Unity of Santa Barbara’s lovely meeting location with the attendees listening to the presentation on the Dalai Lama’s 89th Birthday.
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For today's suggested topic lets consider the video from the Dalai Lama’s 89th Birthday Celebration hosted at Unity of Santa Barbara mentioned in last weeks Monday Coffee Hour. In that article I introduced the Empathy Tent.
This event was held July 5, 2024 at Unity of Santa Barbara’s lovely meeting location.
Jump the fold for pictures of the tent and the video of the presentations. And a transcript of the presentation that Beth Prince representing the the Santa Barbara Empathy Center gave.
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Here is a partial list of those presenting at the celebration. Group prayer for world peace and compassion led by His Eminence Tulku Orgyen Rinpoche from the Ordiyana Institute Buddhist Center and local Himalayan families. Das Williams, SB County Board of Supervisors, presenting the Proclamation naming July 6, 2024 as Compassion Day in the County of SB. Randy Rowse, SB City Mayor, presenting the Proclamation naming July 6, 2024 as Compassion Day in the City of SB.Tibetan monks from Gadhen Shartse Monastery, India, will chant for harmony. Tibetan Culture Performance by the Namchod Kyetsel Tibetan Language School, Tibetan Association of Northern CA. And highlighted in this article a presentation from the Santa Barbara Empathy Center.
Below is the transcript from the Santa Barbara Empathy Center presentation. I would like to thank Beth Prince for representing our movement of Building a Culture of Empathy. (I slightly edited the transcript removing the ums, uhs, ohs, and poor AI transcription mistakes.)
Transcript of Beth Prince’s presentation from the video.
Thank you for those who have come back from that cake I'm sure that was hard to walk away from. And I'll be trying that later. Anyway well hello beautiful people because I'm looking out at this ocean of beautiful faces. In Santa Barbara we are excited to announce the opening of the new empathy Center formerly known as St Mary Seminary. It is up on Los Canoas Road.
Our mission is simple yet profound to raise the level of empathy in the world we aim to make Mutual empathy a primary social value fostering a more connected and understanding Community.
His Holiness often speaks about the importance of compassion in our lives he teaches us that compassion is the foundation for a peaceful and harmonious world but how do we cultivate compassion the answer lies in empathy we believe is the gateway to compassion by understanding and sharing the feelings of others we open our hearts and minds paving the way for true compassion to flourish so to learn more about our mission and how you can be part of this transformative journey.
I invite you to one you can visit our empathy tent which is outside and experience empathic listening, being heard. We will offer the empathic listening today and to be heard today. Whatever is on your heart. And , also to visit our website at www.theempathycenter.org.
We have several exciting projects and initiatives that you can get involved in. So one is every Sunday at 11AM. We have an empathy Cafe. This is how I know Thepo. This is how I met Thepo is at the empathy Café. It's uh two hours every Sunday at 11AM. It's a Wonderful opportunity to learn more about the empathy Center share your ideas and discover how you can contribute to our mission. It's a place where mutual understanding and support are nurtured.
We would love to have you join us our empathy tent is used for Community listening events and it provides a safe and welcoming space for people to be heard and understood. We believe that by listening to each other we can build stronger more empathetic communities. We also offer empathy trainings to help individuals develop their empathetic abilities. These trainings are designed to enhance your capacity for empathy making it easier to connect with and support those around you.
The empathy center is open for all kinds of workshops and events so if you go to the website you can host a workshop or an event at this beautiful center with an ocean view. And we are planning to host a variety of activities in collaboration with Thepo and the community including a Tibetan monks and mandala ceremonies. And interfaith dialogues that were already mentioned tonight. These events aim to bring people together from different backgrounds and perspectives fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation for each other thank you and enjoy the celebration.
YouTube Video
I thought everyone reading this article might like to view this video: His Holiness the Dalai Lama's message on his 89th birthday July 6, 2024. Sorry no text English translation. However the video has a English translation in the subtitles.
Below are some pictures our Empathy Tent and some of the presenters and volunteers outside. (I’m tracking down the names of the persons below and will update diary.)
Guests at the event conversing in front of the Empathy Tent
Thank You For Reading,
Jonathan Gordon
The opinions expressed in this diary are solely the authors and do not necessarily express the views or opinions of Daily Kos, Street Prophets, or the Santa Barbara Empathy Center.
