Auschwitz/Birkenau Bearing Witness Retreat: June 2010

My practice, as a Buddhist, includes bearing witness to the suffering of this world as a means of raising consciousness for social change. As part of my commitment to compassion, this summer, I will be participating in a week-long ZenPeacemakers’ Auschwitz/Birkenau Bearing Witness Retreat beginning on the morning of June 7th. Each day will be spent sitting by the train tracks in the death camp, both in silence and in chanting the names of the dead.
This journey must begin with me humbly asking for your assistance. I am holding out my begging bowls and seeking to raise $1,500 towards this trip, most of which will go to the Zen Peacemakers organization and their continued commitment to socially engaged Buddhism.

Admittedly, I find the prospect of sitting and being fully present in Auschwitz overwhelming. Your support means I will not be going there alone. I will be assembling a Mala, Buddhist prayer beads. Each bead will represent each one of you who has donated.

I will wear this Mala on my journey, taking all of you with me. The support Malas I wore in 2007 when I went on a Street Retreat in Detroit were a lifeline of strength and connection for me, and I know I will definitely need a lifeline in Auschwitz this June.

In Auschwitz, we will be performing memorial services for the dead, and if there is anyone you would like me to include in this remembrance, please send me their names. I would be honored to include them as I recite the Mourner’s Kaddish.

I have set up a PayPal link at the top of this page. You can log into your account from there or, if you don't a PayPal account, go to "Don't have a PayPal account?" and click CONTINUE.

The photographs in this post are from others who have made this journey and share their images with us. My intent is to photograph and record my journey and post them here as a means of bring this experience back to you.

Thank you for reading this and considering a donation.

Here is a video made by the Zen Peacemakers about the first Auschwitz/Birkenau Bearing Witness Retreat in 1996.

Peace & Love, ZenCowboy