamill
TAKING ACTION
From Bearing Witness to Taking Action
Zen Peacemakers live by the Three Tenets: Not-Knowing, Bearing Witness, and Taking Action.
When we let go of certainty, we begin to truly see.
When we see, our hearts move us to respond.
Taking Action invites us into that response — a growing web of service and connection around the world. Together, we are building a map of compassion in motion — one that connects individuals, communities, and organizations embodying the practice of contemplative social action.
By 2026, this living map will feature over 20,000 global organizations offering meaningful volunteer opportunities in areas such as environmental care, racial equity, prison outreach, and more.
✨ Explore the Taking Action initiative — discover how you can serve, connect, and be inspired by the work already unfolding in your communities.
👉 Explore More
❤️ Your gift helps bring the Three Tenets to life.
👉 Donate Here
Weekly Spotlight: Love Volunteers
With a goal of breaking down the still prevalent racial prejudices left in the wake of the Bosnian War of 1992-95, this wonderfully unique social development project was established with the sole purpose of creating and improving relationships between the young people of historically conflicting ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Dissolving generations of inherited, deep-seated racial prejudices can be a long and arduous task, and international volunteers, themselves from a diverse range of ethnic backgrounds, demonstrating compassion and indiscriminate empathy to the children, play an important role in achieving the desired outcomes of this ambitious project.
Brcko, Bosnia
Zen Peacemakers Bearing Witness to Gaza Silent Meditation
Friday, Nov. 7th, 12pm Eastern Time, Zoom
Please join us virtually to sit together in silent vigil to acknowledge all those suffering in Gaza.
PEACEMAKER CIRCLES
Tuesday, Nov. 4th, 12:00pm Eastern Time, Zoom
Bernie Glassman: His Legacy Moving into the Future
Join us as we celebrate Bernie Glassman’s life and legacy. In this second of two gatherings, panelists will share their experiences with Bernie and explore how we can continue honoring his work and vision as we move into the future. Come with your comments, questions or just enjoy the offering.
The Love and Kindness We All Need Right Now
Wednesday, Nov. 5th, 12pm Eastern Time, Zoom
In this practice presentation Stephen Mugen Snyder, Roshi will introduce how the ancient Buddhist heart practices (the brahma viharas) work well with the three tenants of the Peacemakers to give one greater clarity, acceptance, and peace.
The Three Tenets with Sensei Jim Daikan Bastien
Monday, November 17th, 12 pm US Eastern Time, Zoom
Bernie Glassman articulated the Three Tenets of the Zen Peacemakers early in the evolution of the organization. But these three, simple, profound vows or commitments can also be taken as a complete practice for our life:
I will embody Not Knowing, thereby giving up fixed ideas.
I will Bear Witness, opening my heart to the joy and suffering of life.
I will take Loving Action arising out of not-knowing and bearing witness.
We can practice and manifest our true selves in every situation and with everything that arises, using the Three Tenets. This is a lifelong practice, one we never complete. In our hour-long session, we will present and describe the Three Tenets and have time to take your questions.
WAY OF COUNCIL
Council is one of our most important core Zen Peacemaker practices. We share Council during our Bearing Witness retreats almost every day. In Council, we come together in a small group in a profound way. We create a shared liminal space that is safe, confidential, and perhaps sacred. We each listen and speak from the heart, encountering and experiencing one another gently and with awareness. We are not solving problems or debating issues or making plans. We are making a healing space for each of us to hear and be heard, see and be seen.
UPCOMING COUNCILS (click on title to learn more & register)
Mon, Nov. 10th - Mental Health Professionals & Caregivers with Dr. Iris Dotan Katz
Tues., Nov. 18th - Way of Council: On Eldering without Children All ages welcome.
A Note From Zen Peacemakers Affiliate
At Holy Land Trust, while we do not operate directly inside Gaza, we are committed to raising awareness, standing with those suffering, and calling on all people of conscience to act.
The starvation of an entire population cannot be justified. It is not collateral damage—it is a form of violence. And we believe in nonviolence. We believe in justice. We believe in the transformation of trauma into hope, and that starts with recognizing the full humanity of those being crushed by this war.
As we reflect on this moment, we ask our community to stand with Gaza—not only in prayer, but in action:
Speak out.
Share the truth.
Support organizations delivering food and medicine.
Refuse to look away.
From Bethlehem to Gaza, our struggle is one. Our hope is one. And our future depends on how we respond to the cries of the most vulnerable today.
AFFILIATE EVENTS
BUDDHIST VOICES FOR IMMIGRATION JUSTICE: COMPASSION IN ACTION VIRTUAL TOWN HALL
NOVEMBER 20, 2025 – 6-7:30 PM EST
October 20, 2025, Washington, D.C. – The Buddhist Coalition for Democracy, in partnership with the Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC is pleased to announce a Virtual Town Hall on Immigration Justice, to be held on November 20, 2025 at 6 PM EST. This will be an online event, presented via Zoom.Panelists will include prominent Buddhist teachers and experienced immigration experts.
Street Retreat San Francisco
December 1 – 8, 2025
Join us on the streets of San Francisco, for our December Street Retreat
Led by Joshin Byrnes, Guiding Teacher, Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community
Affiliate Spotlight: Beyond Us & Them
fostering wellbeing, compassion, and social connection
Beyond Us & Them envisions a culture of social connection, engagement, and resilience that promotes mutual respect, well-being, and care and dismantles systems of oppression, exclusion, and racism.
What They Do
Beyond Us & Them offers practical, evidence-based solutions to enhance wellbeing, disrupt division, nurture relationships, and deliver tangible results.
Los Angeles, USA
PEACEMAKERS PODCAST
Beyond Us & Them: Council, Connection, and Taking Action (with Jared Seide)
In this episode of the Peacemakers Podcast, hosts Jim Hōden Fricker and Geoff Shōun O’Keeffe sit down with Jared Seide of Beyond Us & Them to explore a simple, radical practice: sitting in a circle and truly listening. What begins as “ordinary” turns out to be transformative—calming classrooms, easing tensions in neighborhoods, helping people heal in pr…
ZAZEN
Experience a connection with your personal landscape through the transformative power of online meditation sessions with the Zen Peacemakers. Whether you're part of a local sangha or other spiritual community, we invite you to join us in this virtual space where we can gather across geographies and time zones.
Join us for these online meditation sessions and experience the profound benefits of collective mindfulness. The Zen Peacemakers are here to support you on this transformative journey.
Monday - Friday
10:00 - 10:40 am US Eastern
MORE INFO HERE
Haiku
Monthly Haiku Page
Please participate in our Haiku Poetry Challenge
OFFERING
The Bernie Koans
Edited by: Ken Byalin, Francisco "Paco" Lugovina, Christopher Panos
‘It’s just my opinion, man’, as Bernie would say. We all have our opinions about Roshi Bernie Glassman. To some of us, he is the stern head monk at Zen Center of LA; to others, he is the socially engaged Buddhist who built up the Greyston Bakery and Foundation. To others he is the founder of Zen Peacemakers International and the instigator of bearing witness plunges on the city streets and at Auschwitz and to others he is the clown, the founder of the Order of Disorder. He is all of these and more. As the stories in the book show, he is Bernie, the mensch, who spent his life feeding the hungry ghosts of society and teaching that Zen is to realize the oneness and interconnectedness of life.
-Gerry Shishin Wick, grateful Dharma brother and disciple of Roshi Bernie
Thank you for reading this week's Zen Peacemakers newsletter.
We look forward to connecting at upcoming events, on social media, and via email.
With gratitude,
The Zen Peacemakers Team



















