Bearing Witness at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum
October 3 @ 10:30 am – 3:30 pm
One Heart Sangha will be bearing witness to the WWII Holocaust by visiting the National Holocaust Memorial Museum in downtown Washington DC. Bearing witness is an important step in the Zen Peacemakers Three Tenets of Engaged Buddhism. By not knowing, setting aside our fixed notions and ideas about the Holocaust, we can bear witness to what arises in our hearts and minds as we tour the museum. Afterwards Sensei Bob, who has been to Auschwitz ten times as part of his Zen Peacemaker practice, will lead a Way of Council.
It is important to understand that the practice of bearing witness is boundless. The museum may prompt feelings or thoughts about events that have happened since the WWII Holocaust, or even events that are seemingly unrelated. Anything that appears in your heart-mind before, during, or after the museum visit is a valid and important part of this practice.
Attendance is free and OHS will be providing timed entry tickets to the main exhibit. Registration is required and will be limited to 25 attendees.
Plan on arriving by 10:30 AM at the latest and go through security on your own. The lines may be over 15 minutes on a Saturday. We will gather inside the museum to hand out tickets at 10:50 AM and enter together at 11 AM. Please watch your email for more details as the event approaches.
Please review this important information in advance
- Use the Museum’s 14th Street entrance.
- Items not allowed in the Museum include: guns, all knives, mace, pepper spray, and other weapons. Food and drink are prohibited, except as medically necessary. You may drink water from capped bottles.
- The USHMM Building Policies has a full list of prohibited items.
- We suggest looking over the Tips for your Visit page.
- USHMM Accessibility information
Getting to the Museum
The nearest Metro stop is Smithsonian on the Orange, Blue, and Silver lines, located one block east of the Museum. Multiple buses also stop at the museum. USHMM does not have parking so if you need to drive consider reserving a parking space using ParkMobile or SpotHero. USHMM Transportation Information