“Racism is a heart disease. And it’s curable. It requires a transplant, a surgical intervention of mindfulness and heartfulness.” – Dharma teacher Ruth King
The Insight Dialogue Awakening White Awareness (IDAWA) cohort supports the Insight Dialogue Community in meeting our Anti-Racism Education & Action commitments.
IDAWA (previously called the Insight Dialogue Beloved Community Cohort) was formed in 2018 based on a shared sense of urgency to address racial and social injustice, and to grow an Insight Dialogue community that prioritizes respect and care for all people. Our initial task was to educate ourselves about racism and white supremacy, and to create an ID-based program to support racial awareness among white-identified Insight Dialogue practitioners. To that end, IDAWA developed an 8-week course designed to investigate and deepen white racial awareness, engaging the wisdom provided by ID guidelines and the three refuges of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. We have offered this course three times; some IDAWA members have created and offered a secular version of the course–White Awareness: Relational Mindfulness and Race Equity.
Working together as a white affinity group cultivating anti-racist culture is a rich, heart-opening experience for us.
