The sound of Protestant hymns drifts down through the ceiling as a dozen women and men sit cross-legged to meditate.  This is a typical service at the Charlotte Community of Mindfulness, a group of mostly European-American Buddhist sympathizers that gathers on Sunday mornings from 8:30 to 10:45 in Myers Park Baptist Church's basement. That room is filled with Buddhist posters and statues--in contrast to the cross that adorns the altar in the church above.  The group was founded in 1993.

Thich Nhat Hanh, the popular Vietnamese Mahayana teacher who inspires this group, teaches that "every act is a rite" and mindfulness, or offering one's full attention to each action, is a central spiritual practice for the basement Buddhists.  And the group emphasizes that practice, as well as seated meditation, during their weekly sessions and on their monthly Day of Mindfulness. 
CW, MC

JW
(last updated 4/2/06)