Our country faces a reckoning; a call to look directly at the effects of the more than 400 years of oppression, slavery, willful racism and institutionalized systems of racism woven into the everyday fabric of life in the United States. Those among us who are white, or benefit from the systems of white privilege inherent in our society, must now shoulder the overdue responsibility of living and acting in ways to eradicate racism from our lives and our society.  We must do so by actively educating ourselves about the experiences of Black Americans and other People of Color in our nation.  We must take thoughtful action to contribute, in the ways that each are able, to strip racism from all arenas of our society and to heal the open wound that plagues our nation and all of our people.

To quote Ruth King, meditation teacher and author of Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism From the Inside Out: “Racism is a heart disease. And it’s curable. It requires a transplant, a surgical intervention of mindfulness and heartfulness. To heal the heart, we must understand the mind.”

As practitioners of the Dharma, we recognize that the practice of mindful awareness can wake us to better see things as they are, recognize the conditioning that has shaped each and every one of us and empower us to take wise and skillful action to end racist thoughts and practices in ourselves and our society.  And to do so with loving, patient hearts and minds for all, including ourselves.

We at Mid America Dharma realize that a statement without a commitment to change and meaningful action will ring hollow. We are recommitted to listening, learning and taking further action to cultivate inclusive and welcoming retreat opportunities.  We recognize that Buddhism in the US has historically been dominated by White people and that white teachers have been limited by their conditioning in responding to the particular forms of suffering experienced by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). The board will be exploring ways to make changes and take Wise Action to this end.

May we at Mid-America Dharma wisely and compassionately act in ways that help bring an end to conditioned racism in our society and promote the welfare and happiness of all beings.

May the pure brilliant light of bodhichitta
Dawn in each and every heart and mind
Dispelling the darkness of suffering and confusion unstoppably
Until all are illumined and awakened.