Zen Peacemakers Auschwitz-Birkenau Bearing Witness Retreat

In honor of my family I have decided to make my way to Poland this fall where I will attend the annual zen peacemakers retreat held at Auschwitz Birkenau every year.

The Peacemakers organization asks that rather than fund it ourselves, we aspire to follow the Buddha’s path of begging for it; asking for dana (the practice of giving to support spiritual practice) . So that’s basically what I’m doing here; humbly begging you, asking for dana to support me going to sit a meditation retreat held within the walls of Auschwitz this November.

Everyone who decides to participate in this offering (or anyone who either can’t afford to or just doesn’t want to offer monies) can then send me a bead and I’ll make a mala (prayer necklace) that I will wear and practice with while attending the retreat.

A little about my personal history: I was the first generation born in the US to the remnants of a Holocaust refugee family. My maternal grandfather’s parents (my great grandparents) and three of his siblings had their lives come to a conclusion within the walls of Auschwitz. After the war was over, the surviving family settled in Czechoslovakia where my mom and uncle were born. If I have the story straight, the communists then came in and my grandparents and other family members decided to get out of there in fears that what they just went through was about to repeat itself. After a few stops along the way, most of my family ended up in Cleveland Ohio where I was eventually conceived and given birth to.

I am feeling called to attend this retreat for various reasons. One of which is for my own personal healing and spiritual evolution; as being raised by this very loving family that went through such unimaginable trauma had an effect that I did not realize until relatively recently is deep and asking for some loving attention. And I am also feeling called to attend this retreat for what feels like more collective reasons; a sort of acknowledgment and bearing witness to the collective suffering of humanity of the past and of the present.

All amounts donated will be accounted for and after retreat expenses are paid if any funds are remaining they will be donated to the peacemakers organization. No matter what the amount donated or simply your well wishes will all be appreciated.