JD Doyle serves as a Core Teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center and has held many roles there, including Board member and co-founder of the LGBTQIA2+ meditation group. JD is in the Spirit Rock teacher-training program and has participated in the Dedicated Practitioner Program (DPP2) and the Community Dharma Leader Program (CDL4). JD has practiced Theravada Buddhism since 1995 in the U.S., Thailand, and Burma. For over twenty-five years, they worked as a public school teacher focusing on issues of equity and access. JD has taught a wide variety of groups from children to adults. JD holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Cornell University and a Master’s degree in Language and Literacy and Sociocultural Studies from the University of New Mexico. JD identifies as genderqueer. They are committed to celebrating the diversity of our human sangha, addressing the impact of racism on our communities, expanding concepts of gender, and living in ways that honor the sacredness of the Earth.
An exploration of how the three refuges can be used during retreat to support practice. Recognizing the lineage and Buddha nature, the Dharma of our bodies, and the Sangha as a network as support systems that undergird our practice. Includes working with perceptions and using the natural world as part of practice.
During this half-day, we will gather as a community of white people to investigate the impacts of racism and white supremacy culture in our hearts, minds, and communities. The Buddha’s teachings form a liberatory framework that helps us to explore racial conditioning. Using the Buddhist teachings, we will gain insight into how conditioning causes suffering both individually and collectively. With curiosity, compassion, and humility, we will learn together to uproot the delusions of separation and to nurture communities that foster liberation for all beings.
The Buddha’s teaching of the three jewels offers a way to radiate beauty in your life and in your community. The three jewels of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha are also referred to as refuges, as they offer us protection from the dangers of the world. These three interrelated jewels help orient us to live in harmony with each other and support us on the path to liberation. Practicing with these jewels, will sparkle and radiate goodwill and kindheartedness in all directions.
This day of practice will include periods of meditation, chanting, dhamma reflections, small group discussions, and Q&A.
All are welcome!
