Description of Organization
The InterDependence Project (IDP) brings a secular and highly accessible approach to studying and practicing Buddhist meditation, psychology, and philosophy. IDP is committed to bridging the gap between personal development and collective engagement in the world, combining the principles of mindfulness and interdependence with activism, arts, and media.
Buddhist meditation is about the clarity and compassion that come from seeing our mind as it is, on increasingly subtle levels of experience. Anyone can do it – all you need is patience and curiosity. All you have to do is bring your body and your mind, exactly as they are. The idea that everyone possesses the innate ability to work with their own mind is at the heart of Buddhist psychology.
Grant(s) Awarded
In 2015, a grant in the amount of $1,500 was awarded to support a weekend training workshop called; “The Color of the Self: A Zen Approach to Racism,” held at the Village Zendo on November 13, 14, and 15, 2015. The workshop combined contemplative wisdom practices provided by Merle Kodo Boyd Sensei, one of only two African-American Zen Buddhist teachers, with interactive instruction by Tiffany Taylor Smith of Culture Learning Partners. The project was intended to educate their communities about institutional racism and its adverse impact on everyone, including white people. It was designed to help to acknowledge, accept, and understand individual biases and internalized racism, and to heal prejudice and oppression by fostering diversity and inclusion within sanghas.
In 2012, a grant in the amount of $8,000 was awarded to support the organization’s growing infrastructure and outreach.