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BOOK GROUP—Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path
March 5, 9:30 am - 11:00 am
Chapter 3: Skillful Concentration
For discussion March 5 (Tuesday) 9:30-11:00 AM at KCC (No Zoom)
All are welcome!
Interested? Contact if you have questions.
Quotes from chapter 3 by Rev. Shutt:
- “A racist incident can only happen when two or more people are involved in participating within the established rules of white supremacy culture.”
- “It is neither necessary nor helpful to judge ourselves in how we were conditioned to react.”
- “For Asian Americans and other BIPOCs the consequences of stepping out of our prescribed location in the system of white supremacy often brings harsher, even life-threatening consequences.”
- “Trauma is not just the mental narrative of what happens. It is also the impact on our bodies and emotions.”
- “When developed, concentration is the meditative quality that results in ease of mind and body. Skillful one-pointed concentration is what supports us to identify dukkha clearly.”
- “Pausing is key to finding appropriate agency.”
More tidbits from the book:
First Noble Truth: Harm and harming are present.
The author says, “The first Noble Truth is the hardest to be with. Mostly we spend our energy trying to ignore harm and harming in our lives…” For example, racism impacts us “whether we are people of color or white identified.” Yet how many of us talk about these experiences?
Shutt insists on our fundamental wholeness and frames “working to address oppressions” as “a reclaiming of our inherent wholeness…it’s not about what is lacking in us.” We all have Buddha nature which remains unblemished even when we are harmed or have caused harm.
The Second Noble Truth: Understand fully the causes and conditions for harm and harming.
Shutt suggests, “so much of dharma practice is to learn to broaden our view so that we are looking at the context and not just the content.” “Racism is not a one-time event;…racism is a system of oppression…but conditions change.” She asks us to consider what habits and beliefs we may want to discard as we learn more.
