Join us on February 4 at 12 p.m. ET for a special dharma talk and guided meditation in honor of Black History Month with Leslie Booker, the Guiding Teacher at New York Insight.

This event is free and open to all. If you’d like to support Tricycle with a donation, please visit tricycle.org/donate.

“bell hooks wrote that the ‘assumption about love is that love means we will not be challenged or changed. No doubt this is why people who read writings about racism, sexism, homophobia, religion, etc., that challenge their set assumptions tend to see that work as harsh rather than loving.’

In this particular flavor of global divisiveness, we are given the opportunity to not succumb to hatred and ill will. Instead, we can turn toward it to build up our resiliency and resistance to be with our own discomfort—to recognize our own pain, connect with our own vulnerability, and, in turn, recognize and feel that in others.

An undefeated heart is rooted in courage and does not turn away when it is faced with injustice and violence. It allows the felt sense of anger and rage to be known, and decides to use it as a catalyst toward skillful action and change. It allows us, unapologetically, to center compassion, loving-kindness, joy, and equanimity in a world that is broken and bruised, and to turn toward it—knowing that we are protected.” – Leslie Booker

For more from New York Insight, sign up for their upcoming email series, “Living an Ethic of Love: Celebrating Black Dharma Teachings,” which features two weeks of dharma talks from renowned Black dharma teachers, including Kaira Jewel Lingo, Ruth King, Tuere Sala, Devin Berry, Lama Rod Owens, Kate Johnson, Pamela Ayo Yetunde, Leslie Booker, and others.