sharanam:

Someone, somewhere asked re the bhikkhunis, “why are they all white?” Now that’s a complex question with a complex answer. I’ve referred readers in the past to this Tumblr, where there’s a lot of news on what’s happening with people of color and the Dhamma. I thought I’d also share this conversation.

For seven years, the Insight Meditation Society has held an annual People of Color retreat. Teachers Larry Yang and Gina Sharpe speak with IMS’s Director Bob Agoglia about building a more diverse community.

BA: So how do you make the Buddha’s teachings on freedom from suffering relevant to diverse communities?

GS: It never occurred to me that these teachings would be brought to these retreats in any different way except one: and that is, when I sat as a person of color in mainstream retreats, and often as the only person of color, the language that was used was not of my cultural experience…I make a real effort to not default in the stories that we tell, and the poems that we read, and the quotes that we make - that we make a real effort to be mindful that all of those illustrative ways of speaking, speak to the cultural experience of a broad audience of people…

And in that way, there’s a feeling that the teachings are relevant and can be illustrated through all of our lives. And certainly teaching suffering to an oppressed community is not a big stretch. So, I think the short answer to your question is there’s nothing that really needs to be adjusted in terms of the teachings, what needs to be adjusted is the form in which they’re brought.

From IMS Sangha News September 2010 (via email)

I think the core of the message is just the same, but it occurs to me that there is actually quite a bit that I think must be adjusted to insure no one feels discluded. I recall many a discussion about the issues of gender disparity in science and engineering (which is starting to shift, of course, but they are very much still male dominated professions). The differences in teaching styles are minimal, but the issue is largely a feeling of belonging.

Imagine for a moment you are a girl who walks in to a physics classroom to discover you are the only female of 40 students. No matter how kind and generous other students may be, you will likely feel like an outsider. It takes a special character to overcome this, and many simply will not bother. I think the same is true of any teaching.

So I think what we must do for any diverse group who is at a severe minority in Buddhism is to work on making more insiders. Work to give them active voices in the discussions, work to give them opportunities of higher public visibility, seek out writers and speakers.

If we do not, things will probably eventually shift anyway, but there may be generations who did not have the opportunities we wish we could give them. Simply sitting back and doing what we are doing is effective, but drawn out. We tend to attract people most like us; we can use that to our advantage here.

Make sense?