InsightLA East Hollywood opens (Nov. 12)

Trudy Goodman (insightla.com); Seth Auberon, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Beginning this Monday, InsightLA is excited to welcome all to practice with many generous friends and dedicated teachers at its new center, InsightLA East Hollywood.

Until now they have been retrofitting diversity and equity into the existing infrastructure of its growing teachers’ group, office team, and community at InsightLA.

The birth of a new center celebrates the further steps in its practice of collective and societal flourishing. InsightLA is making big efforts to explore implicit bias in many forms, such as institutionalized racism, heterosexism, ableism, ageism, etc.

This work is not separate from the teachings of awakening (enlightenment). This is a relational expression of our awakening hearts! Becoming more lovingly aware in the daily challenges of our lives is an integral part of supporting each other on our path (to enlightenment).

To have its own center on the eastside is a long-time dream come true. They will be posting the following welcome statement right on the front door:

This is a fresh new place for us, and we’re committed to making sure our center is a place where everyone can feel at home.

Welcome to InsightLA.

We’re glad you are here.

We offer practices of inner peace, compassion, mindfulness, and love. We are open to all. Come in and join us!

Here is our commitment: In this world, with its great beauty and many difficulties, we will train our hearts in peace and kindness and courageously take a stand against all forms of greed, hatred, delusion, and cruelty.

We acknowledge the implicit and overt violence that has been done to individuals based on race, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status, gender identity, religion, body size, ability, race, and class. We recognize the violence that has been done to our planet and to the First Nations peoples who stewarded this land before us.

We pledge to undo the forces of ill-will and isolation in ourselves and in our world. We will offer to all who come practices of mindfulness, compassion, and wisdom. And inwardly and in our actions, we pledge to hold all beings in a circle of mutual respect, love, and unity.

May our resolve and our practice together benefit all.

Radical inclusivity and social justice was the hallmark of the Buddha’s teaching, too. Thousands of years ago, from the dalit ("untouchable") caste to widows, courtesans (prostitutes), convicts -- all those divided from society, discriminated, disinherited -- if you wanted a new life of practicing mindfulness together, you were welcome to join.

Founder Trudy Goodman (insightla.org)

The Buddha referred to everyone in his [spiritual] community as “sons and daughters of noble family.” I hope that by working together, we, too, can be leaders in bringing mindfulness and compassion practices to serve an ever-widening swath of the communities where we live -- in Los Angeles and beyond.