Dear readers,

Since I last wrote earlier this month, I've been humbled to have the opportunity to help co-organize—along with Duncan Williams, Funie Hsu, and other Asian American Buddhist leaders—a national Buddhist memorial ceremony in response to anti-Asian violence. You are warmly invited to join us for the livestreamed ceremony on May 4th (more details below). I hope the gathering will be a source of connection and healing for us all. 

In community,

~Chenxing

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May 4th, 2021 – May We Gather: A National Buddhist Memorial Ceremony for Asian American Ancestors

I hope you'll join me in supporting May We Gather: A National Buddhist Memorial Ceremony for Asian American Ancestors, a national event that brings together Asian American Buddhists and their allies in healing and solidarity. This free online event will be livestreamed on Tuesday, May 4th, 2021 at 4pm PT (7pm ET). 

You'll find instructions about how to watch the livestream, how to spread the word, and how to endorse the event as an individual or as a temple/organization at www.maywegather.org. 

• Information about the livestream, including instructions on how to participate during the ceremony and a button to add the event to your online calendar, can be found at www.maywegather.org/livestream
• Please let your family, friends, religious communities, educational institutes, and local media outlets know about #MayWeGather through word of mouth, email, social media, and other avenues. A downloadable flyer and graphics, sample tweets, and a press release are available at www.maywegather.org/spread-the-word
• The invitation for the event and a list of endorsing temples, sanghas, and organizations can be found at www.maywegather.org. Please consider adding your name to the list of individuals who endorse the event if you have not already done so. You may also wish to encourage the temples, sanghas, and organizations that you are a part of to endorse the event if they have not already done so. To submit an endorsement, scroll down on the homepage and click on the yellow button that corresponds to the category you would like to submit your endorsement under: (1) Asian American Buddhist Partner Temple or Organization, (2) Ally Partner Sangha or Organization, or (3) Individual. Clicking on the yellow button will bring up a simple form that you can then fill out and submit. 

Below is a press release with more information:

May We Gather: A National Buddhist Memorial Ceremony for Asian American Ancestors (www.maywegather.org) is the first national Buddhist memorial service in response to anti-Asian violence. The ceremony will be livestreamed from Higashi Honganji Temple in Los Angeles, which was vandalized earlier this year. The event will be freely broadcast online and will bring together Asian American Buddhists and their allies to heal in community together.

On May 4th, 2021, exactly seven weeks, or forty-nine days, will have passed since the Atlanta shootings claimed the lives of eight people, six of them women of Asian descent, including the 63-year-old Buddhist Yong Ae Yue. In many Buddhist traditions, forty-nine days after death marks an important transition for the bereaved. May We Gather will feature Buddhist chanting and reflections from forty-nine Asian American Buddhist leaders of South, Southeast, and East Asian descent in a communal ritual to honor people who have died from acts of anti-Asian violence in the United States. 

The hourlong event will be held on Tuesday, May 4th, 2021 at 4pm PDT (7pm EDT). We welcome Asian American Buddhist temples and organizations as well as allied communities and individuals of all backgrounds to participate in this ceremony by endorsing the gathering, sharing it widely, and watching the livestream on May 4th.

Please feel free to forward this email widely. We look forward to joining in community with you on May 4th. 

With gratitude,

~Chenxing