Beyond the Dream: Martin Luther King's Teachings for Today

Beyond the Dream: Martin Luther King's Teachings for Today is an interactive online workshop on Kingian nonviolence, led by nonviolence trainer Kazu Haga and offered by Spirit Rock Meditation Center of Woodacre, California. It is for anyone who wants to look past the familiar "I Have a Dream" speech and into King's deeper vision of nonviolence as a practice, and to see how it meets the teachings of the Buddha.

The program takes place on Zoom, so you can join from wherever you are.

What to Expect

The workshop asks what King's teachings require of us now, in a time of deepening division, political violence, ecological crisis and social upheaval. Kazu Haga introduces the core principles of Kingian nonviolence and opens them to group dialogue, so the session is a conversation as much as a teaching.

Themes include:

- Nonviolence as a spiritual practice and a practical tool for social change
- How King's vision aligns with Buddhist ideas of compassion and interdependence
- How nonviolence can be fierce and compassionate, strategic and capable of changing a situation at its root
- The relationship between inner work and collective liberation
- What it takes to build beloved community and meet conflict without losing our humanity

The first session runs from 9:30am to 12:30pm Pacific Time on a Sunday morning. The itinerary also lists a continuation on the following day, with its time to be confirmed through Zoom.

About Kazu Haga

Kazu Haga is a trainer and practitioner of nonviolence and restorative justice. He is a core member of the Fierce Vulnerability Network, a founding core member of the Ahimsa Collective, and a Jam facilitator. He is the author of Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm and Fierce Vulnerability: Healing from Trauma, Emerging through Collapse.

Before You Go

All levels are welcome. You do not need prior experience with nonviolence teachings, Buddhist practice or activism. The program is offered in English and Spanish.

Registration includes unlimited access to the recording, which becomes available about ten days after the program, so you can return to the teaching or catch what you miss. Printed materials, one-on-one coaching and continuing education credits are not part of the program.

Spirit Rock offers this workshop on a sliding scale, with higher rates supporting teachers and scholarships. Scholarship rates are available for BIPOC participants, young adults, and the Mudita/Karuna fund, and a no-fee option is open to anyone who needs it. Registration closes on the morning of the program, and a waiting list is created if it fills early.

Cancellations are not refunded. If you cancel by midnight Pacific Time the day before, you can receive an open credit or make a donation to Spirit Rock. After that, no credit is given.