[Engaged] My Experience at Village Zendo Workshop on Race

[Onkai]

Last Saturday I participated in the Village Zendo’s “White Work on Racism” (WWOR). There were 23 or so participants. It was about how we formed our perceptions of who was good and who was bad, what aspirations we were raised to have, and so on. The next WWOR meeting will focus on class/caste. The leader mentioned the book Caste, I believe it is by Isabel Wilkerson.

The meeting started with a few minutes of sitting. Then a leader talked and gave a prompt, and anyone who wanted to respond would raise their hands (they called it “popcorn participation”). That part was like meetings at Treeleaf. A video was shown of a cheetah attacking a deer - it showed that the deer recovered by shaking, and our instruction then was to shake ourselves.

Then the facilitators broke us up into groups of three with a list of questions. One person would ask the questions (they were posted in chat on the ZOOM screen), another would respond, and a third person would pay attention to emotional responses to the interview and write those responses down. The roles would rotate every five minutes, so each of the three would take on each of the roles, and then there were five additional minutes where we could discuss what had happened within the threesome. I usually have a problem with feeling awkward when participating in small group discussions but found this format to be more natural to respond to.

Then the facilitators brought us back together on one screen, and again, if people wanted to say something about the experience, they could raise their hands to be called on. I’m glad I participated and want to participate in future meetings.

Sorry I ran quite a bit over three sentences.

Gassho,
Onkai
Sat/lah

[Jundo]

Thank you for being our ambassador there, Onkai.

If you find any suggestions or tips that might be suited to our Sangha, please let us know so that we can consider them.

Gassho, Jundo

STLah

[Naiko]

Thank you for sharing that, Onkai. It sounds pretty intense. I hope you will post about future meetings.
Gassho,
Krista
st/lah

[Meitou]

Thank you for for being there Onkai and sharing your experience, as Jundo says, please pass anything on which could help.
Gassho
Meitou
Sattoday lah

[aprapti]

nice Onkai.



aprapti

std

[Kokuu]

Thank you for going and sharing, Onkai.

That sounds like a really valuable discussion to be involved in.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday-

[Jakuden]

Wonderful Onkai! Thank you for sharing your experience. Deep bows.

Gassho,
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH

[Washin]

Lovely, Onkai! Thank you for sharing this with us

Gassho,
Washin
stlah

[Onkai]

I just participated in the second session of “White Work On Racism,” offered by The Village Zendo. It was a moving session with small group discussions. Jundo brought up the question of what purpose WWOR is for, and the description on The Village Zendo website begins as follows (at https://villagezendo.org/events/white-work-on-racism/ )

Racism is a trauma that affects all bodies, creating tension, disconnection, and perpetuation of suffering. This group is for White people who want to heal, who want to develop a benign and whole White identity, and who want to turn toward justice.

White Work on Racism (WWOR) meets once a month, and includes education, experiences, and conversation. We are guided by Janet Helms’ model of identity development and Resmaa Menakem’s application of somatic therapies to the trauma of racism. Turning the light inward, we aim to support each other to uncover the workings of racism and transform them.

Today’s session focused on class, and the leader referenced the book Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson. At the session, the leader played a recording of Wilkerson narrating a scene of racial discrimination that took place before the Civil Rights movement. We were broken up into groups where we took turns asking set questions about our feelings about the story, answering, and listening. My group got into how some people were raised around racism.

Later the leader discussed class, and what makes a class identity. Then we broke up into the same groups with questions about our class identity, how we feel about it and how we relate to people in our class and above us or below us. The group discussion had different points of view and some emotion. I think we were all open and accepting of each other.

Sorry to go over three sentences - overenthusiasm

Gassho,
Onkai
Sat

[Naiko]

Onkai, that sounds fascinating and challenging. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. I look forward to your next update!
Gassho,
Krista
st

[Jundo]

[Meitou]

This sounds so interesting, thank you Onkai.
Gassho
Meitou
Sattoday lah

[Onkai]

I forgot to mention an important part of the experience, which was that there were ways we got in touch with and released tensions in our bodies. After the discussions, it made a big difference. Instead of carrying the heavy emotions I felt a release and wholeness.

Gassho,
Onkai
Sat/lah

[Heiso]

That sounds really interesting (and challenging). Thanks for sharing, Onkai.

Gassho,

Heiso

StLah

[Onkai]

Today I joined for a third workshop. The concept of colorblindness, and how that has been brought forth as an equalizing idea, but can reinforce white supremacy by making "normal" to be white culture. We broke up into smaller groups a couple of times for discussion. The second time around it was suggested that colorblindness and race parallel the absolute and the relative, and that the absolute must meet the relative. We were given a koan about it, but I don't remember it exactly and don't want to misquote it. There were centering exercises, and at the end we shook and moved to some fast, percussive music. The leader said that in the next session there will be questions about what is nice about being white.

Gassho,
Onkai
Sat/lah