Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Group
Our sangha’s BIPOC Group is a place for those of our sangha siblings who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color—BIPOC for short—to come together.
Many BIPOC individuals and communities have had lifelong experiences of being invisible, excluded, and misperceived. Many BIPOC continue to experience harms of emotional, physical, and spiritual natures, both unintended and intended. For these reasons, those who are BIPOC may have a need for cultural sanctuary so that they can feel safer during Dharma sharing.
We welcome all BIPOC individuals to join our BIPOC Group. If you are not already a member of World Interbeing Sangha, please see our Practice With Us page to join our sangha and then participate in our BIPOC Group.
Meetings. We meet online twice monthly on the 1st Sunday at 18:30 United Kingdom time and on the 3rd Sunday at 12:00 pm Eastern Time (US).
Intention of Gathering. The intention of this group is
- To gather together to practice flower freshness. Thay says to practice being a fresh flower so that you and those around you can be happier. Right now, we may not be fresh, we may be covered in soot.
- To gather together in a safe, non-white space and share deeply our suffering and joy without worrying about over explaining oneself in order to not offend anybody. Not everyone is able to hold the weight of our stories and our own self-doubt; we may need a support group.
- To leave a little lighter so as to be fresh flowers for our white or non-white loved ones, circles, and community.
- To decolonize our minds a little at a time.
Our Current Book Reading
During the study portion of each meeting, the BIPOC Group is reading together from Dr. Larry Ward’s book America’s Racial Karma: An Invitation to Heal, available at Parallax Press (paperback) and at Amazon (paperback and digital).
Guidelines
- Reverence and Respect. We treat all beings with reverence and respect. Mindfulness is as mindfulness does. In this tradition, the way to measure someone’s spirituality isn’t by their intellectual wisdom but how they walk, how they close a door, how gently they treat themselves and other human beings.
- Tenderness and Compassion. These are essential in how we practice.