Fierce Compassion: Black Women Buddhist Practices for Healing Self and Earth: A BIPOC retreat

Fierce Compassion is a residential BIPOC Buddhist retreat led by Dr. Melanie Harris at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Barre, Vermont. It is open to people of color who want to practice with the teachings and example of Black women Buddhist teachers, and to explore how compassion can be both tender and unflinching in the work of healing self and Earth.

What to Expect

The retreat explores fierce compassion through practices shaped by Black women Buddhist teachers. Rather than treating compassion as only a soft or private quality, the program brings together compassion, accountability, and healing. The aim is to cultivate wisdom, hope, and nonviolent right action, so that inner practice and engagement with the world support one another.

Because this is a residential retreat, the days are lived together in one place, with time set aside for practice, reflection, and being in community with other BIPOC practitioners. The program is rooted in Buddhist practice and in the lived experience of Black women who have carried those teachings into questions of justice, care, and repair. It suits anyone who feels the pull to meet suffering, personal and collective, with courage and clarity rather than withdrawal.

The title names two spheres of healing: the self and the Earth. Expect the retreat to hold both, treating personal wellbeing and the health of the wider world as connected rather than separate concerns.

About Dr. Melanie Harris

Dr. Melanie Harris leads this retreat, which draws on the practices and wisdom of Black women Buddhist teachers. She guides participants in exploring fierce compassion as a path that joins accountability with healing and supports nonviolent right action.

The Setting

The retreat takes place at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in Barre, Vermont, a center devoted to the study and practice of Buddhist teachings. The program is residential, so participants stay on site for the duration of the retreat. This allows the quiet of a retreat environment to shape the rhythm of the days, away from the usual demands of daily life.

Before You Go

This retreat is offered specifically as a BIPOC retreat, created for people of color. It is an in-person residential program rather than an online or hybrid one, so plan to be present at the center for its full length.

The program is described in terms of exploration and practice rather than prior training, and no specific prerequisites are listed. Come with openness to reflection, to community, and to considering what compassionate action asks of you.