This annual event, originated in 1994 by Tricycle magazine, had its
inaugural celebration in the Triangle in 2004. We were a tiny group;
about 85 who came purposefully or drifted in from nearby Frisbee games to
sit along the shores of Lake Crabtree, hear the dharma and meditate.
Presenters included Ven. Tenzin Choenyi from Kadampa Center, who spoke
about tonglen meditation; Taitaku Pat Phelen Sensei of Chapel Hill Zen
Center, who spoke about dukkha, the unsatisfactoriness of life; and Bud
Reiter-Lavery of Mindfulness Practice Center of Durham, who led a
meditation on compassionate practice.
Change Your Mind Day was conceived as a day of dharma teachings from many Buddhist traditions, to be given outdoors and open to all comers, in the same manner that Shakyamuni Buddha originally offered his teachings.