DIVERSITY & ACCESSIBILITY WORKING GROUP

Minutes of Meeting # 2 - Monday, May 31, 2004, 7:30 pm

Present: Cortez Rainey, Chair; Babo Harrison, Recorder; Dan Hessey; Sara LittleFeather; Hamish Maclaren; and Veronica Guzman.

Not present: Lodro Rinzler, Linda Watson, Maria Vargas, Shawn Wheeler, Martine Remondin, and Kia Yee

Business:

Discussion began with the issue of diversity in the international sangha; historically how the sangha has defined itself in terms of North America, Europe, "and beyond". For centers located in other parts of the world, there is a feeling of having to knock on doors to be noticed rather than the sense of Shambhala reaching out to them. How can Shambhala open the door and include people from all countries rather than wait for them to knock?

Language adds to the feeling of being an outsider within the larger sangha. For example, a misunderstanding can appear in Shambhala literature which mentions "programs this winter" without recognizing that seasons vary throughout the globe. How do we generate a vision of a "wider world" and raise awareness that not all things are the same everywhere.

When practitioners feel they must make a big effort to be recognized, it is more difficult for them to move along the path.

Cost also is an issue. Salaries in South America are not commensurate with salaries in North America so the cost of attending programs in North America (including transportation) is much higher for practitioners in those areas. Is it possible to subsidize people coming from different economies? In general, how do we enable diverse people to have access to the dharma?

Discussion then moved to a particular section of Dan's "Notes on Diversity and Accessibility", specifically the section on "Ego". The reasoning behind this particular section was that all people experience a quality of differentness in some regard. So how do recognize "specialness" without making it into a "credential"? How do we pay attention to unique needs and circumstances without solidifying "Ego" or generating divisiveness where we aim to unite?

However, there were many well-expressed doubts about this section's necessity in our document. Might it unconsciously push away those we are trying to include by suggesting an attitude of "why do you think you're so special?" There is a need to be sensitive to people who already feel discriminated against and who are already working with a complex situation. We must be careful not to disempower those we are trying to empower.

It was decided that the working group members would each review this section and send their comments to the author for his consideration in redrafting the document.

We then discussed the need for a vision statement which defines this group's purpose, how it sees itself, and a mission statement which says how we'd like to accomplish that purpose. One working group member volunteered to come up with a template vision/mission statement, send to the group for comments and review.

We then assigned the tasks of coming up with drafts for a practitioner survey to poll sangha members' views and experiences on matters of diversity and accessibility as well as a dharma center survey to assess the current state of diversity and access at Shambhala Centers worldwide.

We decided that the next meeting of the working group on Diversity and Accessibility will be on Sunday June 20th, 7:30 p.m., and that, by then, our work will have progressed enough to schedule our first meeting with the Diversity and Accessibility Review Group for a date in early July. The meeting ended at 9:00 pm.