It was the quietest protest I'd ever attended.

Under a grove of trees at Willamette Park in Southwest Portland, about 100 people sat inside a circle of flowers made from lavender, daisies and greenery plucked from their homes. In the center, five bowls held blocks of melting ice. The arrangement formed a mandala, a spiritual symbol of the complexities and beauty of the universe.

At times, people sat in silence.

At times, they spoke their intentions in unison.

"May the frightened cease to be afraid

And those bound be freed

May the powerless find their power

And may we all act to benefit each other."

Portland's original Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters are Buddhists. For the past year, they've staged monthly "Thawing ICE" walks around the agency's headquarters in Southwest Portland.

Each second Thursday of the month, members of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship and the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice have paced in silence, ringing ceremonial bells and meditating on immigration policies they see as needlessly cruel.

This week's one-year anniversary walk was the first not held outside the ICE building, where a semi-permanent encampment of protesters has taken root.

Which is just fine by the Buddhists. The camp is a manifestation of the energy they've been cultivating since last July.

They see it as a sign their efforts are working.

"There are many ways to change a culture, and one big way to change a culture is to reveal its secrets," Maila Davenport told the crowd at Thursday's gathering. "Now the Orwellian beige building that was camouflaged in a trendy south (Portland) neighborhood is seen for what it is.

"We are extremely honored to be part of that momentum."

The Portland branch of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship was founded in 2001, but the transition to a greater social justice role happened within the last four years. Buddhism, at least in North America, has a reputation as primarily an exercise of personal enlightenment, not political action.

"There's obviously a tremendous amount of value that comes from doing the internal work of meditating, contemplating things, cultivating our aspirations for things," said Alex Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. "These are really powerful spiritual practices, and that's why we work with them.

"At the same time, we're having this experience of seeing all this need rising around us."

A central teaching of Buddhism is that all life includes suffering. But, Rodriguez said, it's not enough to work on easing our own suffering. We must examine the ways society contributes to global suffering and push for change.

It's a call for Buddhists, he said, to "get off the cushion" and hit the streets.

Most months, the Buddhist Peace Fellowship's Thawing ICE walks have drawn 30 to 50 people. Things changed in June as news broke of family separations at the border. More than 300 people came to the vigil that month, enough to completely encircle the building.

Three days later, the Occupy encampment began.

Coincidence?

It's easy to dismiss the impact of the Buddhists. What, really, did their walking meditations accomplish? They garnered little media attention and small crowds. Unlike the Occupy camp, they articulated no demands.

But if you believe in karma, there's power in focusing a collective energy on change.

And even if you don't, you can appreciate how these calm, quiet walks were a gateway for people looking for their first protest experience.

"We have people who have never done anything like that before," Davenport said. "Next thing they bring their friends, they join (the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice)." They get involved with organizations that are part of the progressive Indivisible movement. "It's been a nice step in."

Fiona McLaren attended Thursday's protest with a group of friends. Her first foray into activism was after the 2016 election, when she flew to Washington, D.C., for the Women's March. Thawing ICE has been a way for her to continue that activism at home.

"I knew I had to do something, something bigger than me," she said. "I think we're in a lot of pain, and to be able to come together and realize we're not alone, love can still win if we stay together and keep fighting, it gives me hope."

Many attendees are not Buddhists, but they have found peace during these walks. It's worth noting the crowd here is older, whiter and, in many ways, more privileged than the Occupy crowd.

"For the most part the people involved in organizing this are people who come from pretty bougie Portland backgrounds, myself included," Rodriguez said. "The idea here was, let's explore together what our edge is. Where's our frontline? How can we work together to do something?"

I like that idea. We don't all have the same frontline, even if we're fighting the same battle.

After the Buddhist gathering, I visited the Occupy camp. The day before, officers had fired pepper balls at and arrested eight protesters who were attempting to block a driveway. When I arrived Thursday afternoon, three punks were moshing in the street as a profanity-laced, anti-police rap song blared over a speaker.

That's not a characterization of the entire camp, but it was a sign I had entered another culture.

Yet, the older folks meditating in the park and these kids flipping the bird to ICE security have more in common than they may think.

The universe is indeed complex and beautiful.

-- Samantha Swindler is a columnist with The Oregonian/Oregonlive

@editorswindler / 503-294-4301

sswindler@oregonian.com