“I am a drop in the ocean, but I'm also the ocean. I'm a drop in
America, but I'm also America. And as I transform myself and heal and
take care of myself, I'm very conscious that I'm healing and
transforming and taking care of America.”
Larry Ward, author of America's Racial Karma: An Invitation to Heal
Honoring Juneteenth
| A Spiritual Practice for Racial Healing |
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On
June 19, the United States marks Juneteenth, which commemorates the
freedom of enslaved people at the end of the Civil War. While 156 years
have passed since the first Juneteenth celebration, black people and
other people of color continue to experience ongoing, systemic, and
disproportionate levels of racism, discrimination, poverty, and
violence.
In
a Dharma talk from Blue Cliff Monastery’s online Order of Interbeing
retreat in 2020, Sister Peace says we must continue advocating for legal
and social reforms that protect, honor, and celebrate members of BIPOC
(Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities. But she says
people of all races and cultural backgrounds must also learn how to sit
with our awareness of this vast sea of suffering to investigate its
roots and discern its implications for our lives, first individually and
then collectively.
“What's
being requested is not with an intent of separation,” she adds,
“because we all live and work and move and have our being within the
beautiful arms of the Sangha. We need to do the work so that we can
individually and collectively heal.” |
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