Initiative on Physical Disability in the Sangha

The Initiative on Physical Disability in the Sangha is a one-time dialogue at Mountain Rain Zen Community in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is held by the community's DEIA committee (diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility) for sangha members who live with a physical disability and want to talk about how accessible the community's practice spaces are.

This is not an open event. Attendance is limited to the DEIA committee and to people living with a physical disability who wish to discuss accessibility at Mountain Rain Zen Community.

What to Expect

The evening runs from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. It is a conversation, not a sitting or a teaching. The committee wants to learn about the barriers to practice that people with physical disabilities currently meet in Mountain Rain Zen spaces, and to listen to the lived experience and wisdom of those who come.

What is shared will help inform guidelines and improve accessibility across the community. The committee has framed the meeting as a single gathering with that purpose, and it thanks participants for their generosity and practice.

The Setting

The meeting takes place at Mountain Rain Zen Community on Wall Street in Vancouver.

Before You Go

Those who would like to take part need to email the DEIA co-chairs, Caro Embling and Angela Karyira, ahead of the response deadline, so it is worth writing early.

The gathering is for sangha members with lived experience of physical disability who are willing to share it, along with the committee. Because the aim is to hear directly from those affected, anyone who does not fit that description should not plan to attend.