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Liberation Dharma in the Time of the Great Unraveling

EBMC Benefit with Joanna Macy & Ty Blair

October 28, 7:00 – 10:00 pm

First Congregational Church of Oakland
2501 Harrison Street

When we face together what’s happening to our world–from climate chaos to permanent war–we can open to the liberation to be found in the Buddha Dharma.  Even as familiar systems unravel around us, we find the vitalizing power of Sangha.  Grounded in the fact of our mutual belonging, the Sangha helps deconstruct the separate self while incubating patterns of generosity and justice to transform the broader culture.

Please join us for a rare appearance by Joanna Macy in her 88th year to discuss the liberatory potential of the Dharma. Ty Blair will join Joanna as a speaker for the evening, and our program will include poetry from Ann Marie Davis, movement with Amana Johnson, an interactive process from the Work That Reconnects, and chanting to close.

The event will be ASL interpreted and wheelchair accessible.

EBMC operates using a gift economics model, which means that all of our regular programs are offered at no set fee and participants are asked to give to the extent that they are able for the good of the community. In order to support this unique approach, which means that no one is ever turned away for lack of financial means, we ask that you purchase your ticket at the highest end of the scale that you can afford.

Fundraising events such as this are the only time we charge an entrance fee. We offer “Generosity Tickets” for those who are not able to purchase a ticket. If you would like to buy a ticket to support someone else to attend, please click on “Generosity Ticket” and choose an amount to donate. We will share it with someone who would like to attend.

We thank you for your generosity!

If you have questions please contact Cassandra@eastbaymeditation.org.

Creating a Shared Leadership Model at EBMC: 8 week process is launched!

On September 9, 2016, our new consultant Amy Vito met with a group of #EBMC staff, LSangha (board) members, and one of a number of key volunteers, in order to launch an exciting 8 week process.

Project Objectives:

  • Create structures that promote shared accountability and decision-making to ensure tasks are completed and strategic goals are met in a timely fashion
  • Develop and implement an alternative management system for EBMC staff that will support a shared leadership model
  • Define areas of responsibility/accountability rather than static, fixed tasks, allowing the organization to be nimble and responsive to quickly changing needs
  • Ensure this model aligns with and operationalizes integration of traditional HR needs, such as ADA and EEOC compliance, performance coaching, and process for terminations
  • Assess pay structures and make adjustments that are appropriate for the new structure

In many ways, EBMC has always operated as a community and as a collective. We are not a teacher-centered meditation center founded by and dependent on one or two teachers; because our Sangha (community) has diverse experiences, identities and needs, we have been able to attract, develop and retain a dazzling array of amazing teachers, and in alignment with our value of cultural humility, there are numerous ways that the different practice groups and community members collectively determine evolving program needs.

EBMC’s staff has always been an extraordinarily high-performing and committed group of professionals working closely together in communication with the board of directors (Leadership Sangha or LSangha) and our many skilled volunteers. We look forward to the synergy of this two month process which will help to take EBMC to the next level of structural alignment with our vision and mission –  and Sangha members will be kept fully informed through the EBMC website, social media, and in hard copy on the bulletin board in the kitchen.

Why Shared Leadership?

In the spring of 2016, the EBMC board of directors (called the “L Sangha” or “Leadership Sangha) approved moving forward to develop a shared leadership structure for EBMC. Unlike the hierachical power structure of many traditional nonprofits, EBMC will move toward an agile structure in which staff, board and key volunteers will share leadership, while strengthening and clarifying processes of accountability and retaining integrity of task areas as is needed.  The wider EBMC community was excited about and supportive of shared leadership when it was discussed at our May 22, 2016 Community Meeting.

The intention to create a shared leadership model and alternative staff management system at EBMC was announced in the July 2016 EBMC e-newsletter. Consultants then were interviewed to help facilitate this process, and consultant Amy Vito was hired.

What’s the Importance of Gift Economics If “Money Makes the World Go Round”? EBMC Sangha member Krys Simon’s podcast

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From #EBMC POC Sangha member and “techie volunteer” Krys Simon’s DocentYouth podcast, “Money Makes the World Go Round”: “[In our current system] the higher the entitlement, the less the guilt in having more than others. Hello, capitalism…. With the rise of individualistic self-interest, the kind of inequality experienced by most Americans has undermined the perceptions of fairness and trust, which in turn leads to a very unsatisfying pursuit to unified happiness. Not to mention that no matter how smart or hard-working we are, some of us will still fall on the lower end of the success scale, due to our society’s implied biases. Manifest destiny is a sham.” Seeking a different way, Krys turned to East Bay Meditation Center. Krys interviews #EBMC Assistant Director Xiaojing Wang to learn more about Gift Economics as a viable alternative to market economy. During the interview, EBMC teacher Mushim Ikeda happened to enter the room and was “hooked in” to the conversation by Krys. Listen in at around 17.35! Krys goes on to examine her role in fundraising to support programs for youth, and to talk about her faith in humanity’s ability to create a world that works for everyone. http://docentyouth.org/the-business-of-giving-podcast/

Podcast date: September 2, 2016

Real Refuge: Building Inclusive and Welcoming Sanghas, Mushim Ikeda

Real Refuge: Building Inclusive and Welcoming Sanghas

Tricycle online retreat (August 2013), video, Mushim Ikeda

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Insight Meditation and Multiculturalism

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Insight Meditation and Multiculturalism with Larry Yang

Why Buddhism? podcast with Mushim Ikeda, Rev. Harry Gyokyo Bridge, and Dr. Scott Mitchell

Why Buddhism?
DharmaRealm podcast with Mushim Ikeda, Rev. Harry Gyokyo Bridge, and Dr. Scott Mitchell

What We Ignore Makes Us Ignorant, BPF article by Mushim

What We Ignore Makes Us Ignorant: Storytelling, Movement Building and the Second Noble Truth
Buddhist Peace Fellowship article by Mushim

Five Qs with Mushim

Five Qs with Mushim about Dharma, diversity, social justice activism, and more, in Prof. Jee Yoon Lee’s “writing like an asian” (thoughts on writing, composition, and issues of identity) blogsite, used by students at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and available to all.