Dhamma Friends: Waking up to White Privilege – 2nd Thursday

Waking Up to White Privilege Dhamma Friends is an ongoing community primarily for white people sharing the intention to understand how our unconscious privilege contributes to systems of oppression in our society and the world. Our complicit participation in these systems often operates beyond our awareness. Waking up to our participation takes conscious effort and a willingness to see ourselves through a new lens, the lens of living in a racialized country. It requires building a kind of resilience to face the pain of our own histories, emotions, longings, and patterns of behaving. It also requires us to be open to learning from people of color about the reality of their experiences, to open our hearts and minds, and find ways to move toward acts of justice for all.

As we’re all aware, we’re in the midst of an incredibly painful time in our country; the dehumanization of black lives has become even more visible to us in the spring and summer of 2020. Our dhamma practices invite us to meet ourselves more deeply during these times, to meet the pain and tend to the seeds of compassion for ourselves and others. May we each help each other grow in resiliency and bear the fruit of skillful actions in the world.

When we meet each month, we sit in meditation first, then use the EBMC agreements (found here – please review beforehand) as we explore our wish to find the right action in the dhamma in the midst of all that’s happening.

We endeavor to create an agenda from the questions and inquiries that are most alive for those who are present. We share our personal struggles and learning, offer resources, and companionship to meet the challenges of this work. Together we bring our collective wisdom to bear on our questions, fears, confusion and desires to make a difference. 

We deepen together in mindfulness practices that support us to increase awareness of the causes and conditions that lead to suffering, our own, and that of others.  With non-judgmental support of one another, we take steps to deepen self-compassion and increase our capacity for wise speech and skillful action in the world, where racial injustices continue to impact the lives of us all.

Sit Leaders: Diversity and Inclusivity Committee members Christine Evans, Lela Carney, and others in our group are committed to this work of awakening to white privilege. We support each other to become leaders in this and our other expanding circles of connection – the work ripples out. . .

Please return to the calendar to join an online session or learn of any schedule updates.

Online Attendance Instructions:

Online Meeting ID:  881 5447 4929

Dial-in Password: 772054

Join online by clicking the Join Online button or calling +1-669-900-6833 US (San Jose) followed by the Online Meeting ID number and #. If a passcode is requested, then enter the Dial-in Passcode and #. Find your local number by clicking here. The preferred way to join is by using a Zoom application with your personal Zoom account.

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