The Tara Mandala community mourns with all members of Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific-Islander (AAPI) communities, following the recent tragic violence against Asian, Black, Indigenous, and all people of color, including the killings of eight people in Atlanta on March 16th, six of whom were women of Asian descent.
We hold in our hearts the friends, family, and loved ones of these women lost to brutal violence and our AAPI community during this time. We are reminded of the long and troubling history of attacks based on race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation in our country, which sadly have increased in recent years. In the past year of the pandemic, the injustices against the AAPI community have escalated, in particular, along with violence against women. As a community gathered around the lineage of Machig Labdrön, a Tibetan (Asian) woman, we feel this tragedy closely.
We are reminded of the need to practice, to sever attachment to white supremacy and hate, and to stand in solidarity with our global community. We recommit to efforts to remove the veils of ignorance, to find skillful means by which we can express our heartfelt interconnection with each other, and to move through these difficult times in unity as a sangha, celebrating our differences and varieties of heritage, gender, race, and sexual orientation.
Here are some resources that we encourage you to follow and support, though this is by no means an exhaustive list:
Please reach out to our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee if you need support or have ideas on how to better support our AAPI community. Our contact page is here.
In peace,
Lama Tsultrim Allione and the Tara Mandala Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Council
Photo: Bodhi Stroupe
