Global Awareness Local Action (GALA) (Saturdays, Oct 4-Nov 22, 7:30 - 11:30 am PT)

Global Awareness Local Action (GALA) is a Barre Center for Buddhist Studies initiative to inspire a deeper engagement with climate change informed and inspired by Buddhist teachings and mindfulness. Grounded in the idea that Buddhist ethics calls on us to mitigate and adapt to climate change, the GALA program, freely offered on a dāna basis, will share practices, conceptual frameworks, and workshops to support participants in mindful and skillful engagement in a world with a rapidly changing climate.

Grounded in the idea that Buddhist ethics calls on us to mitigate and adapt to climate change, the GALA program, freely offered on a dāna basis, will share practices, conceptual frameworks, and workshops to support participants in mindful and skillful engagement in a world with a rapidly changing climate.

Program Schedule

Two teaching sessions will be held every Saturday during the program, with one teacher offering a morning session and a second teacher offering an afternoon session.

When: Saturdays, October 4 – November 22, 2025
Times:
Morning Session: 7:30–8:30 AM PT
Afternoon Session: 10:30–11:30 AM PT (Jon Kabat-Zinn’s sessions will run from 10:30 am-12:30 pm PT)

Teachers

Bhikkhu Anālayo, resident scholar-monk at BCBS
Rhonda Magee, Professor Emeritus at the University of San Francisco Law School and a leading scholar and teacher at the intersection of mindfulness and social justice
Rebecca Henderson, John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard University and a fellow of both the British Academy and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and one of the leaders in the movement to integrate mindfulness into medicine and approaches to well-being

Mindful Climate Activism: Small Groups and Workshops (Online)

Participants will be invited to join small groups based on geography and/or common interests to support each other in becoming more engaged in mindful climate activism. Starting in the fall and continuing into 2026, environmental organizations and others working for a more just and sustainable world will offer a number of workshops for participants. These workshops are intended to support us as individuals and/or in our small groups in embodying Buddhist ethics and mindfully responding to climate change.