In honor of Taihaku's love of children and gardening, we broadcast this month's Children's Program from Taihaku's Vegetable Garden.
We also tried our first "hybrid" Children's Program, in which some participants joined virtually and some in person for the first time ever. For the program we read and acted out the book Squabbling Squashes, written by Carol Lingman and Shohaku Okumura and illustrated by Minette Mangahas. The book takes place at the garden of a Japanese monastery, where several squashes are arguing about who is bigger and who the monks like more. One monk comes to teach the squashes how to be more peaceful through meditation, and also to recognize their vined interconnectedness.
We then practiced meditating and imagining vines connecting us to all beings.
The in-person participants then assisted with the Community Garden Day, caring for the abundant plants that Taihaku started several months ago, which we all now continue to carry forward.
