2021 Winter Solstice Update
Photograph by Giant Gingko, used with permission. Frosted yellow flower with green leaves waiting for the sun to thaw it. Trixis Californica (American Threefold)
Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF) Board of Directors recently undertook a period of reflection and retreat to sit with the questions and decisions facing us after the transition of three staff in late 2021. In this Winter Solstice, we would like to share with you some of what we are learning and distilling in this process and the next steps for BPF.
What we’ve learned
BPF’s purpose to connect Dharma to the current political moment has remained our north star for over forty years. We’ve experimented with many kinds of programs and offerings in service of collective liberation: media, retreats, direct action, and more, but always with the same purpose.
This has not been easy. Each generation of BPF leaders has been part of a natural cycle of growth and decomposition that all living beings experience. Despite each BPF generation’s awareness and resistance to the power relationships that exist in the United States, we’ve replicated those dynamics inside the organization, and we’ve struggled to shift our ways of being as a result. One of the ways white supremacy plays out is in a lack of rootedness and relationship, which the current generation of BPF leaders experiences as a disconnection to BPF’s history. We see a pattern of disconnection and loss alongside a pattern of creativity and experimentation. Equanimity practices instruct us to hold all of these.
In the last decade, BPF leaders have mirrored the work of progressive movements to center those most impacted by oppression. An organization founded by white Buddhists engaged in direct action moved to center BIPOC spiritual needs as individuals and to create programs to best meet those needs. In focusing on individuals, we fell out of relationship with movements.
At this next turn, we remain committed to being led by BIPOC folks who share our commitments to queer feminism, anti-capitalism, and collective liberation rooted on this Earth.
What’s next?
Our work is to steward the next iteration of this work: relationship building and realignment. BPF originated from anti-imperialism and anti-war organizing at a time when the global south mobilized for decolonization. Today we are in a new wave of decolonization, from the reclamation efforts by heritage Buddhists, to the rematriation of stolen Native land, to the reparations for stolen African labor and lives, and the resistance to climate apartheid. We see efforts to abolish carceral systems, defend the autonomy and dignity of all people regardless of disability or gender, and to come into right relationship with each other and all beings as part of the same trajectory towards a decolonized liberation. We see a need for what we’re offering to be in direct relationship and service of these priorities and the BIPOC, queer and trans, heritage Buddhists, and disabled people who are leading on these issues.
Our realignment work includes sharpening our analysis, recommitting to our values, and bringing all of our practices and operations in line with both. This is deep work. On the heels of our two-week fall retreat on Zoom, we’re committing to resourcing this realignment with our time, skills, and budget. To help guide us we’re forming an interim Teachers Council, investing in our internal capacity-building through training, and engaging in a much-needed overhaul of personnel policies and practices to lay a healthy foundation for new leadership.
Given the magnitude and urgency of these tasks, BPF will continue to be on a programming pause and will not be offering retreats or events through summer 2022.
How you can play a role
We are clear that our work as BPF leaders is to steward the next iteration of this organization and clarify how we bring Dharma to this sociopolitical moment. It is also clear that while we hold the responsibility to enact this change, we cannot do so without community feedback and engagement. In the coming months we’ll be reaching out to you with opportunities to help shape the next iteration of BPF. In the meantime, we welcome your feedback and support, so please reach out to us via email or social media.