The “Cultivating Dignity – the Bedrock of All Diversity,” is course offered in centers throughout the US and Canada, and on Shambhala Online. The group formerly known as the Diversity Working Group (DWG) has also offered an online program for a group of acharyas, the European Council, in addition to day-long programs in San Francisco, Berkeley, Minneapolis, Seattle, Boulder, New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C.
In these programs we learn to poke holes in social hierarchies that suppress who we really are: dynamic, authentic, connected human beings. Together, through creating a brave and caring community, we can dismantle the harmful aspects of social conditioning born of prejudice and fear, and celebrate our dignity, the bedrock of all diversity.
To request Cultural Humility programs in your Shambhala center, click here (insert form)
Current Instructors
Charlene Leung
Michaela McCormick
Gale Young
Trinley Busby
Bryan Mendiola
History of the Diversity Working Group
The Shambhala Diversity Working Group (DWG) was born out of the first Shambhala Congress, an open gathering for the Shambhala community, back in 2003. There, diversity and accessibility were identified as pressing community concerns. Over the years, the DWG wrote the Shambhala Aspirations on Diversity, Accessibility and Compassionate Conduct, and made recommendations toward becoming more welcoming. The first Working Group chairperson was Cortez Rainey from Baltimore, followed by Sekayi Stringer from Atlanta, and Charlene Leung. In the past several years the DWG has focused on sangha-wide education, as well as instructor and teacher training.
