Letter from Board Chair and Guiding Teacher Introducing DLT program to Community
As the Chair of the Board of Directors and Guiding Teacher at Common Ground, we are happy to announce to the community that Common Ground will be offering a 2 year Dharma Leadership Training to help develop leaders who share experiences of our diverse urban community. This training arises from our deep value and commitment to becoming a welcoming community where all feel deeply seen and heard .
In light of this commitment, the Dharma Leadership Training has been designed to specifically support the training of dedicated students of the Buddha’s teachings who identify as people of color, queer, or are living with a disability. Offering a training directly for people of these intended communities is a step in the direction of becoming a more inclusive and equitable community. Depending on interest, there may be space in the training for 1-3 people outside of those intended communities whose life experiences, dharma practice, and personal study of the roots of privilege and oppression will allow them to both benefit from and support the vision of this program.
We are grateful for the dedicated work of a group of long time practitioners and leaders at Common Ground whose support and input has been vital to shaping this program. This Advisory group, representing groups historically marginalized in our society, and that are largely underrepresented at Common Ground, formed two years ago to advise the leadership in becoming a more welcoming community for all people.
“As a person of color, a member of the Advisory Group, and long-time community volunteer, I commend the heart and humility with which the center has developed this Dharma Leader Training program. This training is a concrete expression of Common Ground’s intention to bring about the Beloved Community where all feel welcomed and have access to the dharma. The Advisory Group would like to offer its support to Common Ground’s first ever Dharma Leader Training.”
-Femi Akinnagbe on behalf of Common Ground’s Advisory Group
Please follow this link to learn more about this program and feel free to contact Shelly Graf for more information: shelly@commongroundmeditation.org
With gratitude and humility as we walk this path of awakening together,
Stacy McClendon and Mark Nunberg
Board Chair and Guiding Teacher of Common Ground
