Lost Stories of Black Charleston, March 22 & 24, 2023
“If these streets could talk….“
Members of Indigo Sangha joined writer, historian, educator, and storyteller Damon Fordham for a unique walking tour of downtown Charleston.
It is well known that our city was built by the talents and labor of enslaved people and funded by wealth the enslavers amassed through violent exploitation. Charleston was ‘the capitol’ of the import industry of enslaved people. This is the place where America’s Civil War began and ended. Yet Indigo members were eager to learn the stories omitted from our school history books–true accounts of the lives and actions of the heroes of African American resistance before, during and after reconstruction.
We recommend the tour to you. Learn more about the Lost Stories of Black Charleston HERE.
Introduction to Engaged Buddhism, January 29, 2023
Indigo Sangha facilitator Heather Lyn Mann (ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh with the Dharma name True Lotus Peace) offered an introductory lesson on mindfulness and engaged Buddhism as practiced in the Plum Village Community. This marked the first time Charleston’s Interfaith Harmony Month featured a Buddhist event. The interactive session drew more than 60 participants. Indigo Sangha, the Charleston Interreligious Council and Unity Church co-sponsored the program .
Indigo at Charleston’s Interfaith Harmony Month Proclamation, January 3, 2023
Each January, Charleston’s Mayor joins the State of South Carolina, the Charleston Inter-Religious Council and diverse communities of faith to proclaim January “interfaith harmony month.” This year, children from many different spiritual communities helped Mayor Tecklenburg read the proclamation aloud. Indigo Sagha was delighted to have Tristian Evans represent Indigo Sangha and the Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism.
The legacy of Dr. King is especially celebrated during this year’s Interfaith Harmony festivities. Our teacher, Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, was a contemporary and dear friend of Dr. King’s. You can learn more about this friendship and how it inspired Thich Nhat Hanh’s lifelong devotion to building Beloved Community in the book, Brothers in the Beloved Community by Marc Andrus.
For more about Interfaith Harmony Month 2023, check out this article in Charleston’s Post and Courier.
Indigo at Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, November 22, 2022
Sangha member Nicole Johnson-Blair represented Indigo Sangha at the annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service sponsored by the Charleston Interreligious Council. The theme of the evening was “giving thanks by giving back.” Nicole talked about our community’s collective decision to become a charter organizational member of Charleston’s soon-to-open International African American Museum. Thank you, Nicole!
Indigo Batiks of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Calligraphy, May 14, 2022
We have artists in the group! For a fun activity with beautiful results, Indigo Sangha friends gathered to recreate Thich Nhat Hanh’s calligraphy in the form of hand-dyed indigo batiks!
Sit-Walk-Listen Event for Black Lives, August 23, 2020
At the invitation of Reverend Dixon and The Coalition, Uplift, and Stand as One, Indigo Sangha hosted a Covid-safe, Interfaith Sit-Walk-Listen for Black Lives event in the style of Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism. We aspired to bring the practice of compassion, love, and deep listening to Charleston’s Battery and to better understand what needs healing around race.
Sangha Members at Summerville’s Candlelight Vigil, July 12, 2019
Day of Mindfulness: April 6th, 2019
More than forty beginning and experienced practitioners joined Indigo Sangha for a day of mindfulness with Plum Village Dharma Teacher Leslie Rawls. It was a fun event of self-care and together we cultivated our ability to touch the wonders of life and peace in ourselves and the world. Leslie offered instruction on meditation and mindfulness practice. Activities included guided sitting meditation, a mindful silent meal, deep relaxation, a time of mindful sharing with each other, and a Dharma talk by Leslie on touching peace and justice.
Leslie Rawls is a Dharmacharya (Dharma Teacher) in the 43rd generation of the Lam Te Dhyana School. She received Lamp Transmission from the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh during the 2008-2009 Winter Retreat in Plum Village, France. Leslie has studied Buddhism since 1970 and been actively involved with the Plum Village community for more than two decades.
Transmission Ceremony
The Day of Mindfulness was funded in part through a generous grant from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation.