When soto zen buddhists put on their robes at the beginning of a day, they chant: “Great robe of liberation. Field far beyond form & emptiness. Wearing the Tathagata’s teaching. Saving all beings.”
The Great Flag of Liberation began as a meditation on what it means to be a US citizen in this political moment. It has become the visualization of a dream: a community coming together with the intention of living for the benefit of all beings.
The flag will be composed of 195 individual rakusu faces stitched from black and blue jeans worn by members of my Brattleboro, VT community. The height of each rakusu face corresponds to the width of one of the US flag’s 13 stripes, requiring 13 rows of 15 rakusus to maintain the traditional dimensions of the US flag.
Rakusus are the small bib-like garment zen buddhists sew by hand when they receive the precepts, a ceremony in which they vow to live their lives for the benefit of all beings. Stitching a rakusu is both a form of meditation and the embodiment of this vow.
When I sew a rakusu, it is a reaffirmation of my (always wobbly) aspiration to live my life for the benefit of all beings. When I sew a rakusu from fabric worn by members of my community, it is both an affirmation that I recognize that same aspiration in them (regardless of their faith tradition or political affiliation) and an expression of hope for the world we can create together when we each get a little closer to living into that aspiration.
Making a flag out of rakusus is a visualization of that world – it calls it into being.
I have stitched just over 100 of the 195 rakusu faces needed – from fabric gifted by neighbors, community faith leaders, elected representatives, teachers, recently incarcerated community members, and others from our Brattleboro community. See the list of folks who have already donated here.
If you feel called to contribute a pair of black or blue jeans to this project, please email me at mariepierrepyart.com. It is my hope to stitch as many of my community members as possible into the fabric of this quilt. Thank you for considering.
marie-pierre py 