The Buddha That Transformed 11th Ave with Dan Stevenson

In 2009 11^th Avenue and 19^th Street in Oakland was an intersection that attracted garbage dumping, and gatherings of street people whose energy was dark and divisive.  It was in this environment that Dan and Lu Stevenson, living in the neighborhood, got the creative idea to install a Buddha statue on the corner and see if it might change things.  And did it ever! 

Here Dan Stevenson talks with Julie about how their neighborhood was transformed–how the Buddha became a unifying force that shifted the energy of their neighborhood for good.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_Buddha 

A great video of this story on FaceBook:  https://fb.watch/ar4_Y8ZtVX/

Article in “The Lion’s Roar”  https://www.lionsroar.com/see-buddha-11th-avenue/

Article in “Tricycle” , The Buddhist Review:  https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/buddha-11th-avenue/

Great photos here in theworld.org:  https://theworld.org/stories/2014-11-19/how-buddhist-shrine-transformed-neighborhood-oakland