Monday, 20 March 2023, is Bodhisattva Day

This is your more or less annual reminder that Monday, 20 March 2023 is Bodhisattva Day. Said day is observed by wearing the Okesa of Compassion, to wit, a cardigan sweater. (Fortunately for me, neither it nor I have to look as attractive as the photo at left.)

Full particulars here.


(Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and a generous photographer.)

Tuesday, 20 March, is Bodhisattva Day

It's happening, droogies! This Tuesday the time comes again to emulate Mr. Rogers and throw down for Bodhisattva Day.

So:

ALL TROOPS BREAK OUT YOUR CARDIGANS!

That's pretty much it. No need to wear a colour-coded ribbon or do an interpretative dance or march about in the streets chanting "Hey-hey ho-ho!" or sing a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walk out.

Just wear the wool of compassion.

Or the acrylic. Your call.

Because enlightenment is its own movement.

Again, that's THIS TUESDAY, 20 MARCH. All over the world. Boys and girls. Buddhists and non-Buddhists. People who are legitimately cold and those who are just posing. Crunchy and smooth. Waterfall and window shade.

Tuesday.

20 March.

Cardigan.

Gassho.


(Photograph of Día de los Muertes ofrenda to Mr. Rogers at Carmichael Library courtesy of Albert Herring and Wikimedia Commons.)

Bodhisattva Day is Friday, 20 March!

Don't forget to wear your cardigan tomorrow (Friday, 20 March) in support of the bodhisattva in us all! Particulars here.










(Photo of portrait of Mr. Rogers done entirely in M&Ms courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and a generous photographer.)

Happy Bodhisattva Day! (20 March)

I'm wearing my cardigan! Are you wearing yours? (For more information on Bodhisattva Day, see my previous post.)

20 March is Bodhisattva Day

On 20 March, I'm inviting all brother and sister seekers to be mindful of the Bodhisattva. "Bodhisattva" is the Buddhist term for those who dedicate their lives to ending suffering, in ways large and small, and also – especially – for that bit inside all of us that urges us in that direction.

Why 20 March? Well, that's Fred Rogers' birthday. "Mr. Rogers" was a North American children's entertainer ("mentor" is more accurate) who embodied the Bodhisattva Way. His gentle, respectful demeanour and careful attention to those around him are legendary. It's also completely true; my brother and I met him at a public television business function when we were 4 and 6. He gave us his undivided attention, genuinely interacting with us and ignoring the politicians and PBS executives milling about. And I've had similar stories from others. Dude was real.

So there may be others as qualified as my brother Fred to be the poster child of bodhisattva nature, but I doubt there's anyone better.

Therefore I propose that 20 March be Bodhisattva Day. You don't gotta be Buddhist to get a piece; Mr. Rogers wasn't. (He was an ordained Presbyterian minister.) You just have to agree that people should strive to default to their compassionate impulses, as a matter of policy.

I further suggest that, as an unobtrusive and respectful statement of conviction, we honour this day of reflection by wearing a cardigan sweater.

But no pinching people who don't, eh?

Mr. Rogers' own cardigan, now on display at the Smithsonian.

(Photos courtesy of KUHT [Mr. Rogers on-set], Rudi Riet [Mr. Rogers' sweater], and Wikimedia Commons.)