An Invitation to ‘Welcome Liberation’
Bodhilila would like to invite you to a new monthly event offered in collaboration with the Buddhist Centre Online Dharma Toolkit. It’s a monthly online Space for Thriving BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) BAME (Black, Asian, Minority, Ethnic) Dharma and Community Connection. It’ll be held on the last Saturday of every month starting on Saturday August 29th.
What is the space?
A monthly welcoming two-hour on-line international and intentional Triratna community space for:
- Authentic connection and co-creating culturally diverse community (sangha)
- Deepening dharma practice through meditation, reflection and real conversations
- To practice welcoming, empathy, healing, wholeness, complexity, liberation and joy
- Learning from each other and with a variety of BIPOC/BAME Triratna order members and community members
- Making more possible genuine connection with the Triratna Buddhist community in this space, and beyond
Who is this space for?
This invitation is offered with the wish we all be free to self-define and be in choice about how we name social identities. The wish is for this description to be open and also draw a skillful boundary so it is clear who the space is for.
This is a gathering for people practicing the dharma, at any stage of that journey and experience
And who also come from the richly diverse lived experiences of these intentionally welcomed identities: Black, Indigenous, and people of color inclusive of Asian/Pacific Islander, South East Asian, Native Hawaiian, Latinx, Arab/Middle Eastern, biracial, mixed heritage, multiracial, and any others identifying as non-white.
What will we do together?
In the first season of this space we will attend to:
- Community building and exploring how we can co-create the kind of community and space where we can flourish.
- Share stories and engaging with a dharmic perspective on the rich complexity of who we are in all its dimensions. The sharing will be in smaller groups that will change from session to session.
Who is initiating the space?
Four order members (pictured above) across a range of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) identities met to initiate this space. Bodhilila, Singhashri, Vimalasara, and Viveka. The idea for this has emerged from our friendships, collective imagination and an opening in our Triratna community.
We chose to launch the space now given the current momentum in Triratna to acknowledge the impacts of racism and as Buddhists to work actively on learning about and supporting anti-racism and building the conditions for sangha that is inclusive of BIPOC/BAME people. We will be reaching out to other members of our community to join us in making this space vibrant and abundant.
We celebrate the multiplicity of “BIPOC/BAME” spaces in Triratna being offered by different Buddhist Centers. We hope many from those spaces will also benefit from this distinctly international space and that those looking for a space can find a home here.
Supporting this space
Anyone can make a donation to resource this space and the programming.
We know many in the Triratna community, who in racialized societies live as a white identity, are supportive of the people the space is for, even though you do not walk in the shoes of racialized discrimination directly. What is the invitation to you? You are welcome to give us the gift of well-wishing and understanding the need for this kind of space to create room to breathe and be together. You may also make a solidarity donation to assist with the practical costs of this gathering.
Donate via thebuddhistcentre.com/give (please indicate it’s for ‘Welcoming Liberation’)
To register for our first meeting on August 29th
Registration (free or with donation) is required to ensure this is a safe space. Simply click on the link below to register.
Where:
On Zoom – you will be emailed the link to join when you register
Times:
USA 9.00-11.00am PST | México 11.00am-1.00pm | USA 12.00-2.00pm EST | UK & IE 5.00-7.00pm | Europe 6.00-8.00pm CET | India 21:30-23:30 | Australia EST 02.00-04.00am (next day) | New Zealand 04.00-06.00am
Contact:
bipocbamekula [at] gmail [dot] com
