Wednesday, 16 April 2008

'Walking while Buddhist'

Zhong-Xin, a Zen practitioner in Cleveland (presumably Ohio), posted these reflections about a resident's reaction to the sight of Buddhist monks walking in a contemplative line through a neighbourhood.

'It appears that, while we were contemplating the suffering of all beings, someone in the neighborhood was suffering from fear of the unknown.'

So they called the cops. (Via Neighbors project blog).

16 Apr 2008 22:06:00

1 Comment

As bad as calling the cops to sort out a pavement chalk drawing!

Posted by: ian | Friday, 18 April 2008 at 17:46

The comments to this entry are closed.

NEXT POST
Learning from the local: engagement and cohesion A quick note about yesterday's Learning from the Local conference organised by the Centre for Urban and Community Research at Goldsmiths. The main purpose was to report on a recent local project, the Newtown Neighbourhood Project (report will be linked here when I'm told it is available). This material was well contextualised with other presentations, including an update from Marj Mayo on a current JRF project on community engagement, governance and ethnic diversity - 'fluid communities, solid structures'; and a session on researching and working with gypsy-traveller groups. The Newtown Neighbourhood Project worked in a predominantly white area with a sizeable proportion of residents of gypsy/traveller origin. The partnership (a housing association, a community engagement consultant, and CUCR, with Housing Corporation funding) seems to have worked really well, so that participative research was possible and small specific actions followed from consultative exercises. The event got me thinking about the ways in which the community engagement agenda may be merging with (or coming into collision with) the community cohesion agenda. My take on it at the moment, FWIW, is that the two agendas come from different drivers but just because there are tensions between them - for example, there are practices of engagement which might seem to contribute to segregation; and at the same time, as Michael Keith pointed out in response to a question, there's a politics of cohesion which is fairly reactionary - I don't see why there should not be a natural combining process here. I'd like to live in a society where people incontestably have the right to informed participation in decision-making processes that affect them, and where at the same time people from different backgrounds get on well together. Doesn't sound too much to ask.
PREVIOUS POST
Community groups' survey on open spaces CABE have set up a survey for community groups to find out what they need to help them create better open spaces. This was the scene taken a few years ago outside a community venue in Brent where I did some work. And this is an aerial view of internal estate space, from a tower somewhere in London. It's crying out for kids playing ball, an occasional BBQ or street party and community drama in the summer. Which helps make the point that often it's not necessarily the redesign of spaces that should be prioritised, nor even provision of funding for creative solutions, but facilitating the release of energy by bringing people together and helpng them shape their own ideas: ie community development. Plus a few hundred quid maybe for a tent, some tables and a BBQ.

Kevin Harris

Search

My Other Accounts

Recent Comments