Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Last week, I responded to an email asking me to remove the person’s name from my mailing list because of the perception that our sangha is suffering from an ideology termed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.  It would seem that the belief was that the upcoming Mondo Zen Intensive is only open to persons of color.  With a closer look of the marketing I developed, I appreciated the seeds of this perception, I can assure you, as I did the person providing me feedback, that all our retreats are open to everyone, AND, our intention is to foster greater inclusion of people who may not have felt welcomed into our community.  The term BIPOC – Black, Indigenous, and People of Color is meant to welcome a broad audience, but, let’s be clear, our intention is to be open to all, including people of different religious orientations, gender identities and preference(s), and socio-economic experiences, to name a few more. 

The underlying sentiment of the feedback is not new to me.  When I put together the Statement in Solidarity of George Floyd, it was the first time the clergy at Hollow Bones Zen took a stand for restorative justice in the contemporary world.  I was also instrumental in developing the diversity statement at Hollow Bones.  During those discussions, not only did I hear that there is no place in Zen for taking such a stand, I also heard how unenlightened I must be as well as racist.  I strongly believe that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives are necessary because they can begin a process of reparations for the 400 or so years of injustices the dominant culture, I am a part of, have dumped on the black and brown populations of America.  

I was quick to point out that I was not alone in my belief.  San Francisco Zen Center, Upaya Zen Center, and even Zen Studies Society of NY all had come out publically in support of a more just society in response to the murder of George Floyd.  I don’t see myself as a social activist, and I was raised in a Jewish household in which my father was committed to tikkun olam – the Jewish concept of repairing the world. He worked tirelessly creating affordable housing in our local community, and, his final work was attending to tax equity in New York State.  It’s easy for affluent communities to create unjust tax policies that favor privileged white folks. I was not raised with much awareness that my great-grandfather left Ukraine in 1891 fleeing the Russian Pogroms – ethnic cleansing of the Jews by the dominant white culture.

I’m pleased that Heisoku Maik Bain, Soshin Lisa Baitsell, Shoan Victoria Montenez, Taiken Ty Pearson, Enso Alberto Mendez and Koto Washi Dallas Chief Eagle are joining Fugen Tom Pitner and I to deepen our commitment to the dharma wisdom of Jun Po Roshi.  We feel that it is essential to work towards the healing and liberation of all beings through making sure that all people have access and the opportunity to come together on retreat.