Sunday

Practice for victims and survivors of Japanese earthquake

De la mort, la vie. Photo courtesy of Miriam Hall

As the Japanese people undergo immense loss, grief and fear in the aftermath of the massive earthquake and tsunami, please hold all the victims and survivors in your hearts and practice.

“The current situation of the earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear plants is in a way the most severe crisis in the past 65 years since World War II,” said the Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

Millions remain without electricity and authorities are stepping up relief efforts as the scale of the tragedy becomes clearer.

Members of Shambhala are encouraged to dedicate their practice at this time to the victims and survivors of the disaster. You may include them in your tonglen practice, and the practice of the Four Immeasurables — which can be done in the course of your individual practice or at your Shambhala Centre or Group.

You may also wish to recite the Heart Sutra for the millions affected in various ways by the quake, tsunami and fears of a nuclear disaster. Kindly recite the sutra, including 108 recitations of the mantra.

Japanese television showed cars, ships and buildings being swept away by a vast wall of water after a 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck the region this weekend. At least 1,300 people are thought to have died, but police have warned that the death toll in tsunami-hit Miyagi prefecture alone could exceed 10,000.