Training in Advance of the Midterm Elections: The Art of De-escalation


October 22nd

7:00 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. ET 


Prominent trainer Michael Lazrus will offer BCD members a concise training for working with themselves and others when faced with potentially confrontational public situations. This online event is offered in preparation for the midterm elections and is open to the general public.

The Art of De-escalation: Practical Peacekeeping in the November 3 Election Environment will include a brief presentation, role-playing demonstrations, and reference tools, followed by a Q&A.

Michael Lazrus has been an organizer, nonviolent activist, trainer, and peacekeeper for five decades. His work has spanned movements and generations. His current focus is on defending democratic rights, immigration justice, and resisting abuses of state power. A certified Trainer of Trainers, Lazrus has helped people translate their values into effective action while maintaining nonviolent discipline, human connection, and care for one another. For him, engaged Buddhism is not a departure from spiritual practice. It is where practice meets the world.

Register in advance for this meeting. And feel free to share with others.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with the event information and link.

Photo: lesliejyerman


Sign the Petition in Solidarity with

Buddhist Peace Activist Mohsen Mahdawi

The Buddhist Coalition for Democracy has previously recommended members' support for Buddhist practitioner and Palestinian peace activist Mohsen Mahdawi in his fight against the government's illegal attempt to deport him. Mahdawi is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S.

The Plum Village Solidarity Peace Council is circulating a petition calling for an end to these proceedings, which are a violation of Mahdawi's right to free speech and international standards of human rights.

The BCD Coordinating Committee endorses this effort and urges members to sign the petition.

Photo: Jeff Krasno

BCD Encourages Members to Get Involved in Midterm Voter Support and Protection

The upcoming midterms have been called "probably the most consequential election since the eighteenth century" by American historian Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. 

As we get closer to election day, we are encouraging members to participate in voter support and protection activities in their local areas. Especially to ensure that vulnerable communities are able to vote freely without fear. Actions can be anything from get-out-the-vote projects, early voter support, driving people to and from the polls, voter accompaniment, serving as poll watchers, and more.

On October 17th, Indivisible is sponsoring local No Kings: Vote Early actions. There is still time to find one near you. 

BCD has issued a Call to Action in this election season. See article below, suggesting that members Study. Reflect. Practice. Vote. Serve. The Call to Action offers resources for involvement. Another resource is Hold the Line — a practical guide for everyday people to ensure our elections are free, fair, respected, and safe.

Given that each state and locality has its own rules, the best way to make a difference is by connecting with local organizations that are already planning voter rights activities.

Some of these organizations are already listed on the BCD call to action:

• ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union)
• Election Protection: 866OurVote.
• Local Indivisible chapters. 
• League of Women Voters.

The common goal of Buddhist Coalition for Democracy members is to work together to ensure democracy's survival. Helping to make sure that registered voters are able to do so without fear is an important contribution to that effort.

Graphic: ACLU of DC


A Call to Action This Election Season


As Buddhists and friends of the Dharma, we are called to see clearly, speak truthfully, act compassionately, and reduce suffering wherever we can.

Voting is one expression of that responsibility. So are listening deeply, protecting the vulnerable, defending democratic norms, resisting cruelty, and building communities rooted in dignity and compassion.

Study. Reflect. Practice. Vote. Serve.

A Buddhist Frame for Civic Participation

For those who walk a Buddhist path, civic life is not separate from practice.

We take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha — not as a retreat from the world, but as a way of meeting it more clearly. Compassion, equanimity, and the recognition of our shared humanity are not passive qualities. They are capacities that shape how we act.

In this spirit, we offer a simple invitation:

• Participate. Vote in local, state, and national elections. Voting is one of the most direct ways we express care for the whole.
• Pay attention. Listen closely to those who seek to lead. Notice not only what is said, but how it is said.
• Speak. Share your concerns with candidates and elected officials. Thoughtful engagement matters.
• Stay grounded. Let your actions arise from steadiness rather than reactivity.
• Practice right speech. Even in disagreement, commit to honesty, restraint, and respect.
• Refuse harm. Where policies or actions cause clear harm, consider how you might abstain from supporting or participating in them.

Democracy is a practice. Visit the Call to Action in the Election Season webpage for resources that support thoughtful participation in civic life as we approach the 2026 midterm elections.

Graphic: ACLU of DC


Don't Miss Season One of the

New Horizons in Engaged Buddhism Podcast

Season One of the New Horizons in Engaged Buddhism podcast hosted by Julia Sagebien has wrapped. This season included interviews with prominent engaged Buddhist thought leaders about their lives, aspirations, and views on how Buddhist values and social action can help heal the world.

Don't miss this 10-part series! 

Listen on Buzzsprout, Apple, or Spotify. Watch on the BCD YouTube channel.

Episode I

Seth Zuiho Segall

Zen Buddhist priest, BCD co-founder, and Tricycle contributing editor.

Episode II

Rev. Daiken Nelson Roshi

Guiding teacher of the Pamsula Zen Center (New York City), Pamsula Zen (Westchester, NY), and the Iowa City Zen Center.

Episode III

Francisco “Paco” Genkoji Lugoviña Roshi

Board member of the Zen Peacemakers organization; co-founder of the Hudson River Peacemaker Center: House of One People (Yonkers, NY).

Episode IV

Dr. Sharon A. Suh

Professor of Buddhism at Seattle University specializing in Buddhism, race and gender, and the intersections of trauma and mindfulness. 

Episode V

Sinclair Shunryu Thomson

Abbot of the Village Zendo, New York City.

Episode VI

Ellen Korman Mains

Daughter of Holocaust survivors and student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche.

Episode VII

Mushim Patricia Ikeda

Buddhist teacher, poet, author, social justice activist, and mother based in Oakland, California; teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center.

Episode VIII

Tara Brach

Spiritual teacher, psychologist, and author; founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, DC (IMCW).

Episode IX

Kaira Jewel Lingo

Former ordained Zen nun (and trainee of Thich Nhat Hanh); teacher of Buddhist meditation, secular mindfulness, and compassion practices.

Episode X

Joshin Byrnes

Zen priest and teacher at Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community in Middlebury, Vermont.

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BCD Annual Report

The BCD Annual Report updates members on our productive first year, detailing social actions, collaborations, online programs, and resources. It also offers a preview of our plans for the upcoming year.



Read the report.

Recent BCD Substack Blogs

• Amaury Cruz: A Buddhist Case for Confronting Injustice
• Karen Kat Symington Muendell: Walk Lightly Upon the Earth (A Love Poem)
• Karsten Struhl & Kathryn Koehl: A Buddhist Defense of Liberal Democracy
• Kirsten Dalquist: No Unsacred Places
• Seth Zuiho Segall: All Hands on Deck!
• Seth Zuiho Segall: Trump's War Against Immigrants
• Linda Modaro: What's Happening in the Weekly BCD Meditation Group
• Seth Zuiho Segall: Semiquincentennial Reflections
• Seth Zuiho Segall: Protect Haitian Immigrants Now
  
  BCD welcomes Substack columns from members. Submit them to Amaury Cruz, BCD Substack editor.




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