Little Chapel to host Buddhists
By Heather Trujillo, The Wildcat Online, March 14, 2008
All welcome to attend, meditate, pray during break
Tucson, Arizona (USA) -- Students still on campus over spring break will have the opportunity to participate in a nationwide Buddhist celebration.
<< Dean Pielstick, back, president of Dharmakirti College and an ordained Buddhist yogi leads a prayer with Jim Rutke, 62, from Tucson, in the Little Chapel of All Nations on Friday, Feb. 29, as part of a weekly Buddhist meditation. The chapel will have the Dharmakirti College Buddhist Day during spring break March 21.
Media Credit: Sam Shumaker
The Little Chapel of all Nations will host the Dharmakirti College Buddhist Day from noon to 1 p.m. March 21.
There will be recitation of prayers from the Khaton Prayerbook from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
"Last year, it was held only in New York, but this year it will be celebrated in a number of cities across the country," said Sloane Haywood, director of design and planning at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. "Essentially, it is to celebrate being Buddhist, the teachings and what it means."
Three separate locations in Tucson are hosting the celebration. Besides the chapel, there will be an event from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 1871 N. King St. and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Tucson Shambhala Center, 3270 N. Tucson Boulevard.
Each location will feature different modes of meditation and events.
"We really encourage anyone to come, even if you are not Buddhist," Haywood said. "Meditation is a practice that is beneficial to anyone."
The celebration was started to allow a place for meditation and teaching, and an open mic to share information and ideas, Haywood said.